[Coach D]

My best friend, best man at my wedding, assistant coach (he's been around with me a while ya might guess) has also recently gotten back into fishing. Funny how things liek this work ain't it? I start fishing and then he gets the hankering for it. Any way he only uses Spin Casters and won't even try any other type. What's the best one? He's looking to buy a new one and I'm not sure what to tell him. I've been told that Zebco is the best in this line of reels and that rhino is supreme in their line. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Topsail Angler]

Quantum for me.

 

[ogrefish]

Coach,What kind of fish are you targeting? for panfish I like the johnson pushbutton.Maybe a zebco 33 will be a good all around.

 

[Coach D]

What we are looking for

We have been fishing some little ponds with little/medium sized bass and we are going to start going to Ft. Bragg and fishing the small catfish lakes as well as the general fishing lakes. Nothing that should be to big. Mainly we fish for whatever we can get on a hook. We use baits that all kinds of fish will hit. Small minnows, worms, jigs from small to medium in size.

 

[Coach D]

Topsail..question

Topsail...the only quantums i've found online are baitcasters...where do you find a spin caster in this series?

 

[backlash]

Coach- I don't think that you can beat the Zebco 33 for a spin Cast reel

 

[Topsail Angler]

Topsail...the only quantums i've found online are baitcasters...where do you find a spin caster in this series?

Sorry - mis-read your orginal message the first time, missed the "caster" part - just focused on the "spin". I haven't used a spincast reel since ....well let's just say in a long time, so can't be of any help there. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Crummy]

I would have to say the Zebco or Quantum. I only use one when fishing with my daughter. I started her fishing at 2. She is 6 now and soon will join me in the open face ranks. I have 3 spincasters for her to learn.

 

[ParrotHead]

My only suggestion when looking for one is open the reel up. If it has only 1 post (the thing that winds the line around the spool), go to the next reel. If there is only one, the reel will not pull in slack line. I have learned this with my 7 year old. If he's "bobber" fishing, the line will undoubtedly be slack unless there is a fish on. On one of his poles he has to hold but in his belly, crank with on hand and hold the pole and the line tight with the other. That's asking for a lot of coordination from a 7 year old. You need 2 posts!

 

[Coach D]

Thanks

That makes sense. Two rods in the reel. I just took the one apart that he uses of mine and it has two rods and he thoroughly enjoys using it. So, I'll steer him to that brand and probably go with him to make sure he gets the right one.

 

[reiddog]

shimano stradic......nuff said

 

[Topsail Angler]

Hey Reid, I think you made the same oversight I did - he mentioned a Spin Caster reel (aka: a spincast reel) versus a Spinning reel. It's the one many of us started out fishing with when we were young, the one with the spool covered and a small hole at the top for the line.

But when it comes to spinning reels - most of mine are Shimano (several Stradics & Spheros) but lately I've come to appreciate the Quantum Boca. I love that magnetic bail....nice and smooth, doesn't jam with the salt spray. Wish they made one smaller than the 30 which weighs almost as much as the Stradic 5000.

 

[sinker man]

Coach, I hate to tell you this as it sounds like I am a hard case but the new zebcos are junk compared to the old models. Go to the local fleamarket and get a 33 with a metal foot. Take it to the local reel doctor and have him clean it an spool on some fresh 8 or 10 lb test mono and give it to your friend. He will really appreciate the quality they were once made with. The newer Chinese made models will give up the ghost way too soon and give problems along the way. Most folks that use these reels don't want to be bothered with taking care of a reel and as soon as the line gets low the reel will not cast well and start to give them problems. They know they can just get them another for a few bucks more than what a spool of line costs and they throw away a perfectly good reel or sell it at a yard sale or flea market for a few bucks. I have a couple of friends that over the years have sold the same reels over and over due to this quirk of human nature. They have become so adept at working on these reels that they can literally disassemble, clean and reassemble a reel in not much more time than it took me to type this sentence. I have watched them many times buy one take it back to their table at the flea market and fix it in less than a minute then resell it for several bucks profit. They price their 33's according to whether they were the better models or the cheaper models but they won't even sell a chinese made model because they know that they don't hold up. IF your buddy needs a larger one the model ONE is good for 12lb test and the 808 for 15lb-20 lb test. I hope this helps. Just remember that new does not always mean better. AL