Closed Face Spincast Reels - Any Good For Bass Fishing?

[roadwarrior]

I'll be on the lookout for some of these better reels as my grand-daughter is almost old enough to start fishing with paw-paw. 

 

Well, I think the point is that there are much better options for those that plan to get involved in the sport.

Spincast is perfect for kids and people that have never fished or don't fish often. When my buddies guide

they always carry spincast reels as an option for their clients. 

[Quitlimpin]

The best fisherman with whom I have ever fished used nothing but spincasters. I saw that old man pull more bass, crappie, gasper, etc. out of Lake Ivie than everyone else in the boat. There was nothing like the site of a deck full of GLX's with Zebco 33's mounted.

[J Francho]

I have a very old Zebco 33, and have set relatives up with Daiwa Goldcast reels. The Daiwa is essentially the same as a spinning reel inside, complete with a line roller instead of a pickup pin and an oscillating spool, so twist isn't nearly as bad. Drag issues usually can be traced to contamination of the drag pads, and that's true for any type of reel. Some of reasons spincasters get finicky, especially that trick where you reel in, and the pick up doesn't engage is lack of tension in the line. Tug on the line, and reel in, and it will work fine. I generally find that anything larger than 8# diameter line doesn't work well, so keep that in mind. I occasionally use the 33, just to prove that it still works. It kind of fun, and is perfectly capable of catching pretty big fish. I know I caught a fish over 6 with it way back in the day, and my son has whacked many three's and four's, learning to bass fish. Bass fishing is complicated enough, if a spincaster opens the door to it, then so be it. I will say this, beware of cheap reels. My 33 was around $40 in the late 80s. Plan to spend a little less than twice that if you want one that will last you.

[s freud]

Caught my pb on a $15 Walmart Shakespeare sc combo. He was 4lbs. It is what I grew up on. Have also caught 3 foot northerns on them back in the day. That said, I bought a cheap spinning combo at a yard sale this year for $8 and then decided to try my hand with baitcasters. I like them both better than sc. Cast farther, retrieve faster, more reliable. I still have the sc Combos, but use them for the kids, guests, and a fourth combo for just dropshotting, which I have not tried much.

All that to say they work fine, but I am glad I have tried the others.

[bigbill]

We beat up the cheapest zebco's way beyond believe as kids. In saltwater we would cast out the whole spool using a 1oz. sinker. Thank you zebco for many years of fishing fun as kids. You made the summer fun. You kept us out of trouble too.

[Dave P]

I would venture to guess the Zebco 33 has accounted for several thousands of bass. My wife's 5 pounder came on a zebby. Are they my #1 choice? No, but they are far from worthless as long as they are of reasonable quality.

[Hyrule Bass]

spincast reels are just fine for bass fishing. my PB in my avatar came on my old "lucky" spincast reel. its a walmart shakespeare tiger combo, when they were big and metal reels, now theyre smaller and plastic and i wouldnt buy one of them. i use 15lb line on it and have used up to 20lb line. most of my PBs came on this rod and reel. ive even handled a 6.5lb striper on it and many a catfish. its still going strong, the drag is a little weak, but sufficient, just have to play the bigger fish that can take it on runs, which is fun to do anyways.

 

i also have a zebco 33 combo but the original reel broke, a 1lb bass stripped the main gear in it. replaced it and this one is just rough. had a zebco 808, gave it away to someone who said they could fix it because the drag didnt work properly after i broke it trying to pull free from a snag. zebco has been bad luck for me mostly. that original 33 i had on my 33 rod i got as a combo was great at first though, i even hooked a 40-50lb or so flathead with it one night, fish surfaced and rolled before it snapped my line on top of the water. ive caught plenty of bass on it though with a variety of techniques from spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, top water frogs, and soft plastics...

 

so yeah, some are poor in quality, but they are just fine for bass fishing. also many of the problems people encounter with them, are frankly user error. like not enough line or too small or too big of a line. and this may be the wrong way to hold it, but i use a spincaster face down just like a spinning reel and it gives me no problems...

[Capt.Bob]

You can cut a branch off a tree,,,,,,and catch fish, some use a cane pole, I think these are probably the only thing less efficient than a spincaster!! Slow gear ratio's, very finicky with line and most only work well with mono, very little cranking power, even the best have poor drags,,,,,,,,,,,just trying to keep it real!! There are much better options , I'll reserve mine for the youngest of fisherman!! 

[BobP]

Good equipment is good equipment and it catches fish.  If you have a push button spinning reel that has always given you problems, then no, that's not good equipment and it will just frustrate you to use it for bass fishing.  That's not to say that all spincast reels are junk.  I have a friend who uses an old Abu underspin reel for dropshotting and light plastics.  It's one of the old Ambassadeur models that releases line when you bump a ring in front of the spool with your forefinger.  Not lots of cranking power and the drag is not the best either but man, if you want a fast action reel, that thing can't be beat.  He makes 5 casts to anyone else's 3 casts with a regular spinning reel.  And has no trouble catching 5 lb smallies with it.

