reel suggestions for my 9 yr old son??

[C-5 CC]

My little fishing buddy just got a Tica 8'0" MOD-FAST action, 1/2-2oz, 6-17lb one piece spinning rod for his birthday. I am at a loss as to what reel would pair up well w/ this rod. He is one of the best 9 yr old fishermen I have ever seen, he LOVES the sport and is a very fast learner (ask Peter (Scarecrow) or Rizzo, they saw him in action) Oh well...enough of the proud Dad bragging.
He will use it mainly for plugging the sandy beaches w/ me. I have plenty of other rigs for bait fishing...ya,ya..I know...bait fishing is not REAL fishing.
I will probably want to put braid of some kind on the reel. I am NOT looking for everyone to suggest that I buy him a VS!! Hell, I don't even have one. I am planning on spending under a hundred bucks, so keep that in mind when making your suggestions. I would also be VERY open to a used reel that is in good reliable condition. Thanks for your .02 cents!!
Brandon

[Peter Lajoie]

penn slammer 460

penn 650000ss

better suit conor up well I think hes gonna get a big fish sometime soon.

I got a new cell phone number I will pm you.

[spence]

I think the 5500SS may be a better fit.

-spence

[Pt.JudeJoe]

The 5500 would be a good fit for the rod and nice and light for him.

[blackeye]

fin nor finnite reels on ebay for cheap-try the 404 , or maybe it's the 204-the 202 is the small one-my 7 year old has one on her rod

[striprman]

Everyone that ever spin fished owns or has owned a a Penn 704.
If you change the bail springs, the drag washers and keep it oiled, they last forever and spare parts are always available at Penn dealers. I still have mine and use it. Its more than 30 years old. I can change the bail springs myself and have it serviced every year. I think you can get a kit to change it from auto-bail to manual bail pick up. The old "coffee grinder" still works as good as the day I got it. When casting, make sure the bail is positioned properly and the bail wont close during a cast.

[TheSpecialist]

stradic 5000

[macojoe]

My son has had and still uses a Penn 5500 and loves it!! I gotmit for him around 10 years old and he is now 18!
For Coventional I got him a penn 140 squider for Fluking and it still is in use by him today!

GoodLuck!

[C-5 CC]

Hey striprman-
I have two of the 704z's, and love them...although I am converting them to bail-less. I put one of them one the 8'Tica and it just seemed a little big and heavy. I use them all day long on my 9' Tsunami and they seem a little more evenly matched to that rod. Ya ever use those 5500's? It seems they are the top choice so far.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions...keep it up!
Brandon

[C-5 CC]

I am leaning toward a 360 slammer, my only concern is that it may be too small for the 8' rod...anyone have a similar combo?

[jfisher]

Shimano spheros 5000, Diawa Laguna 3500 or 4000, Daiwa BG 20. Penn 710

My dad's got a similar combo, an 8' penn rod with a slammer 560. The combo's tip heavy but its because the rod has a short butt. (put the same reel on my 10' and it balances perfect). I think he should have gone with a smaller reel. The 460 would be better on n 8' like that tica, but the 360 should be fine, and if you put braid you should have ample line capacity.

[basswipe]

I fish with the Tica 8' MH 10-25lb 1-3oz rod and I have it paired with the Shimano Spheros 8000.
Jfisher's suggestion of the 5000 is excellent,but if you want lots of line capacity the 6000 or even the 8000 will do fine.All 3 reels are the same size with the exception of the spool and only 2oz differance in weight between all 3 models.The 8000 actually being the lightest at 19.8oz. because of the deeper cut spool.
Probably the best reel you can buy at its price.I paid $100 for my 8000.
An absolutely sweet light tackle plugging setup.Your son will LOVE it.

[jfisher]

Thank you wipe.
Quick side note, C-5 do you do any fresh water fishin'? I noticed you are in Goshen CT. I'm in bristol and just fished dog pond the other day, hit a couple bass off the yak.

[C-5 CC]

I sure do fish the fresh water!! Being an hr and fifteen minutes from the salt, I don't have a lot of choice. Dog Pond has some huge bass in it if you can negotiate the weeds effectively. A yak sounds like a good way to do exactly that. PM me next time you are up this way, maybe I will meet ya over there.
Brandon

[C-5 CC]

Back to the question at hand... a very trusting and helpful member of this group has volunteered to send me a few of his reels to test out on the rod. I shall report back as soon as they arrive

[striprman]

This will happen: you will be fishing with your son and he will hook a big fish, probably bigger than anything you ever expected. Now the question is: is my reel big enough and does it have heavy enough line to crank it in?
Now, do you want to watch as the fish takes all the line off the "little" reel or will you bring the fish to shore with a "man sized" reel?