Zebco 202 Slingshot Fishing Combo, $10 at Walmart

[bitsandbass]

Someone mentioned I should get the Zebco 33 but its looks a bit beefy for a 3 & 5 year old.  The rods are like 5.5'.

 

I was taking a look at the 202.  Are these any good or just junk that will break after 2-3 trips?

 

Any idea what # line this comes standard with?  Thanks guys.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zebco-202-Slingshot-Fishing-Combo/8144063

 

[bitsandbass]

Man so many options.... Also just found the Zebco 202 Dock Demon spincast. Looks like 6lb vs 10lb line and a 2.5 ft rod vs a 5.5 ft rod. 

 

This may be better for a toddler but I don't want the reel to break after one trip. Are these reels any good?

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

My 3 year old uses the Dock Demon, they're about unbreakable, but I started him straight on spinning gear instead of spincast and I took the reel off and put a Pfluegar President on it instead. The reel that was on it wasn't terrible, so I'd assume the spincast version would be decent as well. 

[bitsandbass]

 

My 3 year old uses the Dock Demon, they're about unbreakable, but I started him straight on spinning gear instead of spincast and I took the reel off and put a Pfluegar President on it instead. The reel that was on it wasn't terrible, so I'd assume the spincast version would be decent as well. 

 

 

Mmmm so the dock demon stock reel is garbage?  Darn. I was hoping this would work. 

 

And what about the 202 vs 33?

[Bluebasser86]

 

 

 

Mmmm so the dock demon stock reel is garbage?  Darn. I was hoping this would work. 

 

And what about the 202 vs 33?

It's not garbage, it worked just fine while my son used it. Thing is, I had an ultralight sized Pfluegar President without a home, so I put it on his rod.

 

A 33 is going to be a much better reel than the 202 is if they're still built like they used to be. The 202 is all plastic inside. 

[bitsandbass]

 

It's not garbage, it worked just fine while my son used it. Thing is, I had an ultralight sized Pfluegar President without a home, so I put it on his rod.

 

A 33 is going to be a much better reel than the 202 is if they're still built like they used to be. The 202 is all plastic inside. 

 

Got it.  So the 202 is essentially a 33 with plastic gears, makes sense.

 

So I guess I need to decide between the Dock Demon or the 33!  I also have like 8 spinning rods at home......  I wonder if my 5 year old could figure out how to use a regular spinning reel.  I wonder if I should try that first before buying another 2 spincast reels. 

[snake95]

 

 

Got it.  So the 202 is essentially a 33 with plastic gears, makes sense.

 

So I guess I need to decide between the Dock Demon or the 33!  I also have like 8 spinning rods at home......  I wonder if my 5 year old could figure out how to use a regular spinning reel.  I wonder if I should try that first before buying another 2 spincast reels. 

I've been down this road recently (mine are now 5 and 8), and getting them into fishing has been the key to getting me into bass fishing, which has been the key to me remaining sane with kids.

 

I've bought every low-priced setup they have for kids.  I'm a really frugal guy, but most are hit-and-miss at best, junk that will turn the kids off at worst.

 

The "toy"rods are enticing to kids like the 3 yo and they can sort of cast them, but when all goes wrong with one of those reels, it gets frustrating for all involved.

 

I wanted to like the 202 but the two I had were junk, including one that was a replacement from Zebco.  

 

The dock deamons are plastic but seem robust, especially the spinning version.  I would be inclined to consider that one over the others.

 

The 33's have held up pretty well but are heavy for all under 5.  They make a mini 33 that I have that should be the best of the lot, but my son has graduated to spinning pretty quickly.

 

I found that by age 6 my boy was comfortable with my old ultralight, and by age 7 he was doing great and fishing spinning only.  

 

Nothing intrinsically against spin-casting, but with a little patience it is not hard to teach 5's and over how to using spinning gear, and they tend to be better quality for the inexpensive versions, plus can reel much faster and help in keeping bass on the line.

 

 

 

 

[Hog Basser]

I've got 4 dock demons I keep for the kids who come out to the lake with us and 3 of them are still in good working order (spinners).  The only problem with the other one is I didn't keep the handle tight (it folds in for storage) and it came loose and fell in the water.  I tied the line on the end and attached a pool noodle piece to that one so my 2 yr old can use it and think he's fishing.  He likes to throw it into the water so the noodle is there to be able to retrieve it. 

