My 9 year old son is wanting a flyrod after using mine for a while now. He didn’t tell me until after his birthday though or I would have bought him one instead of the ultra light outfit I got him. Anyway, he only has 50 bucks (b-day money) to spend and we were looking at the Martin flyrod outfits at Wally world. Anyone have any experience with these?
Okie in Arizona
I don’t know how long of a rod he can cast but if he can Cabelas sells the Cahill series rods for 29.99 and the Three Forks series for 49.99. I don’t know about the Cahill rods but my first rod was a Three Forks rod that my dad bought for me and it is a exellent buy for the money.
Hope that helps
Marko
Edit: willisjj
I just looked at the Three Forks combos at Cabelas.com and they now come with a Medalists 1494 or 1495 depending on the length of the rod, and they also come with 150 yards of backing and a leader. I know they also use to come with a free beginners dvd, I don’t know if that option is still available might want to look into it.
[This message has been edited by xisintheend (edited 02 October 2005).]
The Pfueger rods are a good value also.
You can get one through a sponsor, Hook & Hackle.
I got one for my son, I use it more than he does.
“The trout were laughing so hard at us that they considered evolving legs so they could crawl on to land and catch their breath”
Dave Barry
here is my 2 cents worth
I would Throw in another 50 and by a good package deal from cabelas and look at this way 50 buck now and a life time of realy good memory with your son on the river"“priceless”"
Ghost
time is like a river running though the world, if you dont take a moment to sit and watch it go by we loose so much. GrayGhost
willisjj,
Anyway, he only has 50 bucks (b-day money) to spend and we were looking at the Martin flyrod outfits at Wally world. Anyone have any experience with these?
I have had experience with the old Martin combination (2-piece rods with reel and level floating fly line) outfits which were good starter combo outfits and provided good service to a friend of mine who had one. I am not familiar with the new Martin combo outfits (I don’t have one) and I did take a look at them but I don’t like the multi-piece rods or the bright orange fly line color. I would assume (the outfit did not specify rod type) that since the old combo rods were fiberglass that the new ones are also which to me are more forgiving for beginner casting errors and are usually accurate. Not as much distance as a graphite. I think I saw the new outfit retailed at K-Mart for about 20 or 30 dollars. If I couldn’t find a better combo deal, then this outfit to me would be better than nothing. I would recommend that you find a better combo outfit within the price range if possible.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
I happened to win a 6 wt Martin Mohawk 2 pc rod. I was pleased to find it casts quite acceptably, works well on trout streams and probably would work well for bass fishing.
It’s not a big name rod but its affordable, and would serve well as a first rod for a child or an adult.
aka Cap’n Yid.
Stev Lenon, 91B20 '68-'69
When the dawn came up like thunder
First rod was a martin combo 3 piece from
wallmart 10 years ago caught alot of trout and lmb’s and since then have taught 3 neice’s and nephews to fish and twice as many adults and still have it today, I always take it with Me in case somebody wants to try flyfishing
G
i also started with a $50 martin combo, and it worked just fine. in fact, after i “outgrew” it, i taught several kids, and a few adults with it. it now belongs to my friend who has learned on it, and he will pass it along to someone else when hes ready for a new rig.
the long and short of it is, for the money, the combos are worthwhile.
however: if it were my son, id chip in a few extra bucks from my pocket and go with a TFO or cabelas outfit, simply because the rate of “outgrowing” the combo would be slower. this is, of course, my opinion, and subject to your own…
Everyone dies. Only the lucky ever truly Live. Take your time.
Chris-Bishop, CA, USA
IMNSHO the Cabela’s Three Forks is the best $50 on the planet.
Do you want a martin? They are fair rods and I have three also have a BPS hobbs creek. I’ll take the Bass pro. If you want advice your on the right track If you want him to actually enjoy the day fishing with you DON"T by something that he’ll work his arm off with.Either go with the lower priced better quallity or take the chance of tired hands and arms.Martins are heavy in comparison.Brouse a bit find something that is in the budget.Besides once you buy the Martin then your going to replace the flyline very soon there after then you have almost the same amount as you would in a better quality rod and line.Their genesis series comes complete. yea it IS alot more than he has “BUT DAAAAAAADDDDDDYYYYYY it even has FLIES AND ALL”
Thanks for all of the great advice! I appreciate it and it has given me alot to think over. I believe I will throw in enough extra money so he can get a decent outfit, mainly because I don’t want him to get discouraged if he has trouble with the cheap rod and also he is not a very big kid and the lighter the rod the better. I personally use a Dogwood Canyon $100 outfit from Bass Pro and he does just fine with it although he hasn’t fished for long periods because we are always fighting over it, lol.