 

If you like spincast reels, I suggest checking BassPro online and reading the customer reviews for various spincast models.  You'll see quite a few negative reviews and a few models that guys seem to like. 

[Catt]

Do any of these ring a bell?

Stanley Mittchell

Alabama River

1981 Bassmaster Classic

Stanley used closed faced Zebco with bright orange mono to flip brush. He beat out Harold Allen and Rick Clunn.

[Capt.Bob]

Do any of these ring a bell?

Stanley Mittchell

Alabama River

1981 Bassmaster Classic

Stanley used closed faced Zebco with bright orange mono to flip brush. He beat out Harold Allen and Rick Clunn.

Oh how glad I am I lived long enough to see the difference in reels since 1981!! WOW what a change!!!

[Catt]

No Bob it was no his primary reel but to him it was easier to flip with the Zebco

[Capt.Bob]

I am talking about how poor the finest quality was in 81, we really thought we had great new equipmentmy 5500C and Bantam Shimano SG I believe or something like that, I thought I had the smoothest best casting reels in the world,,,,,,,Like I say thank GOD! for what we have today!! we have really seperated the ok from the really good!!

[jason41987]

just my .02, but ive recently had to replace my fishing gear.. my old stuff was really old, and a cheap walmart special combo even when new.. so i spent a little extra, got an abu garcia 5600 C4 reel and a vengeance casting rod to go with it... got a bad backlash, got angry, tried to go back to spinning and i just couldnt get used to the balance of the spinning setup anymore, i found baitcasters to be so much more comfortable and better balanced

 

but.. when i decided i wanted to try to catch some panfish as i was in the mood for some crappie, i tried to cast some small crappie jigs, spool tension all the way off, and i got a whole two feet with it.. this rod is definitely not suitable for light stuff like that, i like to stay around a 3/8-1/2oz lure as im catching tons of bass, pike, and bowfin

 

so that being said i ask myself.. what can i do to cast these lighter lures, go back to spinning of which i no longer feel comfortable using (besides me being tired of the bail bashing my knuckles as i like to hold it high on the grip when fighting a big fish), but then id need new rods too.. then i thought hmm, spincast?

 

my dad has an old spincast reel, and hard to believe but this thing is actually heavy and made out of metal, is quite a few years old and still runs very smooth.. heck, even has steel gears, bait clicker, and reversible crank (though ive actually gotten used to "palming" a reel now for the added control and balance).. i had the opinion spincast reels were for ultra cheap youth setups but i actually found a niche where one could be quite useful, and unfortunately for today no one puts this much attention into a spincast reel, so im going to find an older one, like my dad uses and rebuild it.. you know, newer, better bearing, a thorough disassembly and cleaning, new grease.. make it work like new so i can cast that lighter stuff and not have to buy all new rods

 

as for is it good for bass fishing?.. he gets about five of them a day on a texas rigged worm.. and when we were fishing on the river we were pulling out close to to 30" carps which will put up a bigger fight than any bass ever could, so yeah, if you get the right reel itll definitely handle bass.. in fact, his gears dont even look the least bit worn after years of use on fish that size... recently ive caught a number of close to 30 inch pike and bowfins and a couple teeth in my gears are already starting to look rough.. and this is a round baitcaster designed for much bigger fish

[einscodek]

Like I said..

Those that say spincast isnt for bass or pike+ .. tell it to a spincast reel.. it doesnt care it does what it does

 

When I took a 16" largemouth today I didnt even pause to think "oh my God I actually caught a bass on spincast" .. lol..

 

With my Daiwa GC reel,  I'll take on most anything in freshwater and even some salties.. a reel is only part of the equation for fishing.. and the GC120 can handle alot for me..

[The Rooster]

My opinion is they never made one that wasn't complete junk, even when it worked the way it was intended. A product manufactured to the highest standards that is based on a flawed, inefficient design, is junk. No serious fisherman could use one of these to do as much as we do with casting and spinning reels. They work for kids because kids aren't serious (yet). When they want to burn a bait, or play hard running fish on strong drags, or fish for hours on end and not have hand fatigue, or flip into heavy cover, or any one of a dozen other techniques we use, then they'll be serious and these reels will fail on every point. It will be time for an upgrade.

[craww]

No Bob it was no his primary reel but to him it was easier to flip with the Zebco

I have a friend who used to fish the older pro-ams. He told me an amusing story about a few of the guys being shocked Woo daves was beating them (and winning tournaments) with zebcos.

[jason41987]

as i said before, i think i found a niche for a spincast reel, an area where it will do so, so much better than my baitcaster... my baitcaster as it seems cant go below a 1/4oz lure, a spincast can.. should i buy an entirely new rod, get used to a different type of reel and casting, or use a spincast for the lighter stuff?.. i dont know what else is going to be more reliable when throwing 1/16 and 1/8 oz lures?

