Zebco 33 Pistol Spincast Reel & Fishing Rod Combo

Three nice rainbow trout within an hour, drag functioned great!

Looks and feels good. Ready to use combo.

Tiny and transportable. Quality combo.

First off I’m comparing side by side with an Ugly Stik gen1 with Abu Garcia baitcaster and an Ugly Stik Gen 2 with Lews carbon fiber baitcaster , both 5’6″ , medium , 1 piece , pistol grip and 20lb braided line . I did change out the line on this one to Stren mono 10lb .
I really enjoy playing with my youngest daughters Zebco 33 combo (she picked it out about 8 years ago because it’s pink ) for its ability to cast the lightest of lures a country mile and hit a flea right in the left eyeball if that’s what I’m trying to hit . Hers it’s a light action vs this one being medium so it does cast a little stiffer .
The grip is quite a bit larger than what I’m used to but it didn’t affect my casting accuracy after a few dozen tosses to acclimate . I took it to a public dock near my house at a time when I knew no-one would be there so I could put it through its paces . Here’s what I found .
Using an 1/8 ounce top water lure to start with since it would be the most difficult to gauge overall I did forehand , backhand , overhead , distance and accuracy casts with each hand and found the lesser “whip” of the end of the rod vs the Ugly Stiks to be a better feel when attempting to drop the lure between trees , especially when casting backhand . Distance was about the same for all 3 combos , maybe a few feet further with the Zebco . Once I switched over to a half ounce crank bait the 33 really took over for distance casting , at last 10 yards more . Since I do mostly bank fishing or kayak fishing accuracy is more important than distance but it was nice to toss that heavy lure like those dudes with 10′ rods do . After my tests I hit a spot in some weeds I’ve never been able to hit before , I always came up just short before , with a frog lure and sure enough Killa gobbled it up and I lost the frog when the line snapped after a few minute fight as I changed the drag from too loose to too tight I suppose .
I really like how it casts and the retrieval speed is about right for me , maybe a smidge too fast but that might be because I usually use an ultra light when casting smaller and lighter lures .
One thing I found baffling was it felt like the line was slightly dragging the outer eyelet when retrieving the line , no matter what lure I was using . My daughter’s doesn’t have that feel to it but hers is very slightly noisier .
What I was looking for was a rod/reel combo for kayak fishing that is more accurate for my uses than what I have AND no longer ANY concern about bird nests at the wrong moment is what made me tap the buy icon . Overhead casting in my kayak with a baitcaster has always been my biggest frustration as I’ve never been able to consistently and accurately toss without making a bird nest .
Pistol grip fishing rods are getting harder to find anymore so you get this one and have it work as well as it does is awesome . The grip is a little longer than days of old so it does offer a bit more fulcrum when reeling in a fish but not so much so it hits a fat belly when casting from a kayak like my first Ugly Stik long handle did . Since I enjoy fishing more than catching fish (they are 2 different things totally ) the pistol grip is going to be my rod handle of choice as long as I can still go fishing .

Got this from my daughter for my birthday. Love it. Grip is longer than the pistols of old and way more comfortable (its not hard plastic). To those who wonder what purpose this serves, get one, get a lawn chair, cooler, park your self by a body of water, use lures or live bait, relax, catch fish. Easy to cast, effortless long casts, great drag, typical Zebco rod – it will amaze you with the size fish it can muscle in if needed. Can’t think of a more natural, ergonomic set up. Flick of the wrist, and reel them in.