Customer Reviews

Zebco 33 Spincast Combo Fishing Pole

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Hurricane Ike and an 8' tidal surge wiped out all of our fishing gear...but not our pier! So with most of our money going to repairs and such, this was the bargain of the century to get back out on that pier to catch whatever Ike left in Galveston Bay (or put in it...lol). Buying more now for friends to use when they visit. It may not be the best on the market (and who really cares at this point) but it catches sand trout, big croakers, etc. I like it just fine.

This is, by far, one of the best combo deals you can find. I always bring a spare rod and reel when I go camping/canoeing (because when you're 20 miles from nowhere and your reel breaks, you better have a backup). It might not cast as far or have all the bells and whistles, but it will catch fish!

The reel is so tough, you can drop in your backpack when you're hiking in case you get lost and need food. that's how much trust I have in it.

This is a good little fishing combo. I bought this for my mom so we could go fishing... She really likes it. I dont care much for spincast reels but this is a good one if thats what you like. The rod is very nice too, though probably too long for a little kid, considering its a bit over 6ft long. Can't beat the price either!

It's a Zebco 33 on a 6 ft medium line weight (6-14 lb), lure weight (1/8-3/4 oz) medium action composite pole, made in China. It casts nice and smooth and retrieves OK. I have no complaints for the money spent. My only con is that it came spooled with red "cajun" line and I prefer Stren Original, or Berkley Trilene.

I got this rod and reel combo as a first for my 7-year-old son based on the good reviews from Amazon. It seemed fairly easy to use, but as another user noted, was very prone to tangling. I had to open it to untangle the nests. He used it not more than five days when the reeling mechanism stopped working. I brought it to the local Walmart to see if they could fix it (since they also carry this item) but they were unable to do so. I've read that open-faced reels are much easier to work with. I'm sending this to Zebco for warranty service and hoping they can fix or replace it.

I am a novice fisherman but I have been pretty happy with these poles. I go out for small mouth bass pretty often and this fits this bill. I won't rate it on what I actually catch because I think that's mostly my fault. But its a solid construction and good value.

Is it the best fishing rod on the market? No. Is it a perfect combo considering price and usability for newer fisherman or the standard fisherman only able to go fishing occasionally? Yep.

I bought this rod as a backup to a rod that I've used for five years. I've started using this one more than the other, however, because it's, well, easy and convenient. Sure, you won't be looking to haul in massive catches using this rod, but for your standard stream, river, or pond you should be completely fine using this rod.

I have no complaints. It's very usable, functional, and I've had no problems after using it this summer! Reeling is smooth and simple!

Recommended as a beginner, backup, or standard rod for the occasional fisher!

I ordered two of these poles because the prior reviews spoke reverentially about the combo and specifically the reel. First, the packaging is horrible. These should ship in tubes, not boxes. One package was split open, retaped and missing a piece. The other must have suffered some crushing on the box, because after two casts my two piece combo was a worthless three piece combo. I fish quite a bit and do buy good gear, this seemed like a good starter combo for a camping trip, but everything about it was cheap...the reel barely worked either. Go spend your money and time elsewhere.

I purchased this rod and reel for my 8 year old as his first "big boy" fishing pole. The Zebco 33 has always had my respect as a rock solid performer. It was not uncommon for them to last over 20+ years like mine. After a few casts it began to tangle and wind around the outside of the spool. The springs sprung and there was no hope in repairing it at the lake. I cannot blame this on user error, or mistreatment, only cheap engineering. I have compared this new 33 to my old one and they are vastly different as far as quality and workmanship is concerned. It was a single use item for us, and a mistake I will not repeat.

I am by no means a pro, but I have been fishing on and off since I was a child (25+ years). I bought Zebco brand because that's what my dad and I would always use when I was younger and never had any problems with them. In fact, I still use one of their old spinning rods/reels to this day (NEVER any problems with it). I'm not sure if quality has gone downhill with this company or if they just had a bad "batch". I see other reviewers on here experienced similar issues as me though.

I purchased 2 of these poles and logged about 1 weekends worth of fishing on each before they broke. Both had the EXACT same problem where all of a sudden they would just stop reeling in. I would cast it out, get it reeled back in part way, and then it just spins freely but doesn't retrieve the line. After popping off the cap I noticed that BOTH of them were getting the line spun just above the spooling area, where some sort of spring mechanism for the button is located. Once this happened, the reel would spin and spin without retrieving, but you also could not pull any line out either as it was now jammed all inside the button/spring mechanism.

I did manage to finally take all the string off and cut as much of the line out of the spring mechanism area as I could with an exacto knife. I restrung the reel with some Berkley line, but it just never felt the same. It felt as though it was on full drag and didn't cast as well as it previously did.

I think I will try returning this to Zebco to fix rather than Amazon, as if it is actually just a bad batch, I will likely just end up with another bad replacement. I have not completely given up on Zebco just yet, but if Zebco repairs or replaces this reel with another that has the same issues, I'll take my business elsewhere.