 

As for the 3 working ones, we catch bluegill all day long or until they get tired of it.  Had them about 3 years now. 

Almost all cheap spincasts I've bought over the years have had the gears foul up in the first season or something get so tangled inside it is almost impossible to fix.  Spinners are the way to go in my opinion. 

[bitsandbass]

 

I've been down this road recently (mine are now 5 and 8), and getting them into fishing has been the key to getting me into bass fishing, which has been the key to me remaining sane with kids.

 

I've bought every low-priced setup they have for kids.  I'm a really frugal guy, but most are hit-and-miss at best, junk that will turn the kids off at worst.

 

The "toy"rods are enticing to kids like the 3 yo and they can sort of cast them, but when all goes wrong with one of those reels, it gets frustrating for all involved.

 

I wanted to like the 202 but the two I had were junk, including one that was a replacement from Zebco.  

 

The dock deamons are plastic but seem robust, especially the spinning version.  I would be inclined to consider that one over the others.

 

The 33's have held up pretty well but are heavy for all under 5.  They make a mini 33 that I have that should be the best of the lot, but my son has graduated to spinning pretty quickly.

 

I found that by age 6 my boy was comfortable with my old ultralight, and by age 7 he was doing great and fishing spinning only.  

 

Nothing intrinsically against spin-casting, but with a little patience it is not hard to teach 5's and over how to using spinning gear, and they tend to be better quality for the inexpensive versions, plus can reel much faster and help in keeping bass on the line.

 

 

 

 

 

I really like this.  Thanks for the detailed info.  I think I'm going to give it a shot with straight spinning and will report back.  Appreciate your feedback (I feel Im in exactly the same boat). 

[bitsandbass]

19 hours ago, snake95 said:

I've been down this road recently (mine are now 5 and 8), and getting them into fishing has been the key to getting me into bass fishing, which has been the key to me remaining sane with kids.

 

I've bought every low-priced setup they have for kids.  I'm a really frugal guy, but most are hit-and-miss at best, junk that will turn the kids off at worst.

 

The "toy"rods are enticing to kids like the 3 yo and they can sort of cast them, but when all goes wrong with one of those reels, it gets frustrating for all involved.

 

I wanted to like the 202 but the two I had were junk, including one that was a replacement from Zebco.  

 

The dock deamons are plastic but seem robust, especially the spinning version.  I would be inclined to consider that one over the others.

 

The 33's have held up pretty well but are heavy for all under 5.  They make a mini 33 that I have that should be the best of the lot, but my son has graduated to spinning pretty quickly.

 

I found that by age 6 my boy was comfortable with my old ultralight, and by age 7 he was doing great and fishing spinning only.  

 

Nothing intrinsically against spin-casting, but with a little patience it is not hard to teach 5's and over how to using spinning gear, and they tend to be better quality for the inexpensive versions, plus can reel much faster and help in keeping bass on the line.

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Snake.  So your thread inspired me.  I went into my garage last night to dig out my old freshwater spinning rods.  They looked like pewp, but I decided to clean them up and see if they were salvageable.  They were covered in mold so I grabbed some Lysol wipes.  Some of the reels hardly cranked so I grabbed some WD40.

 

Im embarrassed to say I found 8 rods just lying there (I had an addiction....).  I got so inspired I was up to 2:30am last night cleaning them.  I was blown away at what a little oil can do, for REEL!  They are running so smoothly.

 

Two of the rods I think I got at Dicks, Daiwa Cygnus, maybe like 6.5 footers.  The line looks really thin, dont know the #, but its very thin.  Boy these reels run smooth, drag is good.  Rod tips are a bit stiff/fast but they were work fine for slinging sinkers.

 

The other two rods I think I got on vacation once when the fish were jumping down in Florida.  I couldnt resist (the addiction......), probably a local Walmart (Edit: I just looked these up, they are made by Eagle Claw).  I think I planned to toss them but managed to get them on the plane before there were things like airlines fees (years back).  Rods have super slow action and would feel great on a small fish.  These are 6 footers (see pics).  Line feels good, thicker diameter than the Daiwas.  I must have respooled these with Trilene.  Dont know what # test?

