Friends rented a place by the beach for several days.  We live nearby so we plan on visiting.  We work, and they are here during the week, so no overnights for us.  They will be very near a great beach.   I couldn’t help myself.   It’s my g-son.    
 

I just ordered a decent steelhead rod/reel for him to learn.  He’s 11.  Very athletic so I think he’ll pick it up quickly.  His mom told him and he’s stoked.  Any tips teaching casting skills?   A surf perch big enough to eat will be the bonus. 
 

and yes, I’ll double triple check he holds the rod/reel in the correct orientation.   

 

his mom said when he’s older she’ll buy him a kayak and let him come hang w me.  Uncle Darth!  The fun uncle. 

Patience and no pressure. Lots of praise. He'll learn fast is he's interested. He may not stay interested long if no bites, don't force it and try but to show disappointment. 

 

Every kid is different but those are my tips. 

This coming from a long time spinning rod hater, I'd spool it with braid with maybe a short leader. The reason I was a spinning hater was the wind knots and line twist using fluro or mono. Braid solved that problem for me. Also just a reminder, teach him to close the bail by flipping it with his hand and not with the reel handle.

Just my opinion, I'm sure others have better ideas. Have fun!!!

 

Thanks. I’m not famous for my patience. Haha. 

Show him the fundamentals, use a medium weight and he'll develop the timing.

I heard he can fling a baseball..and he took to Bow/arrows like a champ after I bought him that one Christmas gift. hahha..  his parents threatened to unfriend us when I offered to buy the kid a used drum set.  hahahaha

 

I have a medium steelhead rod coming in the mail.  it will be a perfect surf perch rod.. and the occasional striper.  

How good of friends? The drum set may have been worth it? 😂😂

This is going to sound super remedial to people here but we forget what it’s like to pick up a rod the first time. For us, it’s built in, it’s simple, right? But we learned too, many of us having to just figure it out ourselves because that’s what our dad told us to do or at best, we watched his hands operate the reel and handle, with little understanding what the rod actually does. So here goes….

 

Have him hold the rod and pendulum the bait/lure back and forth slowly while holding the rod parallel to the ground. He will get a feel for the momentum in just a few seconds.  Then tell him to focus on what the tip of the rod is doing, the swing of the lure weight and the tip working together.  That will only take a few seconds as well and he will have an understanding of how to control it. Now it’s time to learn when to release the line. That one gets fun, stand opposite of where his rod is pointed.   He will just need to work on timing. In a few minutes, he will be well on his way and can increase his speed and effort.

 

I did this lesson just last Sunday with a new angler. A young adult but the concept is the same. In a few minutes, she stopped putting the senko in a tree above to hitting her mark in the water. 

My son is 6 and we've been working on how to use a spinning setup for a couple seasons now.  We started with a smaller version for panfishing with a bobber.  He's got that one down pretty good.

 

This spring he won a Daiwa setup in a crappie contest, so we're using it for bass fishing with a wacky worm.  His hands are very small so it's a bit cumbersome but it's coming along.  I have to constantly "coach" him with it.  Eventually he'll get the hang of it.  I feel as though a wacky worm is very easy to fish with - just flip or cast it out, let it sink, and slowly reel it in.  He catches bass and walleye with it.

 

One step at a time with constant repetition is the route to success.

 

 

I think I "swung for the fences".

 

I called his mom and got the green light to buy him a combo.   I was so excited I ordered him a surf setup.  a pond set up would have been better money spent.  dang it.

 

oh well.  I think I have a pond set up I can give him.  old Fenwick rod (noodle) and a tiny Pflueger.