Need help with rod/reel options for my son

[Dinorocks]

My 10 yr old son Colton is an avid fly “fisherboy” and fly tyer. After several years of use, he upgraded his generic rod/reel with a 5wt, 8.5’ Orvis Clearwater…bough by him with his own money…he is very proud of it and how he can cast it. Up in northern NY, we fish mostly for smallmouth bass. Over the past couple years I have taken him on steelhead and salmon trips to the Salmon River…more recently, after he caught a couple pike on flies he tied, he has had a great desire to target pike and muskies (we have lots where we fish). So, I’m looking for advise on a rod/reel combo that would suit him the best to cast big flies and fight large fish…again, he is only 10 so I’m trying to find a rod that is not going to be too hard for him to handle. Based on how well the Clearwater is working out for him, we were considering a 9wt, 9’ Clearwater. I’m not sure if the Clearwater reel (drag) will handle these big fish. He was also hoping to use this rod for salmon on the couple trips we make each year and to target carp (lots of those here too). If we had more $ we would buy a rod/reel that properly suited each of the species. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Dino (and Colton)
dinorocks@gmail.com

Raquette River
[/URL]

Fish on - Ausable
[/URL]

Salmon River
[/URL]

Grasse River bass
[/URL]
Colton’s first pike on his self-made fly
[/URL]

St. Lawrence carp fight
[/URL]

St. Lawrence carp


Salmon River Salmon

[/URL]

 

[Trout Guy]

A 9' 8wt would be a good around big game rod for salmon steelhead and Muskie/pike. A 9wt would probably be a little on the heavier side especially for a 10 year old.

 

[thrashers.wheat]

He's no different, the advice I give to him is the same as I give to everybody else: start drinking heavily

 

[flyI4]

With the heavier wt rods of 7wt and up- you will see a very big difference in the heaviness of the rod on a model by model basis. Some 7-9wts are very heavy while others feel actually quite light. For a good deal and a fairly light rod for the size- I would look into getting a Heritage 9 foot 7wt. They are pretty cheap around $170 and I really like mine for salmon/steelhead up on the Ontario tribs. For purchasing them you can go to Heritage Fly Rods: Quality Fly Rods at Discount Prices, Ace Fly Reels: affordable fly reels. They have a waranty and repair the rods for like $25 which is important bc with fish of that size you will break rods from time to time.

Also- look into temple fork outfitters as a second option. Very reasonable prices and high quality rods.

As for the reel- it is far more important to have a good reel than a high peformance rod if you are going for bigger fish up on the salmon river. A well priced reel is the lamson konic. They run about $140 and have served me well up there.

Hope this helps, and your story made me smile because my dad did the same thing for me when I started fly fishing. I saved up my money working with him and my first rod was an Orvis Clearwater 8ft 5wt. Still have the rod. Those are good lessons and times as you begin in the sport- enjoy.

 

[lightenup]

From the looks of your photobucket pictures, you could probably build him one better than a purchased piece...Nice work...did you build those bows?

 

[golden beetle]

I can't imagine my boys catching steelhead!

I'm planning quiet trips for wild browns and brookies in the area as they get older.

So my kids will be casting 6 foot 4 weight rods for as long as I have any influence on the matter.

Mine haven't yet even cast a fly rod...

The oldest can wave the line in the air tho...

So what do I know about 9 weights...

 

[Pete]

My wife's grandson went on his first SR steelhead trip when he was ten.
As far as I know he used one of his dad's 9 weight outfits.
The rod was likely an Orvis.
The reel was either an Orvis with a "smoked" drag (the spare), or the (good) Lampson.
Sorry, I don't know the models....
It worked out, the step-grandkid got a steelie..
Someone passing buy took a cell phone video, but I'm having a problem uploading ("snapshot" below).

His dad got a bit "hands on" during the fight.

 

[Dinorocks]

Thanks all for your advice! I was happy to see recommendations for 7-8wt rods instead of 9-10wt rods which would be hard for him to handle. A reel with a good drag is what I will look for as well.

Lightenup - yes, I'm a bowyer and make all my own archery equipment....so does my son (with a little mentoring)! I would love to eventually make some rods at some point...

flyI4 - I'll look into the rod and reels you mentioned. I know the Lamson name but there are so many different models it makes my head spin...thanks for the direction.

Thanks again,
Dino

 

[sneelhead]

Dino, check your messages.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

A solid reel in the Lamson lineup would be the Guru or Guru HD. The HD is a full frame reel and you would probably want to look at the Guru HD 3.5, price $269.00. I have a standard Guru 3.0 on a Beulah 8 wt. that performs quite well for my pike fishing.