I'm 43 and my fishing gear has always been cheaper qal mart or a bass pro combo topping out around 100.
Spinning reals and zero bait casters.
The boys have been wanting to try bait casters and my cousin told me you get what you pay for. So today instead of sleep I went to the high end fishing store. I got some education on what's available and pros and cons

Both boys like hunting fishing and trapping but my 13 year old lives for it. His birthday is in June so I went shopping.. I left with a used rod and new bait casting real. I'm not much on name brands but I really liked the rod. It was $180 used new was $250 range. The real was recommended and what my cousin likes around 170 or so don't remember exactly. They had a discount sale so $306 out the door for a single rod and real. A lot for me but very cheap for that store . Hopefully he learns how to use it and likes it. It will likely lead to buying more nicer fishing gear including a boat. But the most expensive part will be the time not working going fishing.

All in all may be a very good buy especially it it leads to me spending more time not at work and with the family. Who would have thought.

I'm sure he appreciates it.

Take the time off!!!!! It’s worth it! I know how much you work tho!
Work will always be there. These special days won’t! Hope your boy loves his gift

I am jealous that you have boys to shop for and spend time with. Enjoy every second of it.

I tried bait casters got an abu-garcia black max in about 1990 I had never dropped that much on a reel before.

I still have it , went back to spinning rigs

last year my son after having a few more budget friendly bait casters decided he would go the best he could afford

it's better but still not my cup of tea

I think it may be a right of a passage every young fisherman takes like them or not

Back in the day, I was wannabe Bassmaster. Pretty much, fished tiny farm ponds in Nebraska. Spent better than $100 on a Shimano baitcaster back in the late 80's. That was crapload of cash back then. Caught a lot of 5#+ bass back then. Over the years, I've used a few more Shimanos and a couple Team Diawas. Enjoyed them all. It's, infinitely, more pleasant to fish with great equipment. It also kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Ambassadors for me

Pflueger reels. St Croix Rods spinning and fly rods only. St Croix has not had fly rods for several years got one from 1992 and one later. Served me well.they stand behind them. Fishing cheap compared to hunting. Well we all know trapping

Ooooo, I'll take 2. Lol

Next up is picking out line for it. I like braided line quite a bit and my cousin said the 30 lb stuff he uses wraps on the baitcaster a little bit nicer like a wench cable and doesn't get balled up as easy and want it does it's easier to get your rats nest out of it. I will need to pick up line before I get home otherwise I will be heading right back out to get it. Well that is if I give him the rod early. Of course I will so he can start using it.

Providence Farm, you will regret all that time worked a lot more than you will regret time spent with your children. When they are grown they will not remember all the time worked unless they resent you for always being at work, but they will cherish the memories that were made while doing cool stuff with Dad. That will be what's important to them later on. I know we all have to pay bills and obviously I don't know anything about your financial situation but I do know how many hours that you admit that you are working and how little time you have for the family and rest. That will wear your body out and is even dangerous, I don't know what you do for a living but in most jobs that many hours for that many days in a row you can't be as alert as you should be while at work and while driving to and from. Take the time with the family that is something that you can never recapture, I am sure your children and wife will cherish it. Best Wishes

Buy quality and it will last a lifetime. I have a rodbox full of Shimano curado reels on all star rods that were made in Texas before being made in China. I used a few of them today. Just as good as 25 years ago.

Great advice. Financially I don't need a single hr of overtime. But I'm working to speed up 100,% debt free and get big ticket projects on the farm done out of pocket and being able to retire at 57. That said I have cut back some 10 k behindd what I made by this time last year and plan on cutting back more. It's not worth it.

My cousin txt me asking the modal # on the rod I picked up because he liked it so much and they have a sale today. He ordered himself one. Even with the sale he paid $100 more than I paid getting the one I got used. And it is mint. So I do feel like I did well.

I’m a firm believer in high dollar rods and cheaper reels. Today’s cheap reels basically have all the features of the HIGH dollar reels. Much easier to just replace a reel every three years or so for me.
With that said my brother still has a Shimano bait caster I bought for him umpteen years ago, and still works.
My reason for cheaper reels is we do some salt water fishing from time to time and salt water will kill anything over time.

I remember Dad bumping me up from a cane pole to a Mitchell 300 when I was about six or so. Now THAT was expensive .

I can still hear that ol' coffee grinder.

Awesome
Enjoy the time you have with the kids while you can, they will soon be grown and raising kids of their own.

No expert here but just offering some advice from experience

1) DO NOT start learning to use a baitcaster with braid. It is a pain to get backlashes out of and I was a professional backlash remover
15# mono would be good, not too big but big enough to pick backlashes out. I kept a small crochet hook to help pick lashes when I started out

2) Learn how to properly set the reel for the weight of the lure. I am sure there are utube videos but basically tighten the brake (not the drag) and then start loosening until the bait slowly falls.

3) pull about 40-50 yards of line off the spool and put a piece of scotch tape across the remaining line, reel line back over tape. The tape acts as a stop and brevents backlash from going all the way to the spool

If possible try to save up the money for good stuff. You will end up buying better gear or the same stuff again and if you have quality stuff it will last. Spend time together and fish it’s good clean fun and you can do it for a lifetime, not like other sports.

Farm, I retired at 55 and my only regret is not going sooner, I hope your plan works out for you. I 100% agree debt free is a great thing and reduces ones stress level an incredible amount. I am glad to hear though that you are cutting back to spend more time with your family because ultimately when it is all boiled down to its simplest form all we have it God and family.

still using baitcast rigs I bought in the early 80's, broke a few rods but the reels are holding up.