Zebco 33 Love?

[Runt1122]

Went back to my old Zebco 33 today that I had passed down to my son to do some fishing.   I got tired of dealing with backlashes and wind knots in my baitcasters and spinning reels.  I grew up on the 33s and it was a nice change of pace…no worries about performance, excellent casting distance/accuracy, and more fishing time instead of untangling knots.  It is like the Glock 19 of the fishing world….not the prettiest, it’s functional, affordable, gets the job done well, and can outperform many of the “gucci” overpriced setups.  Makes me want to get a Platinum version now! Anyone else feel the same?

[WRB]

Zero Hour Bomb Company or Zebco started making reels around 1956.

I am not a fan of spin cast closed face reels. Millions of anglers started fishing using Zebco reel My late son started with a mini Omega trigger Zebco reel.

Zebco bought my 1st reel co Langley followed by Quantum.

The original Zebco 33 is different over each generation.

Tom

[MediumMouthBass]

I might be one of the few people on earth that didnt fish with a Zebco spincast reel.

However i did have a Zebco spinning reel for a few weeks when getting back into fishing.

Simplicity sounds nice, not getting birdsnests or the wind creating a mess sounds even nicer.

3 hours ago, Runt1122 said:

It is like the Glock 19 of the fishing world….not the prettiest, it’s functional, affordable, gets the job done well, and can outperform many of the “gucci” overpriced setups.  Makes me want to get a Platinum version now! Anyone else feel the same?

Odd choice here, usually the most gucci glock setups are built on the 19 platform.

 

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Oh lots of Zebco love in my angling history. My first reel was a Zebco 202 combo. Many fond memories from using that beloved gift. Years later a dear uncle who realized my passion for angling gifted me an upgrade to a Zebco 33. Even more history using that upgraded reel on the original fiberglass rod with the off set and angled cork grip.

 

Both reel and rod still get occasionally used as a tribute to my dear uncles who helped foster my angling passion. That fishing rig continues to be a wonderful fish catching tool. Yes, I've got even better upgrades since then.

 

My current Zebco is the Z02 Omega Pro which is impressive in performance and value. Yes, for my style of angling the investment of this premium reel is worth the enjoyment of use. Yes, this top tier reel brings my angling enjoyment to a very high level. The build quality does not disappoint as it works flawlessly. The line management system controls the line lay so well that I've not experienced line bind at all with this particular reel. The same goes for the next lower tier Zebco Omega Z02 which also uses the same inter-changeable spools.

 

I've got a fleet of historic Zebcos that are all part of my angling history. At the smaller end I've got the Zebco 11, and also the trigger underspin version. Also the more recent 33 Micro Gold and trigger spin version. Moving to the mid-sized 33, 33 platinum which is well built too. My rather old larger Zebco Omega 191 which was a catfish catching tool. So smooth with ample torque to fight both the river current and those large flatheads, and channel cats.

 

Plenty of happy memories when talking about and using my Zebcos. I always have a grin on when pushing that button! The sound of that drag is also something to grin about too.

 

I hope you get to fully enjoy any investment in Zebco products. They have been good to me and good for me. Be well, and Cheers!

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard! Don't believe I had a 33, but I have had

a number of closed face reels over the years. Favs were 

probably the underspin models.  I've still got a number of

them, haven't used in *years*, but they were fun and simple.

 

These Abu Garcias were fun. My sons used them when they

were much younger.

[bulldog1935]

Another vote for Omega Pro, but the larger ZO3.  

Delta, Omega and Bullet models oscillate the spool for wider line lay and improved cast distance (10-lb mono distance comparable to Zillion).  Noteworthy, Omega Pro is 3 oz lighter than Bullet.  

 

[msgf91]

Not necessarily a 33, but I did see on tackle Warehouse that they had hundred dollar zebco spincast reels. At first I was like I would never spend that much on a spincast. But then the nostalgia bait monkey appeared and made me think about it. Maybe I'll get one and put it on a catfish rod. When I was little that's all we used to use for bank fishing. 202's for bluegills, 404 for stinkbait, and 33's for floating minnows. 

[J Francho]

Still works great.  Replaced a bush with a bearing.

 

[Swamp Girl]

A Zebco 33 would be fine for 14" bass in open water with good line, but I couldn't catch anything above 2.5 pounds when I used Zebcos.

[bulldog1935]

My buddy Lou has caught some tournament-grade seatrout and redfish on his Bullet.  

