My 16 year old kid joined the bass fishing team at school, so we need to get him outfitted with the proper gear.  He's used to using open face spinning reels, and he can use a bait caster but like me it's a knotted up mess after 5-6 casts.  All of my stuff is panfish or catfish related.    

What's a guy look for as far as a rod, and are spinning reels ok for bass fishing/competitions?  I'd like to think anything goes for a high school team.  

The more I look around I see braided line seems to be the new favorite.  Do people run braided line all the way to the lure, or is a leader used?

My spinning reels are Daiwa Fuego on an Ugly Stik GX2. Typically 40-50 pound braid all the way to a 6" steel leader.

A 16 year old kid on fishing team in Illinois, thats  f'n  awesome.

Ugly stik elite and a Shimano reel

Lots of good equipment out there. A quality baitcaster will be a lifelong friend. I love muh Abu Garcia C4's. Good quality and reasonably priced...
Get an idea from the team organizer of what is recommended as far as quanity of rods and number of and types lures.

Practice line control with the bait caster far more accurate around structure. When I was a kid, I’d set targets out in the yard and cast weights. All about getting the minimum brake to help avoid birds nests, feathering your thumb does the rest.


That said, I really need to get out and do some fishing.

I sent you a P.M. It's just about my teenage neighbors youtube channel.

Shimano or Daiwa combo.  Don’t go cheap. And get an experienced angler to help him set it up.
Practice a lot before fishing. Put targets in the yard and practice casting.

I'm right-handed but like a left-hand bait caster, so I don't have to flip it over to reel.

Thanks for all the info, very helpful  

Budget?  No reason he couldn’t use a spinning reel.

What lures is he most likely to throw?  Bait choice will help pick a rod and reel.

Braid is the answer.  If the water is super clear, I’ll run a flouro leader.

I bought two used c4's on nice rods for about $20 each. A guy had a kayak he was selling on offer up. While we were getting the kayak out I noticed the rods. The reels are the good ones from Europe. They list $150 or more on eBay used. One had a worn pawl on the level wind. A few parts and it is good as new.

Tournament bass guy here...I am a big fan of lews or daiwa.  Ive had about a dozen shimano baitcasters and keep going back to daiwa tatulas.  

As far as spinning/baitcaster, lure should dictate that.  My recomendation for folks getting into fishing is pick up a 6'6" medium spinning and a 7'0 MH-F baitcaster.  That is a good start that covers a lot of bases.  What is the price range?

No specific price range, but we are talking about a 16 year old kid.  I like your recommendation on the rods, makes sense.  We'll get more info from his coach but I assume crank baits as well as jigging worms.  I've got a ton of crank baits I've picked up over the years, but never used most of them.  

I did find out that they hold the meets/tournaments at a lake not far from us.  I might try to get him on the water yet this year and practice casting from a boat, get a feel for the lake, etc.

If its anything like it is here, weve already got 16yr old kids with their own boats and 10k in tackle.  Its nuts.  The last tournament I saw that was HS had 184 boats...its crazy big down this way.  

You should be able to pick up a decent combo that will last a minute for $100-$150. Imo, once he is comitted and enjoys it then you/he can spend some more.  If you go much cheaper, it may not last too long-but that should do more than fine initially.  As said, practice practice.  Before long he will be skipping with a baitcaster

I just bought the Daiwa Tatiula SV TW103 and a Daiwa Aird-X rod. Spooled  it with some 14 lb fluorocarbon. Went outside to cast a weight, and proceeded to bird nest the hell out of it LOL. Forgot to ride my thumb on the spool

You can go down quite a worm hole with rods/reels/tackle/line/etc.  I'm going to stay away from brands and just try to give you some information based on my years fishing bass tournaments.  

First of all, you can't have too many rods.  Tournament fishing is a different mind-set than just going out fishing for fun.  Time is a factor, and being efficient is key.  Pros can have 20-30 rod/real combos available for a tournament.  Many situations call for a technique specific set-up, and the last thing you want to do in competition is re-rigging rods for a different technique.  Now obviously you're not going to go out get your kid 20-30 combos.  It's tough to know what to suggest not knowing the lakes he will be fishing.  I think 3-4 combos would be a great start if you can swing it.  In general, I would suggest 2 spinning (1 6'6" 1 7') and 2 casting (7') combos.  The easiest way to look at it without getting too technical is your casting rods are for heavier line/heavier lures and your spinning rods are for the lighter stuff.  I usually use spinning tackle for 10# line and under.  Casting I will use heavier line (except for crank baits).  A couple casting rods set up with 17-20# line and a couple spinning rods with 10# line would be a great start IMO.  

I could talk about this for hours, but I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible for you.  Maybe talk to the guys/gals running the team to see if there are some techniques that will be used more than others and go from there.  Up here in MI I can fish some largemouth lakes with heavy cover and never touch a spinning rod or be in smallmouth water and never use a casting rod.  It all depends on where and what he's going to be fishing for.  

More specific to your question about braid, it's again based on what you're doing.  If I'm flipping heavy cover with an ounce of weight, I'm going to almost always be using braid.  If I'm throwing a crank bait, I will always be using fluorocarbon line.  Power shot on a spinning rod, I will use braid with a fluoro leader.  Just about every technique you can think of will need a different rod/reel/line combo.

I am pretty loyal to St. Croix rods and mid level Shimano reels, lot of deals out there on Shimano Stradic reels.

WTH kind of schools you all attending?

Every HS should offer this.