 

I think Im going to setup dead sticked trout rigs (sinkers, bait) for the kids on the Daiwas, and let them use the 6 footer el cheapos for casting a bobber on the side.  None of these rods are ideal for a 3 and 5 year old (long rods, heavy for them, spinning), but its probably worth a shot before buying some new spincasts, particularly since the quality is so poor.  Im like you, frugal, however, I would rather spend 3X more on on a product if it will last years & years vs buying cheaply.  But it doesnt seem like there are really decent value options in spincast (and at somepoint you got to put a cap on it, I cant buy my kids Stradics haha).

 

I'll let you know how it goes.  Im waiting on hooks, YUMs etc in the mail.  Probably will only get out next weekend.  Tight lines!

 

 

[bitsandbass]

Rods are ready to go for this weekend!

 

A question though.  No one mentioned using ultra lite trout rods, like the Bass Pro Microlite spinning rods.  They look really cool.  Noodle like action for maximum fun.

 

The more I research using an ultralight setup, the more I like the idea.  Im curious as to why this isnt more popular?

[Dinger0306]

On 5/16/2017 at 5:16 PM, bitsandbass said:

Rods are ready to go for this weekend!

 

A question though.  No one mentioned using ultra lite trout rods, like the Bass Pro Microlite spinning rods.  They look really cool.  Noodle like action for maximum fun.

 

The more I research using an ultralight setup, the more I like the idea.  Im curious as to why this isnt more popular?

No idea, I love fishing UL gear. I've caught some pretty nice fish on 4# and UL gear including about a 7lb walleye. 

[joefriday]

Just here to say hello and offer advice based on experience with most of the products that have been mentioned in this thread.

 

I have two boys, ages 3 and 5.  I like the zebco pond patrol/splash combos for them, and they like 'em too. These are toy class combos, but the reel is better than that offered by Shakespeare. They have metal gearing. They float too, and that's why they have these.  My youngest dropped a non floating rod in the lake last year and it was gone before I could react.    Traumatized the poor boy.  He eventually dropped the splash combo this year, and it floated as advertised.  No drama makes for a good fishin' trip.

 

The dock demons, both spinning and spincast, are great.  The rods are so much fun.  plenty of videos out there to watch.  I own both types.  Be aware:  the reel on the spincast demon is not a 202.  It is similar in construction, but is smaller.  It is actually the exact same reel built into the kids' splash combos, but is unique in that the demon reel is removable for upgrades.  of the two, the spinner is better.  The spincast will snag line in the drag or under the bell with frequent/prolonged use.  this is simply due to the design and can affect the 202 and 404 alike, as the design is identical. It is easy to fix in the field, but something to consider.  I keep my spincast demon in the trunk of my car for spontaneous fishing when the mood strikes after a day of work.  It is handy in that it can slide around in the trunk for months and never bird nest, something a spinner would have issues with.

 

The 202 and 404 are larger reels and therefore handle larger fish more reliably and handle more line length.  The 404 also has a few features that or more gimmick than useful.  Otherwise, the construction is the same as the demon/kids reels.  These are not zebco 33s.  The 33 is a more complex reel.  It is smoother and has at least one bearing or 3, depending on the version of 33.  My wife has a standard 33 6ft rod combo and it is a very nice reel for a cheap spincast for casual use.

 

I fish with a zebco 404 combo, and a zebco 202 slingshot spinner combo for planned fishing trips.  For the price they are unbeatable.  no issues with either for lake fishing, where the vast majority of fish are sub-pound blue gill and the bass/cat are usually 3lb and under.  I'm sure either will hand the rare 5-10lb cat, but if I were targeting  fish of this weight as primary game, I would recommend the 808 spincast, the 33, or simply something outside of the entry level zebco line.

 

Hope you find this info useful.

 

 

 

[bitsandbass]

Thanks guys.  Fishing was a success!  We caught a bunch of rainbow trout. 

 

Note: Gamakatsu inline circle hooks size 6 DO NOT WORK.  All trout got gut hooked.  It sucked.  These hooks are overpriced and do not work as advertised. 

 

I highly recommend you avoid these for C&R trout. 

[Turkey sandwich]

If you allow the fish to swallow the hook, it doesn't matter what hook you're using, fish are going to get gut hooked.