My 6 and 3 year old boys are addicted to fishing. Last year I bought them Benny's specials with which they caught more fish last year than I caught before I was 30. At the RISSA Show, they fell love with the closed face reels at the casting booth (much easier to learn how to cast). So now the request for advice.
1. Am I crazy to buy closed face reels when 100% of their fishing is salt water?
2. Any recommendations for a $30-$40 combo? Where to buy?

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, I don't think that there is a closed faced "spincast" reel that will stand up to salt water for very long. You'll be buying them new ones every year. At best, you'll get pot metal gears. At worst--plastic. And the line opening can get clogged with sand and weeds. None of them have decent drags, either--at least, not one that'll stand up to a keeper bass or a medium bluefish should they hook up with one.

A 6 year old should be able to handle an open faced spinning reel. Both of my kids used them at that age. Get one with a switchable handle and let the boy decide for himself which hand he wants to crank with. A 3 year old--probably not. He'll probably have to use the closed faced reel.

I look at it this way--they're addicted to fishing. That probably isn't going to change. They're both going to outgrow a $40 combo before too long. There's nothing that'll break a kid's heart faster than losing a good fish because the reel jammed or exploded. I would look into an 8' Tica rod for the 6 year old and maybe one in the 6-7' range for the 3 year old. The rod would probably run $50 or so. The reel doesn't have to be all that great. Check out some of the smaller Okuma or Tica reels. Even something like one of the cheaper Shimano freshwater reels. You can put together a decent combo that'll give them a fighting chance against a good fish for under $100, and you'll probably get 3-4 seasons out of it.

I agree, I would spend $100 & get a good combo. That will last a while. There are some decent Shimano Spheros combos if you do some web surfing, for around 100 bucks.

I agree finding a closed face that'll hold up to big fish will be tough.I picked up a Pinnacle 7 1/2' rod/reel spinning combo at the local tackle shop for my son 3 years ago for$50,it has held up to 100's of 5-10 lb bluefish with no problems. The zebco closed face combo's are pretty inexpensive and can handle the smaller fish if your planning on taking them for skipjacks. In my experience(i have 5 kids) go with the closed face rigged with a small blue/silver kastmaster,they'll have a blast and when they're ready for the bigger fish they'll let you know.

Thanks Guys, the closed face is out of the question based on the feedback. They are both used to spinning reels, just not casting (yet).

I try not to go anywhere with big fish with them yet, schoolies and snappers are enough fun for them at this point.

Thanks again, now the quest begins.

I see you're in Fairhaven. You should take about a 20 minute drive east on Rte 6 and stop in at M&Ds in Wareham. Mike covers all price points, and he's a straight shooter. He definitely won't try to sell you more than you need. :humpty:

He also stands behind what he sells.

I recently bought the light Tica 7' (there are two at that size) and Spheros 4000 for the GF, and it's a really nice and light setup. She's tiny, so I was concerned about the weight of even my 8' rigs, but this one is super light. I spooled the reel with 10#, but I'll switch that to 20# sufix once she gets a little salty.

It should be a perfect setup for finess fish, small storms, a-salts, small poppers, etc.

I'll weigh the combo and post that when I get home. - 19oz (rod/reel/line)

I see you're in Fairhaven. You should take about a 20 minute drive east on Rte 6 and stop in at M&Ds in Wareham. Mike covers all price points, and he's a straight shooter. He definitely won't try to sell you more than you need. :humpty:

He also stands behind what he sells.

The boys were born across the street from M&D. I visited Mike while my wife was in labor. I had to go somewhere to kill 13+ hours.

I would probably agree with the above advice, but this is an interesting attempt by zebco

http://www.zebco.com/catalog/saltwater.html

Thanks MikeCC!

Zebco has been making a saltwater model for many years, I don't know how the new ones are, but the best fisherman that ever came out of New England, used nothing but, when he wasn't fly fishing.

South Bend makes an entry level SW pushbutton reel that we carry at the shop. It goes for about $25-30. Sold a few and never heard any complaints. Has a fair amount of stainless components I believe, and is spooled with 20lb. test. It is what it is, however, so I wouldn't head out for school tuna with it.:cheers: