Northwest Fishing Reports

You may have read my spinning gear thread, and this is just a continuation of that. Does anyone use spincast gear? As it looks like it would be the best of both worlds. The best thing is that you don't have to thumb the line like baitcasters. You can upgrade your rods to casting rods, but have the luxury of a simple to use reel!

I have been eyeing some JDM spincasts.

I use spincast....

I knew I should have kept that old Zebco 33. That thing was the Volvo of fishing reels when I was a kid hehe

I have my 6 yr old setup with a spincast reel, 1/0 ewg hook w/ plastic grub. He has not used it yet for bass (supposed to be tonight but he got sick) I will let you know how it goes.

My first reel was a 33, and I don't believe I've ever been without one. I ususlly have it in the boat, but use it rarely. What I do normally is rig it with some sort of minnow imitation, and keep it handy to cast to the occasional rising fish. 9 out of 10 nothing happens, but when a fish jumps and you can lay down your baitcaster and toss whatever's tied on the 33 to the rings still in the water and instantly have a fish on, it's pretty gratifying.

Few spincast are durable or reliable over the long run, so most people quickly get rid of them as their skills and experience increase.

Still, I learned on one, as did my kids, and perhaps my grandkids will as well.

I used to run into a guy in Calif at Lake Casitas when I lived there, 20 years ago. He always had a couple of spincast rods set up with small plastics, and the guy caught some impressive fish from the bank. 6 to 10 lb fish. No b.s. I say whatever works and whatever you are comfortable with.

Anglinarcher wrote:Few spincast are durable or reliable over the long run, so most people quickly get rid of them as their skills and experience increase.

Still, I learned on one, as did my kids, and perhaps my grandkids will as well.

i completely agree. an excellent beginner setup but thats about as far as it goes. as far as getting the best of both worlds, the only good thing you get is the ability to use a casting rod instead of a spinning rod, and i'm not sure how much of a big deal that is unless you want to put a dinky spincaster on a 7' heavy action rod or something, otherwise you can get just about any size/power/action rod in a spinning model or a casting model. the line on a spincaster still comes off the reel exactly like a spinning reel so you don't get the extra drag power or casting distance you gain with a baitcaster. if you're serious about fishing you're way better off buying a decent spinning setup in my opinion, or even better an entry level baitcaster. once you use a baitcaster for a bit you will view the ability to thumb the line as more of a plus than a negative.

I'm with Loucipher and JWerner, nothing beats a quality spincast reel for flipping heavy cover and throwing big swimbaits.

tagwatson360 wrote:I'm with Loucipher and JWerner, nothing beats a quality spincast reel for flipping heavy cover and throwing big swimbaits.

ooooo yeah , somebody has been standing in the starbucks waaay too long !! can these reels even hold more than 50yds ..lol

Down in Nashville TN on persy preist , man those mickey mouse spincast with 6lb test ..We would use them to "shoot" those crappie jigs waaaaayyyy under the boat slips "killer technic" for summertime crappie bites ... grab the jig , bend down the rod tip , point , aim and shoot !! The trick was knowing when to let you thump off the button !!

Now see !! so you , loucipher , jwerner , 1.5 2.5 LB CRAPPIE get some of that jack !!! ooo no so funny anymore now is it !!!! LMAO :batman:

GOSH I LOVE TO FISH !!!

I have so many Zebco 33's its not even funny. The fish pics I've posted over the years are all on the Zebco. I use all G-Loomis GLX rods so I can't afford good reels. Go figure.

tagwatson360 wrote:I'm with Loucipher and JWerner, nothing beats a quality spincast reel for flipping heavy cover and throwing big swimbaits.

Isn't "quality spincast reel" one of those word deals, like "jumbo shrimp"? And the word "Zebco" is like the word "titmouse", because I can't even say it without laughing.

My guess is that when Tag's flipping the thick stuff, he spools up with 15 feet of 80 lb braid and that tops the spool off nicely.

oxymorons are funny.

off topic: I used to have a high school teacher named Mrs. Mann. We had a chapter in a book that explained oxymorons and i couldnt stop laughing for the life of me at her name. coincidentally, she was quite burly looking and big.

ChrisB wrote:I have so many Zebco 33's its not even funny. The fish pics I've posted over the years are all on the Zebco. I use all G-Loomis GLX rods so I can't afford good reels. Go figure.

Kick rocks Chris , If suzy had a spincast in her hands all day i bet she would really have you considering getting a few !!

...whatever puts fish in the boat...

The 33 is still one of the best reels I've used for catfish and bowfin. I've caught many, many bowfin and gar using a 33 with a chunk of Treet on the hook.

Ckim and Nik, those posts made me laugh. I needed a good chuckle after the nightmare of a work day I had. Thanks!

tagwatson360 wrote:Ckim and Nik, those posts made me laugh. I needed a good chuckle after the nightmare of a work day I had. Thanks!

smiles are always free at your local mcdees!