smart move, dad. comfort and convenience are second only to “catching” when getting kids interested in fly fishing.
its important to get them their own rod, so they feel like an adult, get them “hooked up”(warmwater ponds are great for this feature), and keep them comfortable, like, not having an overweight rod to tire them out.
for these reasons, my 6 yr old girl has “her own” 6’6" 2 wt. its short, light, with a lightweight reel, and by overlining it with 3wt line, its casts nice and slow for her…
Everyone dies. Only the lucky ever truly Live. Take your time.
Chris-Bishop, CA, USA
Rule of thumb Never give a family member anything you would not be proud to fish with as well.
Rich
excellent attitude Rich can I quote you on that.
DON’T DO IT!
I bought one of the Martin rods at WalMart and while it is inexpensive and I CAN cast it - I think it is way too heavy for a 9 year old to be happy with - my older kids found it tiring. Now maybe I am a little spoiled but I have found any number of low cost graphite rods on ebay that I and my kids have found easier to handle. Personally I think that you did better for a nine year old to have gotten him what you did.
Jim Stocks
tyler,tX
Just got back from WalMart.they have a Sientific Angler 8’6" 5/6 nice and light decent action $19.95.You might want to check the rods at yours. Then a better reel line and ect. could be obtained might lower the cash output and still have a decent rod.Upgrade the Rod in a year or two and already have the reel ect to put on it.If the rod gets broke your not out that much.Kids ncan be tough on rods TRUST me thats how my only bamboo went byebye never to own one again(never to be able to afford one again)(come on lottery #)
based on my own experience buying one of those very outfits: I practiced with it for two days, then advertised it on ebay and sold it. I bought another rod (Cabelas PT) new and on ebay for $80.00 and rigged it with line and a Hobbs Creek reel I bought here on FAOL. What a difference! The rod was much easier to cast and the wf line was easier to toss, much easier than that level line included with the kit. I wish I had not bought the kit because it was discouraging. Fortunately, I saw my mistake and got something much better. I have never regreted that decision and will fish that rod for years unless I decide to move up to a St. Croix or something. Above all, please have lots of fun with your kid. cya
willisjj;
I go with RW. And, you can do well with many of the Cabela’s Combos. But, I picked up one of the Chahill series 9’ 5 wgt. rod reel, backing, line $ leader for around $60.00 but found it to be top heavy! Killed my wrist! I also have one of their Greenwood series combos, 7’ 3 wgt., Rod, reel, line, backing, leader and case for 99.95 and it is a dream to fish. I gave one of their 7 1/2 foot 5 wgt. combos (99.95) to friend for her birthday and she loves it.
I don’t think fly rods are ment to be “Grown Into” but, you can’t outgrow them!!
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
Cactus AKA “Lucky Dog (Pirate Name)”
Thanks again. I have decided to throw in some money and I am thinking of going with one of the Cabelas outfits. Looks like my wife will be sharing with him for now so they have been tearing up that catalog all day, lol. My dad I believe is getting everyone nice flyrods for Christmas this year so this one will hold them over until then and as they are both pretty new to the sport (like me too), they will have a couple of months to practice and will sure appreciate a nice rod when the time comes I think.
My first outfit was a martin I bought at K-Mart for 19.99 it came with everything including a floating DT 6wt line. For the money it was a good deal and it let me know if I was going to stick with it. I still have the outfit and my wife uses it and she likes it even though it’s a tad heaver then most rods it has caught many trout,bass and blue gills on it and still works today and the day I bought it 6 or so ago. I don’t know if they use the same line anymore or not as most of the cheaper outfits come with level floating lines. I made my 4 yr old a fly rod from a ultra lite spinning rod,with a martin reel and a level floating line and he can cast it 20 to 30 ft the rod is 4 ft 9" and he thinks he is Kind S ** T with it and has caught a few blue gills and a few small browns on it. But the Cabalas 3 forks combos are a great intro kit to get and that is what I’ve been using the past 4 yrs in a 3 wt 7 1/2 ft rod which came with everything needed to start even a video for him to watch. And it comes with a 1 yr warranty incase something goes wrong with it or he should break it. Mine at the time was a X-mas gift from my wife that Came on X-mas eve it was 99 bucks for next day delivery. And I plan to buy another one at 9ft 4 wt. Hope this helps you out later Matt
To each there own !