[einscodek]

Just got back from fishing this mornin when I shoulda been workin'

22" bass measured and weighed at 4.5 lbs (picture attached)

 

Caught off a spincast setup.. Daiwa Goldcast.

Caught a 21" the previous month weighing 4 lbs off the same setup.

These guys must not be feeding well, I'd expect these guys over 20" be around 5 lbs+

 

Sorry for the picture quality it was just me by myself and the lil piggy was shakin' and bakin'.

Oh the two anglers in the picture up the shoreline were using a spinning and baitcasting setup but didnt catch a fish this morning.

Spincast aint for bass is it?  

Can you tell I love my GC?

 

Oh btw.. catch and release..

[einscodek]

as i said before, i think i found a niche for a spincast reel, an area where it will do so, so much better than my baitcaster... my baitcaster as it seems cant go below a 1/4oz lure, a spincast can.. should i buy an entirely new rod, get used to a different type of reel and casting, or use a spincast for the lighter stuff?.. i dont know what else is going to be more reliable when throwing 1/16 and 1/8 oz lures?

I'd go ultralight on a spinning setup or an ultralight spincast.. problem with ultralight spincast is that I dont like the quality of the spincast reels in that segment.  I'm only going to use Daiwa Goldcast if I use a spincaster.. unless they make a better spincaster than the GC.

[Lures'n'Liberty]

Sorry for re opening an old thread, but I've been looking at some of these threads and I think I might be one of the few people left who primarily uses a variety of spincast combos. I use nearly all Daiwa, and have a mix of GC's, SC's, and a couple of vintage 210's. I love them all but notice people complaining about the reel locking up mid cast. This happens the first trip or 2 new out of the box, and it's an easy fix/operator error/know your gear sort of issue that turns a lot of people off to the Daiwa. When it does this, crank the drag down low until the knob stops, then it should cast normally. Go ahead and re set your drag where you want it while the line is out there and you'll be good to go. In my experience, baitcast backlash adds too much stress and cuts too many casts from what precious little time that I have to fish, therefore I use spincasts for the short game when I'm bass fishing and all of my bait casters have been sold on ebay. I use a spinning reel on my long top water rod and on my broom handle. 

[frosty]

3 hours ago, Lures'n'Liberty said:

Sorry for re opening an old thread, but I've been looking at some of these threads and I think I might be one of the few people left who primarily uses a variety of spincast combos. I use nearly all Daiwa, and have a mix of GC's, SC's, and a couple of vintage 210's. I love them all but notice people complaining about the reel locking up mid cast. This happens the first trip or 2 new out of the box, and it's an easy fix/operator error/know your gear sort of issue that turns a lot of people off to the Daiwa. When it does this, crank the drag down low until the knob stops, then it should cast normally. Go ahead and re set your drag where you want it while the line is out there and you'll be good to go. In my experience, baitcast backlash adds too much stress and cuts too many casts from what precious little time that I have to fish, therefore I use spincasts for the short game when I'm bass fishing and all of my bait casters have been sold on ebay. I use a spinning reel on my long top water rod and on my broom handle. 

Welcome to the forums! I caught my pb on a pflueger spincast. I've since retired it, although my daughter and wife use it occasionally, I bought a nicer spinning reel and baitcaster that I enjoy using. I used several cheaper ones that wouldn't last a whole summer, those had a lot of issues. 

[greentrout]

Use one about 10 - 15 percent of my LMB fishing. Here's one I use on occasion >>

 

 

 

 

 

[Catt]

33® Platinum Spincast Reel

Sturdy all-metal body

5 bearings

Continuous Anti-Reverse™

4.1:1 gear ratio 

[Lures'n'Liberty]

15 hours ago, frosty said:

Welcome to the forums! I caught my pb on a pflueger spincast. I've since retired it, although my daughter and wife use it occasionally, I bought a nicer spinning reel and baitcaster that I enjoy using. I used several cheaper ones that wouldn't last a whole summer, those had a lot of issues. 

Thanks for the welcome! The big issue that I'm running into with retiring equipment is that I don't fish one rod. I am by no means a pro, but the guys that I tend to fish with are, and when we go off to hit a lake, nobody has much time to switch lures. I'll go in with 6 baits on 6 rods. If I can't keep up, I can't keep going. Collecting quality spincast reels and rods from ebay and pawn shops has proved to be quite the affordable method for an average joe to hang with the big dogs when they're exploring before a tournament. Some of these used silvercast reels can be had on ebay for less than ten bucks and there's at least 10 at every flea market.  It takes some digging, bargain shopping, and a few repairs but you can have an extremely multi functional rod locker for under $200 if you wind up in my situation. On top of that, if I want to take my girlfriend and/or her sons to the river, they can use my spincast bass rods with ease. Here in PA, we can have 3 lines in the water at a time, so 4 fishermen can easily use a dozen rods in the water with a couple extras when the kids (or the grownups) get snags and bird nests, so having a bunch of spincast combos lying around is almost a no brainer.