 

[J Francho]

20 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

A Zebco 33 would be fine for 14" bass in open water with good line, but I couldn't catch anything above 2.5 pounds when I used Zebcos.

I caught one of my first trophy bass on the zebco above, a 6-6 on a night crawler right off our dock. My grandfather filleted and cooked it. It was gross, and so began my catch and release bass career at 10 or 11 years old. It's brought in plenty of big smallies, LMBs, pike, even a few big salmonoids without issue. It's really about setting up with the appropriate line, rod, and drag. I could have caught all those fish on an ultralight spinning reel or a beefy round bait caster. 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I caught one of my first trophy bass on the zebco above, a 6-6 on a night crawler right off our dock. My grandfather filleted and cooked it. It was gross, and so began my catch and release bass career at 10 or 11 years old. It's brought in plenty of big smallies, LMBs, pike, even a few big salmonoids without issue. It's really about setting up with the appropriate line, rod, and drag. I could have caught all those fish on an ultralight spinning reel or a beefy round bait caster. 

I believe everything you wrote if you are skilled.

[Tennessee Boy]

My first reel as a kid was a 202.  Caught a 7 lb catfish on that reel.   There was one of the original Zebco models introduced in 1949 in the family at one time.   I don’t know what happened to it.

[volzfan59]

Like Tennessee Boy, I started with a 202 and later graduated to 33’s followed by baitcasters. I think they are awesome reels for the money. My wife rarely goes fishing, when she does she has a new 33 on a BPS Carbonlite m/l casting rod and a 33 underspin on a Carbonlite u/l spinning rod. They suite her perfectly.

[BrianMDTX]

18 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I might be one of the few people on earth that didnt fish with a Zebco spincast reel.

However i did have a Zebco spinning reel for a few weeks when getting back into fishing.

Simplicity sounds nice, not getting birdsnests or the wind creating a mess sounds even nicer.

Odd choice here, usually the most gucci glock setups are built on the 19 platform.

 

Never had one, either. I think my father believed this:

 

[bulldog1935]

I've bought 4 of them in my life - two UL-1 for my daughters when they were 4 (she's 9 here)

and two ZO3 for my dad when he was 94 (and couldn't use b/c anymore)

[J Francho]

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I believe everything you wrote if you are skilled.

I was a kid. Skills came over the years. All I had was someone that set it up right (my dad and grandpa). 

It is literally a reel for the unskilled. 

[GRiver]

I just picked up Zebco Bullet and an Omega Pro, both size 20, an eBay thing. I paired them a med/ med 7ft, and the other telescopic med/hvy 6-6 for my truck rig.….. haven’t fished them yet, just a few throws off the dock. Got them about a week before the hurricanes hit.

They are smooth and easy toe use, I can skip like crazy with both of them, can’t wait to fish them.

[Mobasser]

I still have my Zebco 33 I received for Christmas in 1966.It still works, but I retired it a long time ago. I like using my newer stuff now.

[33oldtimer]

I have 6 33s. 1 Micro that works well for panfish. 5 33s. I is a 1984 classic with a matching rod. And this summer I bought the 75th anniversary model. The other 3 are recent models.  I like them for cold water, windy days, and when I just have a short time to fish and want to keep it simple. They don't do everything, but are an easy to use option.

[TOXIC]

My first real fishing trip when I was 13 (I’m 67 now) was with my grandparents to lake Lac La Ronge in Canada.  My grandfather made it an annual trip and took 2, 35 horse Johnson outboards to mount on the lodge’s wooden v bottom boats.  We only kept walleye over 8lbs and back then the limit was such we filled 4 huge coolers of frozen fillets to bring back.I caught my fair share of walleye, pike and musky on red/white daredevil spoons and white hair jigs.  All on a Zebco 33 and green fiberglass rod.  I wish I still had them. 

[tholmes]

I never used a 33 as a kid, I went from a 202 to an old Shakespeare 1920 level wind caster. 

Now that there's grandkids (and great grandkids) in the picture, I've been picking up the old 33s (USA made with a metal foot) at yard sales, overhauling them, and putting them back in service. Never paid more than $3 for any of them. I currently have a plastic tub with maybe a dozen working 33s in it plus 6 rigged up on rods for the kids.  They're simple. easy to overhaul and seem to be pretty sturdy. Can't ask more than that from a kids reel.

 

Tom