Closed Face Button push reels

[raleigh]

How many of you still use the old closed face push button reels. I noticed they still sell them at sporting good stores, so someone must still bye an use them?

[broken rod]

i have 3 zebco 33s  for my wife and 3 for the kid i found it cut why down on the amount of time i had to spend on detangling there lines and for bobber fishing you can zing pretty far

[big walleye]

i bought one last year for my daughter so that I did not spend all my time untangling her line. They work very well it sure brought back memories.

[Cider]

I just bought a Zebco Rhino spincast reel on Friday and used it yesterday to float emeralds for landlock salmon.

And no, we didn't get any.  I was at Lake Sunapee and it is pretty much a dead lake.  The baitfish are all gone, so the lake can't really sustain gamefish anymore.  I was just hoping that maybe a few stockies were cruising around.  Besides, it has been raining steady here in NH since last Monday.  The rivers are all swollen and muddy and the lakes are barely starting to open up around the edges now.

I recently saw a Babe Winkleman episode where he was fishing with his grandson for gills and they were using spincast outfits.  Brought back memories so I bought one.

My first rod as a kid was an old fiberglass casting rod with a Johnson Century spincast reel on it.  I think it is still at my parents house somewhere.

[Mackdaddy21]

Small spincasting reels have an important place still. That is in small streams where you need to hit exact pockets. They are really accurate and that makes them great for deftly flipping small spinners and bait into certain areas of small streams. Rig the smaller ones with four or six pound original stren. The large ones are good for catfishing in the rivers as well.

Tyler

[livin4ice]

Just bought two for my daughters who are graduating to full size equipment this year.  I still use Zebco 33's when we carp fish.  In my humble opinion these were (and still are) the best closed face reel ever made. 

[JackMagnum]

I have a number of spin cast reels but I wouldn't consider any of them for serious fish like salmon.I haven't found one yet that has a decent drag.My wife used them exclusively until she lost a huge salmon at L.G. I convinced my wife to learn how to use a spinning reel and she does just fine now.I think they are great for other fish speices and grand kids.

[Polar]

There a good starter reel for kids.

[loveice]

just my kids

[treed942000]

Did I hear Zebco, I thought they were in everyone's arsenol.  I still have a 33 that I use for crappie and light weight lures.  It seems to me they're easier to use on a crowded dock where accuracy is 100% key.

[buzzbomb]

I keep a few out at the lake in case somebody shows up with kids.  They are free, or nearly free at garage sales and I think I've even found a couple in the trash.  I can still remember the day dad came back from the city with 2 fibreglass rods, a Johnson Century for himself, and a slightly cheaper model for me.  It was about 1961 or '62.  We used baitcasters (never could cast with them) and steel rods before that.  We didn't even own a net.....if we got a big fish, we could just hoist it over the side of the boat with those rods.   When we moved to the city, and someone asked me if I had to play a fish for long, I'd just nod my head and act like I knew what they were talking about.   

[bow-n-arrow-man]

I keep a few out at the lake in case somebody shows up with kids.  They are free, or nearly free at garage sales and I think I've even found a couple in the trash.  I can still remember the day dad came back from the city with 2 fibreglass rods, a Johnson Century for himself, and a slightly cheaper model for me.  It was about 1961 or '62.  We used baitcasters (never could cast with them) and steel rods before that.  We didn't even own a net.....if we got a big fish, we could just hoist it over the side of the boat with those rods.   When we moved to the city, and someone asked me if I had to play a fish for long, I'd just nod my head and act like I knew what they were talking about.   

thats a cool pic buzzbomb where did u find that pic? thats a deer jumping over a fence right?

[suskymusky]

I started fishing with Johnson reels when I was 3 or 4 years old.My favorite was the old Johnson Century with the dial drag system.I still fish with them once in a while.I switched to open face because they hold more line.When I'm trolling and get snagged or if I get a bomber carp with 50 yard runs , I like having the extra  line.You can't beat a closed face for casting accuracy though.I like it for channel cats,too.I don't have to worry about the mud getting under my spool.

[Cider]

I have a number of spin cast reels but I wouldn't consider any of them for serious fish like salmon.I haven't found one yet that has a decent drag.

Actually, the newer ones are made with disc drags that are just as good a drag as any.  There are even big gamefish models of spincast reels that are designed for the larger predatory fish that will smoke a reel.  It is just a simple matter of matching the equipment to the intended species.

[sbfpa_Mike]

Here is the dillema that I face with these reels;  If you are fishing at a depth greater than 6',  there is too much line left after the clip on bobber hits the first eyelet.  The other problem is that slip bobber knots get tangled in the housing!!