Found this great sight about a week ago but cant find the info i need on equipment to use for the surf.My 11 year old wants to catch a good size striper so for the last 2 seasons ive been doing every thing wrong,all we catch are 12" and under schoolies.I'm looking at buying a shimanobaitrunner or penn with a 9 ft rod ffor surf fishing with 20lb line,plan on using bait depending on time of year,just wondering if im on the right track.i even went out and bought a 4cyl truck to save on gas,(i have a big v8)so i can chase these fish around for him.when should i start hitting the south coast for a 15 lber,whats good for this time of year,to early for eels?.sorry for the long post but really want him to enjoy fishing without me letting him down.thanks in advance.

You want to have some fun take him out with some topwater lures....pencil poppers about 1 to 1.5 ounces, spooks are great.....some of the site sponsors here make some great ones! As far as a rod....Penn makes some great off the rack.....post a thread here just about rod selection and folks will give you a good rundown on what is good and you can judge for yourself! Reels....I use a Penn 460 Slammer on one of my rods and swear by it.....its a great reel. Okuma makes some good reels....i he is 11 you may want to stay away from anything high end until he cuts his teeth first. My oldest son is 13 and we had done alot of fishing...so a year ago Christmas I (Santa) got him a Penn Spinfisher rod 8 feet with a Slammer 460 and he loves it.....perfect size for him and he can throw plugs or chunk bait.....rod was about $110.00 and the reel was like $140.00 so $250.00....good setup that will last! Good luck and welcome to the sight! :jump:

Bait is always a good way to get kids interested, and swimming plugs should be a good way to go as well for lures for kids. Whatever you do, plugs - spooks, pencil poppers, poppers, swimmers, tins, jigs, bait, just make sure it is easy and enjoyable and then let them get more in tuned, don't want to make it too much work so they lose interest. Sounds like BigFish has gone through this so he has some good insight. Action should be ready near you ... but contact the sponsors here, they should be able to assist you.

Thanks that helps alot,i looked at the okumho at #^&#^&#^&#^&s sporting goods,they seem like a good reeel to put him in,ill be doing most of the casting from the beach so i figured 9 ft would be good but if a 8 ftr does the job then i think i found my set up.im just glad all 4 kids dont want to fish,id need another job.

Finaddict is right! My kids got bored after 5 minutes fishing bait if the fish were not right on it! Give them a plug and its alot more active fishing so not getting bored as fast....and Gawd help the boy after he sees a fish blow up on a topwater lure......he will be hooked for life!:kewl:

Jason, MikeCC can set you up with a nice rod like Tica or tsunami
as for the reel I would look on ebay foe a 704, or a 710 depending
on the rod Mike can also tell you what's a good reel. try 6 to 9 inch
slug-gos also. sounds like you need to find some new spots that hold
bigger fish. try fishing and getting there at 5am and fish till the sun
comes up

Don't buy a Okuma reel, Penn make nice reels and are very easy to service

Mike makes some great custom rods too if Daddy needs a new one!:kewl:

Don't forget that Mike also carries the Quarrow Tide Runner series surf rods - great rods for easy money.

I think you will need to get out on your own a little first. Learn the areas you want to fish, then you will have an easier time getting him on fish. Read some of the articles on the Surfcating-Rhode Island Site. There are some good starting points in Joe's Articles.
http://www.surfcasting-rhodeisland.com/ He also brakes down the lures to use in your area.

Also you may want to try a charter. That will pretty much assure your son a decent size fish. I am sure he will have a good time.
Best of luck. I have a 3 yr old and a 3 mo. old and can't wait to fish with them.

Where and when will do you a lot better than new equipment.

You need to fish early morning , like be there when its still dark out. Also , if you and your son can , go at night
For the most part , day time fishing by beginners will get you small fish ..if you are lucky. Most day time beginners go fishless.

Anyway , fish in the dark if you want a big one.

jason, P.M. me your address and will send a Plug for the boy.

That Habs is a sweet guy!:kewl:

:btu:

I would like to thank everyone again your help is very appreciated,getting the little blue registered this week so ill be hitting the beaches next weekend at night,we'll get my boy a fish and when it happens i hope i remember the camera.Man this is gonna be fun.

From my expeerience, rule #1 is don't lay your rod down. If the reel does'nt get full of sand, someone will step on the rod.
One of my kids killed an uglystick within a couple of days. Did he listen...

sorry for the long post but really want him to enjoy fishing without me letting him down.thanks in advance.
Trust me, you won't be letting him down, whether you catch 12" fish, 12lb fish or no fish. He will love fishing with his dad and you will likely spend the rest of your lives trying to fid a night or a weekend to get in some fishing together (:musc:my son learned to crawl this week so I am thinking he should be ready to hit the fall run ...) I know between my grandfathers, father, uncles, brother and myself there are dozens of week long trips to hatteras or nantucket or wherever where nobody really caught anything for the whole week. People always wonder why we would drive 9 hours and spend a week somewhere, not catch anything and then do it again, and again and again (in some cases over 50 years). The fish are always nice, but particularly when you are with you're kid (or dad, grandfather...) they are a bonus. Lots of good advice here. And don't worry too much, the fish will come.

Nothing better then fishing with your kids! Started fishing with my sons 4 years ago, and have more priceless memories of these times, makes it all worth while! Best of luck, and If you keep at it and read these posts regulary, you'll find that big one.