BLISSWILL Telescopic Fishing Rod and Reel Combo with Fishing Line - Portable Pocket Fishing Gear for Freshwater & Saltwater Angling | Perfect for Travel, Camping & Shore Fishing

Have no Problem Casting.Years ago I bought my daughter one of those Ronco "Pocket Fisherman" sets and she's had reasonable success with it. We were going on a camping trip which offered the opportunity to do some fishing but we didn't have a lot of space to pack our full gear, so I decided to buy my own "Pocket Fisherman". That's when I discovered they're no longer made. :-) So I looked around and found this one and decided to give it a try.I was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy the rod and reel was when fully extended. I was able to cast, retrieve, play with the bait, and land fish without having to do anything special. I literally treated it like a regular rod and reel combo and it worked just the same. The only thing that threw me for a moment was the shorter-than-normal handle, but then I realized that the end could extend out a few more inches and that helped tremendously.There is one engineering issue that spoiled the experience a bit: the "trigger" on the reel is ever-so-slightly too long/tall. When the rod is collapsed it touches the trigger JUST enough to release the bail (loosen the line). Several times I found myself putting it away only to discover the bail had been released, then having to reset the line, re-collapse the pole, and then repeat again because the bail kept getting released. It's literally a matter of millimeters. I was able to remedy this when I got home by simply using a grinding stone to shave off a few millimeters of material from the end of the trigger. It doesn't affect the performance of the setup in any way, and now the line stays tight when collapsed.The finish on the rod and reel looks cheap (there's some thin paint spots) but this doesn't bother me for a rod and reel set at this price point.I would have paid a bit extra for a hard plastic storage case to keep this safe when not in use.Folds easily works well my autistic son loves using itLove itBought this because the pocket fisherman is now $60. First thing I did was tie a hook on and give the pole a few jerks. It didn't snap. It's heavier than my 7' eagle claw. Drag works great. Quiet and smooth. What I don't like is the hinge is on the bottom. If the hinge fails, the pole folds. The storage in the handle is next to useless unless you make the hole bigger. The hole is big enough for as many splitshot and small hooks as you could want but thats all that fits through the hole. The storage is locked closed with the lanyard. The lanyard is too small to be of any use and is ellastic. And the finger grooves were made for Andre the Giant. More comfortable to ignore them(glove size XL). *UPDATE* a year later it still catches fish. Took it to Florida and spent 9 days catching Sheepshead and Snapper as well as a few fat Bluegill.I'm not sure why some of the reviewers had such difficulty. This fishing rod and reel works great. For those concerned about the drag, it is a star drag and you turn clockwise to tighten and anti clockwise to loose. Fits easily in a back pack. Caught two really nice (10 inch) yellow perch. It also handled the pull of a large snapping turtle. In my book it 8s definitely worth the money.Received item and the trigger was jammed. Had to fix it. Found that the tab that pushes the bail to allow you th cast had slipped out of place. I re set its position and it works fine now.The weight is substantial on this unit. I loved the idea of how this folded and the compactness. But there are a couple of quirks:-It’s completely stiff. Trading the flex on the rod for portability here-It’s HEAVY. For the size of the unit, its unexpectedly heavy, if it was fruit, it would be ripe-A band of elastic to keep the rod folded together. I’m going to lose this thing. I could use another thing to tie it off, not the point. If I’m looking for portability, the last thing I want is a loose piece to have to find to meet the original need (Make it easy for me to go fishing on a whim). So.. no bag....I like this fishing rod combo because it packs very small and it casts quite well. Excellent for back packing. canoeing or car camping. Wish I would of had one of these 30 years ago.