The Zero Hour Bomb Company

[Mobasser]

If you were born anytime after WW2, there's a good chance you've used a Zebco spincasting reel. Zebco started as The Zero Hour Bomb Company in 1932. This company made remote detonated electric bombs for the oil rigs in Oklahoma. Dropped into an old well, or a pre drilled hole, these bombs blew open the earth, to get at the crude oil. In 1947, a watchmaker, RD Hull came up with the idea for a fishing reel which would never backlash, after watching a package of meat being wrapped with twine from a revolving spool at a grocery store. The first reels were a flop, and didn't work well. By 1949, he took the concept to Zero Hour, and the first Zebco push button reels were born. In 1950, Bill Carter, a rep for Zebco made 3, 453 cast in 14 hrs to demonstrate the no backlash feature of these reels. By 1953,  Zero Hour Bomb Co became Zebco, and the reels were selling very well. The impact of this on fishing was HUGE. Thousands of folks who had never been fishing, or had tried, but given up, bought a new Zebco reel and took to the lakes, rivers, and ponds from coast to coast. By the mid to later 1950s, spincast reels were accepted and used everywhere. Some famous users of the Zebco reels were Hall Of Fame slugger Micky Mantle, and then president Dwight D Eisenhower, himself an avid fisherman. Due to Zebcos success, other companies followed up. Johnson, with the Citation and Century reels, Shakespeare,  with the Wonderreel, and Sears and Robeuck, with the Ted Williams line of reels. By 1975, Zebco had sold 70 million spincast reels. I've heard many guys be critical of spincast reels over the years. The main complaints are based on the early models. A slow retrieve speed, or a poor drag. I received my Zebco 33 in 1965, as a Christmas gift from my grandparents, along with a Heddon fiberglass rod. My reel still works as intended, after 50+ yrs. Before that I was a cane pole fisherman. It opened up a whole new world for me. Almost overnight, I was casting, and target casting, and I'm still obsessed with casting, and accurate casting now. Many, many, fisherman got their start with a spincast reel, and some went on to become famous top pros in the sport. The newer models have improved on the early designs. I wouldn't hesitate to use one now. On a recent trip to Texas, I saw many of the old oil drilling rigs, sitting idle, and rusting away, along the highways and back roads of Oklahoma. This is where spincasting started. Do you use any spincasting reels? What models have you used? And, have you ever caught any big fish with them? Regardless if you like spincast reels or not, we can't deny the impact they had on the sport. Zebco has been a household word for as long as I remember, and the invention of the spincasting reel changed sportfishing in America from then on. Tell me about your spincasting experience, from years ago, or currently.

[Derek1]

That was a good read, thanks. 

[Tennessee Boy]

I caught a 7 lb 2 oz catfish on my very first trip to Kentucky Lake when I was nine years old.  Was using my trusty Zebco 202. 

[crypt]

started on a 202.then a model 33. have used just about every model Zebco makes. Woo Daves won a BassMasters Classic on one.

by the way that was a great post...thanks.

[roadwarrior]

Old technology...No reason to buy this except for kids and people that rarely fish.

 

[jbrew73]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Old technology...No reason to buy this except for kids and people that rarely fish.

 

I would say the same for spinning reels but many people use both so to each his own.

[FishTank]

When I was younger I had few spincast reels.... Zebco 33, Zebco Bullet, Daiwa Goldcast, and Daiwa Mini-Cast.  They were all great and they, at that time for me, had their place.  My favorite was the Mini-Cast.  It was a blast to fish.  It was like an ultra finesse reel.  

 

The days of fishing these reels have passed me by but they will always bring back great memories. 

[DitchPanda]

That was interesting..I feel like I had heard this before but it was nice to read it again.

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Just now, DitchPanda said:

 

 

1 hour ago, jbrew73 said:

I would say the same for spinning reels but many people use both so to each 

Spinning reels are outdated technology like spincast reels? Hmmm

[jbrew73]

6 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

That was interesting..I feel like I had heard this before but it was nice to read it again.

