My grand daughter, who was the recipient of the fishing rod was delighted when she received it this past Christmas. However, because of the nasty weather, we have not been able to use it so far. She had been wanting it for the last couple of years. It should be a fun way of getting into fishing. She as an aversion to casting because "she might mess-it-up". The Rocket Rod should solve the problem.

I bought two of these for my kids in an attempt to do some basic pier fishing. If you're like me, you fish because it's relaxing. Taking the kids brings that down a notch. Taking the kids and making them use these things? You'd be better served stuck in traffic or waiting on line at the DMV.

Kids have a tendency to be rough on reels, but I can't blame them for this one. In both cases, the toy (and that's exactly what it is) was broken inside of five minutes, with no way to repair. It's reliant on a hokey spring and gear mechanism that never stood a chance of holding up to regular use, whether by a child or an adult. And all the tinkering in the world will never get that thing to work right again, which will disappoint your kids and leave them without gear to fish with (further disappointing them and making your trip a complete waste).

Your best bet? Those cheap mini-fishing rods that are available in any department store, with the little plastic plug for casting practice. They're bullet proof, don't require a whole lot more training to use than this contraption, and they will withstand abuse, whereas this thing would just stop working even if the kids didn't knock it around.

If I can save one person that aggravation, writing this review will have been worth it!

What a pain to work with. Bought it for my seven year old daughter, and she used it once before it broke.

It's in the title. On my first try using it, the reel mechanism broke and I can't get it back in. It's a hoax. DO NOT buy this fishing rod. I would rather spend time trying to fix an engine then fixing this.

I know kids are hard on things but don't you take that into account when you design something for them. I bought three rods (over $[...] total) and each one them broke down within one hour of using them.