Looking for a new reel

Hey guys. Looking for a bit of advice. I've been fishing since I was
5 (so 20 years now), and have used a spincast reel pretty much all
that time. Now I have other types, but for traditional open face
reels I usually don't use them for smaller stuff like bass fishing. I
just use them when fishing for catfish and other large species where I
basically just chuck it out for long periods and wait. I also have a
few baitcast reels, but I've never liked them too much. With the
lighter lures I use for stuff like bass, it's hard to get much
distance with them, and I generally just don't feel like I have as
much control as far as where my lure lands.

So, with my preference for spincasts, I've run into a problem. I've
used Zebco 33's almost all of my life. I remember the ones from my
childhood holding up decently, but the new ones are not nearly so well-
built. I consider it a miracle if I get two years out of them. They
also have a tendency to put a lot of kinks into the line so that upon
retrieval it'll twist around the rod tip if I'm not careful - this is
the main thing aggravating me.

From what I've hard, Zebco makes a better reel called an Omega that is
built with all metal parts and doesn't kink the line as badly. I've
also heard good things about the Abu Garcia and Daiwa spincast
reels.

Basically, I want an opinion on the Zebco Omega vs the Abu Garcia's
vs. the Daiwa's. Long term durability and minimization of the line
kink problem are my main concerns. Price is not too much of a problem
since all of these are under $100.

Thanks.

Mike Gaskins

I have bought Daiwa's for my kids and they seem to be holding up
pretty well as well as being very functional. The kids always seem to
be droping them in the sand or water and so far they are still
working.
Gary

Basically, I want an opinion on the Zebco Omega vs the Abu Garcia's
vs. the Daiwa's. Long term durability and minimization of the line
kink problem are my main concerns. Price is not too much of a problem
since all of these are under $100.


Mike, I can't help you with the Abu Gs, but my wife has two of the Zebco
Omegas and two of the Daiwa's. One of the Daiwa's broke down, got all
jammed up with line, and I was never able to put the damned thing back
together. She complained about the little switch that prevents backreeling
on the Daiwa pro model. She does not like to backreel, and in the reel was
manufactured such that the thing clicked with each revolution of retrieve.
It drove her nuts, and she was not sorry to see it go. It was $50.

She has a little $25 Daiwa that she uses for ultra-light and it works just
fine. No clicking problems, no significant line twist, and it has a decent
drag. A good panfishing rig.

The two Zebco Omegas are her favorites by far. She uses the large model for
catfishing and bassing on a beefy Ugly Stick. It works well, even when she
has a worm rigged up weedless for bass. Being a small woman, she frequently
got tired handling this heavier rig, so I got a nice little 6' graphite rod
with the smaller model of the Zebco Omega. This has become her go-to rig.
Light weight, nice control, and she doesn't tire out with it. It handles
good sized fish.

The quality of the Omegas is outstanding. One of the guys at Bass Pro told
me he believed it to be the best spincaster on the market, and I have to
agree with him. It is nicely made and works flawlessly (so far). My
brother has the same reel and it too is his favorite.

Personally, I believe the Omega is a better reel than the Daiwa.

I had the Omega. It did seem like it would have lasted but I returned
it. The reason being it didnt seem to like PowerPro or Stren SuperBraid
(I dont care for line twist none to much either). I tried and tried and
tried respooling but the braid just didnt come out smoothly. This wont
matter if not using braid I guess.