 

 

Spinning reels are outdated technology like spincast reels? Hmmm

In my mind yes.  The bail is opened and closed by hand. It spins around and round. Goes in and out twisting your line the whole time.  Yep same old outdated technology. 

[detroit1]

What kind of reel in your mind is new technology? Just curious....

[slowworm]

1 hour ago, detroit1 said:

What kind of reel in your mind is new technology? Just curious....

It can't be the baitcaster.  Abu was making reels in 1941 and is considered the first "modern" multiplier reel, 6 years before the spincast reel. Even the Abu reel built on previous designs going back to the 1840s with Snyder reels.

 

If Abu are credited with the first modern multiplier reel, then Mitchell have to take the crown for the first modern spinning reel with the Mitchell 300 in 1948.

 

This actually makes the spinning reel more modern than either the spincast or the baitcast reels.

 

The prosecution rests your honor....

 

?

 

 

[Log Catcher]

I have used several spincast reels. My Dad got me started fishing with a cane pole when I was around 6 or 7 years old. Later he got me my first rod and reel. It was a South Bend setup. Later I got a Zebco 606. I still have but it is in pretty rough shape. I had an old Johnson reel but it never cast as good as it should have. 

I have Zebco 33 that is about 25 years old. I let my wife use it. I bought her a couple of BPS spincasters to use and they have been very good reels. She has caught bass around 2.5 pounds on them. The biggest bass I can remember catching on one of these is probably 3.5 pounds.

 

 

[jbrew73]

Baitcasters offer modern technology in the braking systems.   Otherwise they are probably old technology as well. 
sorry to offend users of sissy stick or fairy wand reels.  Lol.   

[J Francho]

The wheel is old technology.

[Mobasser]

30 minutes ago, J Francho said:

The wheel is old technology.

J Francho, my dad had an old baitcasting reel, a Phlueger "Trusty". No free spool, and just a single spool tension knob. He didn't like it, as it was very hard to cast without backlashing, unless you had the time to put in lots of practice. By the time I was old enoupgh to fish, he had bought 2 Zebco 33s. They kind of filled the void between those old casting reels and the early spinning reels.

1 hour ago, jbrew73 said:

Baitcasters offer modern technology in the braking systems.   Otherwise they are probably old technology as well. 
sorry to offend users of sissy stick or fairy wand reels.  Lol.   

They do now of course, but in the early 50s they were hard to cast for most people. I think that's why spincasters became so popular

5 hours ago, detroit1 said:

What kind of reel in your mind is new technology? Just curious....

I don't think there really is any new technology. Just huge improvements on the old designs

[Mobasser]

I saw on TW that Garcia has some rods that you can program info into with your I phone. That will probably be the next big thing, computerized fishing rods. I'll pass...

[Armtx77]

Never had a Zebco, but they are part of a lot of good memories with some of the kids I grew up around fishing. 

 

Still don't understand the hate on them. I have a 4 1/2 year old son who loves the water and I am keeping a couple of old Shimano 500 series spinning reels for him to start on, but maybe a Zebco should be his first.

 

[GReb]

I have an 8.5lb on the wall that was caught with a Zebco when I was 9 years old. 
 

However the last 3-4 Zebcos I’ve bought didn’t last more than a few weeks. 

[Armtx77]

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-ZEBCO.html?from=basres

 

Read the comment section...classic.

 

Cool Hundy for a Zebco Bullet.

[Fishingmickey]

I had/have an old friend that use to use spin casters. Not sure if he is still alive but if he is he would well over 100. He was a heck of bass fisherman and he is the one that got me started fishing tx rigged worms for bass at night. We worked the evening shift together. He had a old 16' wide john boat with a 25hp Kekoffer Mercury on the back.  We'd fish the dam on a power plant lake at night that was lighted with street lights about every fifty yards. We caught a bunch of bass. Now as far as skipping. With a 6' pistol grip rod and a spincast reel.  He could skip a t-rigged worm into tight spaces as good as the pro's do now. 

Fishingmickey