Fishing is a lot of fun activity for you with your children. A day at a lake or a water stream fishing is a day well spent with your family. It gives you time to connect more with your kids and know more about them. More importantly, it lets you have your well-deserved break from digital gadgets and the busyness.
A decision to have a fun day with your kids outside does not make it so. You have to get all the necessary equipment. Without it, your fun activity of fishing stays as a plan only. One of the essential and primary types of equipment for fishing with your kids is a fishing pole. The fishing pole you select should aid the best in developing their fishing skill. That way, you can have the perfect fishing times with your kids.
What should you know?
There is not much difference between the fishing poles of kids and adults. They are the smaller versions of adult poles. They are perfectly scaled-down to fit the hands and height of kids. You must look for a few qualities in a fishing pole when you are buying it for your kids, like reel style, rod length, and material, etc.
A good thing about launcher rod fishing poles is they look great and make us look cool updated with the times. They are a thing of great beauty. In terms of work, the answer is negative. Launcher type fishing poles do not work as promised. They have their share of problems that compromises your fun activity.
Most of the parents buy launcher fishing rods for their children. Launcher type fishing poles, also known as rocket-propelled fishing poles, never work as expected. Their performance never reaches the level of satisfaction we expect from fishing. For kids, it will be a great disappointment.
The lifespan of rocket-propelled fishing poles is short. Too short that they break after three or four casts. Their reviews also prove the same. You may think why should we think more about the lifespan of equipment that we buy for fun. The intention may be fun, but the money you spend on them goes to waste.
If they don’t break after casting for 3-4 times, the fishing reel gets tangled. If you try to untangle it, the problem only becomes worse. If you opt for launcher type fishing poles, you may find them useless one way or the other. That too, in a short period or a few uses.
If you have thought of teaching fishing to your kids with these fishing poles, that is the worst possible idea. There are many great ways for you to do so.
Why are launcher-type fishing poles bad?
To know the bad aspects of a thing, we should know its uses and performance. What these rods do is a simple task while you are fishing. Rocket-propelled or launcher type fishing rods works like a gun. They are used to shoot the pod/bobber that has a hook or bait or sinkers.
The front part of the fishing rope that contains the bait for fishes is big by design. It contains a fishing line as an attachment that gets coiled into the gun’s reel. This part is the important one in a fishing pole as fishing without it is impossible.
What actually happens with this fishing pole is your kid should cock the gun. It shoots the little boober/clamp or the front part into the water stream or lake. Once it goes into the water, it releases the hook or baits for fish, with its opening. This is where the specialty of launcher type fishing pole ends. From now, your child should use it like every other normal fishing pole.
You may think that there are no complicated aspects of the performance. Yes, you are right. There are no complications in promises or expectations. But in actual functioning, there are many complications to ruin your fishing trip.
Easily-breakable
The launching mechanism of launcher type fishing poles is complicated. When you cock the gun, it should release the front part. The process ends when the front section opens up in the water to deliver bait or hook. Such a complicated mechanism in the hands of your small kid might be too big to speculate. In a basic sense, this type of fishing rods is well-known for its problems.
There are many instances of a child breaking the launcher type fishing rod in the first usage itself. Curiosity makes them do so.
There are many negative reviews for this type of rods on Amazon and other online shopping portals. The children who insisted and begged their parents to get them rocket-propelled fishing poles ended up getting disappointed. Their disappointment is solely due to its worst performance. Parents then lamented on portals like Amazon as their money got wasted. If we go by statistics, a percentage of almost 60% are utterly disappointed with launcher type fishing poles. They all posted their reviews on Amazon, giving 1 star.
Also, in the statistical sense, 20% of the verified buyers gave five stars with overwhelmingly positive notes. You may wonder why we should take the negative aspect and overlook the positive. In reality, the majority of this 20% satisfied buyers either gifted it to someone they knew or never opened the packaging of the product.
Cheap manufacturing and the user’s mishandling
There are plenty of tricks and gimmicks to awe us in regards to fishing. Launcher type fishing poles are also included in such. These are not meant to last long. Their manufacturing quality tells us the same. Even from some of the lapses in the handling from the user side, they break. They are built for very light use.
Generally, while fishing, losing bobbers that release hooks is common. Anyone who has gone fishing shall know it. This happens with every type of fishing pole, and a launcher type pole is no exception.
There is a major flaw in the design of launcher type fishing poles. The design of this fishing rod never looks like a real fishing rod. They seem like they are incapable of performing tasks like pulling back the fishing line. It should happen as gently as possible, which doesn’t happen.
The pulling back process happens only by bending and holding the rod at multiple points. The launcher-type fishing pole acts like more of a stick than a fishing rod. There is no way to bend the pole without breaking it.
The design of these rods allows the user to lose the line many times. It is also possible that you lose bobber, and it might end the fishing trip. Rocket-propelled fishing rods need a special type of bobber.
If you handle and use it too carefully, you might use it multiple times. But for long term use, it is not an option.
What should you rather buy?
In general, fishing comes with its bad aspects. The nasty hook attached to the pole may scare your kid. The hooks are unsafe if your child mishandled them.
You might want your kid to learn fishing and chosen a launcher fishing rod for him. But there are many solutions for this, and you are not alone on this path.
Teach your child fishing with a game. It doubles the fun, and the learning becomes easy. Backyard bass-casting game should be your choice.
The game teaches the children to catch fish without any exposure to hooks. This lets your child to almost a real practice on handling a fishing pole.
In this game, you need a fishing rod and reel. Your child should attach a little fish onto the fishing line of the rod. Place it in the grass of your garden or yard. The kid should reel in the fishing line dragging the fish in the grass.
This is the right way to teach fishing to a child. Don’t spoil the real chance with a launcher-type fishing pole.
Get your kid a light-weight and durable closed reel rod with great reviews on Amazon. This might disappoint your child at first, but over time he will be thankful to you. Or you might have to get him a surprise to distract him momentarily.
FAQs
How do you fish with kids?
The best way to fish with your kids is to be friendly. You have to guide the child but should not force your thoughts. He should be given a free hand to do everything. If he learns it on his own, he might surpass or surprise you with his fishing skills. You should be his friend the entire time.
How do you make fishing fun for kids?
Fishing is a fun activity. To make it more fun and interesting, giving the kid ample choices. Let the child chose the spot for fishing. Try to explore as many different species of fish as with your child. Fish like it is a game and let your child win.
What is the best starter fishing rod?
For a beginner, spinning rods are the most recommended. They are easy to handle, and you can cast long with light lures. In a monetary sense, it doesn’t cost much.
