Hey guys my little guy 3yrs old wants his own fishing rod, but doesn’t want one of the cheap ones u seen at the stroes, can’t blame him. Figured I would him his own with some spare guides and cork etc from other builds. Ordered him a red blank from MudHole and was trying to determine how long to make it before I cut it down to size. He will be approaching 4 next summer and figure he uses this a few years before he graduates up to a longer rod. Don’t wanna go too short and also don’t wanna go too long, my though was around 39”???

More information! Spinning, casting, fly? Type of fish after? Waters?

Jay,
4 feet is a nice length.
Likely the best setup is a spin casting reel and seat.

p.s.
If it was my child, I would pick up a $10 rod from the store and then put his name on the rod.

I expect that putting his name on the rod would be the best part of the rod for the child.

Be safe

I agree with Roger that 4' is a good length.
You might want to consider wrapping for an "under-spin reel" (spinning set up)
That makes it user friendly like a push-button, but easy to hold since the weight is under the rod like a spin reel.
Then you can change later on to a true "open face" spin reel.
What I've noticed is that sometimes smaller hands have trouble holding a trigger/push-button set-up.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Jay

I built a spinning rod for my grand daughter because the Snoopy and Frozen toy rods just don't cut it. I got a CRB light blank (IS701l) from Mud Hole. I cut the but end off and had a total length of 5ft 4 inches. The fore grip and the butt are burl cork with a #16 Fuji reel seat total length is 10.5 inches.The guides are Chome Pac bay minima 4 guides. Trimmed with Pink thread. Topped off with a Browning BSL750C reel, 6lb test mono.

I built it when she was 4 and at that time needed some help and instruction, she is now 8 and is very proficient at casting and catching fish.

Starting children with inferior and cheap equipment could be discouraging and turn them off on fishing,

Enjoy your fishing time with your little guy.

Have fun

John

Jay,

We designed our 42" blank (C236M) to perform to the standards of adult fishermen, but it also makes the perfect kid rod because they can continue to use it their whole life.

[rodgeeks.com]

Yeah - I don't mind building him a rod, plus I am not looking at getting him some cheap rod that I will spend 30 bucks on that wont last more than a season. This being said, I have most the components already, so it is not like it was a big deal. I agree with John the snoopy rods at the store just seemed like it would lessen the experience, my nephews grew up on those type rods and they were always a mess when u caught a fish or went to cast. Was going to consider just doing a pistol grip with a push button reel, but the underspin is intriguing with regards to his ability to be able to hold the rod easier. Good tip Ron, I will look into that today.

Look for a FIBER GLASS not carbon on the first rod , ?? the glass rod is more forgiving for a first rod [ harder ti break ] I think

William Sidney
AK

a 5 foot rod would be fine as he will hit a growth spur turning 4 and will be a couple inches taller with that said it will fit him well till he is 9 or 10 yes old but that is just my opinion

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

I made my 3 year old Great Grandson just what he asked for "a real rod like yours", a 7' 6-10 lb. composite spinning rod that he fishes from the beach and docks. He likes to take it out in his back yard to practice casting. You might be surprised at how well these little guys handle a regular size outfit. See a picture in my gallery.

Jay, when my son was 4 he was using one of my old curado 100d’s that I had tightened up the cast controls on an old castaway 7’er and could routinely hit a target the size of a 55 gal drum lid with either “his” crankbaits or spinnerbait. Took a little patience but now the little fart is ten and can darn near flawlessly skip a jig under dock cables on lake of the Ozarks. I really think there are days he is better at it than I am.

Point of all this is spend as much time it’s him as you can, be patient, most importantly don’t expect to fish much when you have your new partner with you. The best reward is watching them grow and improve with each outing.

Best of luck with your project.

Tom

Can’t wait guys, he’s my best friend and really look forward gettin him hooked on fishing.

So I cut down the blank to 4 feet in length, and chose to do the under spin setup, so down the road we can convert him to spinning.... I have an assortment of left over FUJI KLH guides left over, actually too many haha. I do my builds on Microwave guides now, so I rarely use the conventional style layouts... Was trying to determine the guide sizes for this short of a rod. Any advice

Jay Burns Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I cut down the blank to 4 feet in length, and
> chose to do the under spin setup, so down the road
> we can convert him to spinning.... I have an
> assortment of left over FUJI KLH guides left over,
> actually too many haha. I do my builds on
> Microwave guides now, so I rarely use the
> conventional style layouts... Was trying to
> determine the guide sizes for this short of a rod.
> Any advice

I don't think length matters on spinning rods for the reduction train. Just the line size and the reel size. I would build it for the size reel and line you intend to ultimately put on there.