I was goofing off yesterday and I went by Walmart and bought a “new, all metal gear” Zebco 33 and put it on a Duckett Terex 6-8 Medium Heavy that really feels more like a medium to me. Put it together for the wife a bass rod. She don’t care for spinning rods. Anyway, I put my little Rat L Trap with no hooks on it that I use for messing with rods around the house. That sucker cast a country mile. Still had that grindy feel bringing it back. I’m going to put a squarebill or Senko on it so she can pick it up and throw it at cruising bass when we bluegill fish.
It did strike me it would be easy to skip under boathouses, flip docks with this reel. So if you see AC out fishing with a 33 just smile and wave and please don’t tell nobody.

The gear ratio on a "pencil sharpener" is not great enough to properly work spinnerbaits, or crankbaits. Probably be hard to keep a buzzbait on top too.

For old folks maybe

No moran, its called science. You stick to poles and minners. Dumbazz, gear ratios have nothing to do with age.

Perch is right.....them 33's are best suited for topwater plug type baits....tiny torpedoes....spooks....rapalas....even soft jerkbaits.

I was just messing with him

New ones ain't worth shucks. My buddy has a few old ones that he's caught some reds and other species of fish. Of course he breaks his down and cleans and respools after every trip

I need to invent a really good closed face spinning reel and make a million bucks. I wish closed face spinning reels were made as well as bail type spinning reels. I do think they would have a place,especially creeks or any tight place.

I've caught a bunch of big fish up to around 20 lbs on an old 33,and millions of bream.

they already make some high end reel like that. zebco omega i think

Ratio is like 3.6:1 or some ridiculous number.
The Missus likes em though.

My grandfather told me that he owned the first Zebco 33 in Baldwin County in the 50's. He said when it arrived, all his bass buddies laughed at him until they saw how it cast. He said they all ordered one. The ones I used in the 60's didn't have a pushed button. You put your thumb on some sort of internal rotating ball and removed your thumb once you cast.

That one your grandfather had woulda been way back when Zebco was still the Zero Hour Bomb Co... very cool!

Spot on Perch!
Had one when the first Buzzbaits came out...I would be on the dam of the ponds we fished and make a cast to the ward the corner and then walk fast enough (TROLLING SPEED!) to keep it up on top! Go to other corner repeat sequence....Then when I got tired tie on the frog colored Jitterbug and do the same! Good times and lots of fish caught too!

Billy Ledbetter told me years ago he used a 33 for this. Said it was easy to do once you got the hang of it and you didn't have to worry about backlashes.

I ran into Billy at a basketball game not too long ago. He fishes an “old timers”’tourney one night a week. Said he’d invite me sometime.

AC, that reel will skip a trick worm under those docks too.
Peach you are giving your age away. I can only remember seeing a couple of those reels with the white ball that controlled the cast.

I watched an old black man finally land a 12lb. hybrid stripe under Logan Martin dam on a 33.Stripped all the gears out and finally handling it in the last 20 feet.

I'm almost old as dirt. But I have caught many 5#+ bass and cats on a 33. Could work any lure I tied on it. Wish I had one now and not these cheap pos.

My father is 66 and refuses to use anything other than a Zebco. He’s caught just about everything on it. From bass and bluegill to big reds and flounder. I still use one from time to time. I wouldn’t fish a tournament with one but sometimes they’re fun to use.

All I used as a kid and didn't have a problem throwing anything caught the crap out of them. Sometimes fishing gets more technical than it used to be. Never thought about all that stuff til a few years ago.

I think someone above mentioned the Zebco Omega. I don't have one, but have fished with a guy that uses them for crappie. He's one of the best single pole crappie fishermen I've ever been in the boat with. He has caught 1000's upon 1000's of crappie on those Omegas. He uses them for shooting docks too. He doesn't bend the pole and slingshot it, he just casts low like you would while bass fishing. He can get the jigs further under the dock with his method than I can slingshotting them.