want to take my 5 year old fishing but need help

[UphillHabit]

I'm pretty new to fishing and was thinking it might be a nice outing for my 5-year-old. We saw some kids' fishing rods at a local store, but I'm not sure if those are a good fit for our first try. I don't really have any experience, so I'd love to hear what setups work for you—simple stuff that's easy for a kid to handle. Any advice on bait or techniques for beginners would be super helpful too!

 

[caribou]

I don't have kids. My memory is that my first rod was the best I ever had and it was appreciated as such. The important thing to me was doing something new and special with the family. You can't do it wrong, have fun.

 

[Alaskajohn]

Where do you plan to fish and what types of fish did you want to target? Grayling and lake trout don't really require anything special. Some like the below Zebco brand at Walmart for about $25 is a good baseline light weight rod designed for a kid. The design is often called a spin cast combo, and this specific design is much more forgiving and tangles of fishing line is less frequent due to the enclosed case housing the fishing line and mechanisms. I recommend going to a place like sportsman's warehouse, as the sales associates are likely to be better trained to assist you verses Walmart.

 

[Sourdough]

My only advise is buy the kid a pair of cheap "clear" plastic protection glasses. And a wide brim floppy hat.
Hard to beat a cheap "closed" face reel. An open face reel would be too complex.
The other thing is avoiding congested fisherman. Fishing is actually quite dangerous. Start him side casting, NOT overhead.