Girlfriend has 5 grandchildren from 1 daughter. Ages 3 to 9 years old( 4 girls and 1 boy ) .
The daughter fished with her dad a few times 20 years ago. Dad not fished since he was kid and only 3 or 4 times.
I bought ( 5 ) 5 foot rods at Walmart on sale for 3.00 each. Good Berkley poles ( regular $9.00) I want to buy 5 Zebco 33 reels on sale for $16.00 each ( Not Not the $35.00 High dollar Zebco reels ) I know poles are a little small But want them to be able to cast rods them self with bobbers to see if they even like fishing with out getting a bunch of money tied up But also hold up a few years if they like fishing and can up grade again to longer poles and better reels at age 13. Plus easier for dad to to get the 5 foot poles in their huge van. Ha ha.
Question.... For you folks with kids and grand children do you thing kids from 3 to 13 can handle that big button on a Zebco 33 reel to cast with ? I had one when I was 8 and it worked good but that was 52 years ago.
No spinning rods at this time for them in their fishing careers , ha ha. Your thoughts. I wish I could find 5 Zebco 33 at garage sales. When you don’t want to buy something at a garage sale they jump out at you , when you want some you cannot find any used ones. Your thoughts on the Zebco 33 for younger kids on on a nice 5 foot pole. Thanks. Marty

yes even if they hold it over the water push the button and release it drops the line and bobber


the zebco dock daemons are like 14 dollars and a 2 1/2 foot pole with a zebco size 30 reel a touch smaller than the 33 they would be good for the little kids and the reeel could get put on the larger poles for them as the grow


last year a bunch of stores clearance off the Shimanno IX2000r for about 16-20 dollars those were a great little spinning reel I picked up 2-3

I started my son on a spinning rod about age 4 and he has almost never used anything but spinning , my personal preference and hatred of working on closed faced reels

the 2000r you can open the bail push the button and the spool comes off and any birds nest can be cleared easily so it is what I liked



with little kids learning to cast rod tethers are worth the cost https://www.amazon.com/Booms-Fishin...20931503&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-2

I lost one of my favorite little poles teaching my son to cast from the boat 14 years ago it sits at the bottom of the lake

clip the rod to the PFD so if they let go it stays with them

I think they will work great. The 3 year old will need some help, but with both hands and a short rod like that, they'll get 'er done.

No other reel would work better in that case, certainly not for the same price. I was probably 4 when I cast my first Zebco 33.... 58 years ago.

Good luck,

Pete

I cant throw a bait caster worth a hoot. All i have is zebco 33 reels. Most are some of the higher end versions like the platinum and such. I have no idea what they are making these days mine are at least 10 or 15 years old and still work fine. Have seen many up to 12 lb bass and bigger catfish caught with them and not had any problems. If i am for real catfishing with a chance of anything bigger than 10lbs i use my open face spinning reels with spiderwire on them.

All my kids have never had any problem figuring them out with just a little practice.

Had one when I was about four. Solid fiberglass pole. Mom and dad said I caught northerns as long as I was tall with someone holding my suspenders on my bib overalls. Used two hands to cast.

one more piece of advice , snap swivel

transporting 5 poles with hooks you will get a mess at some point


kids have short attention spans and that doesn't always work with tangled lines or fish that swallowed the hook , ect

if you rig up a leader with a loop , bobber , split shot and hook you can store those on a pool noodle over a pvc pipe with some screws on it and have several ready to go then just clip them on and they are ready to fish

take them off and no hooks to get caught on with the poles

when we run on Lake Michigan , every rod is line to a snap swivel , the leader and rig goes off that so that when 15 poles need to get sored in the berth they aren't a tangled mess of hooks

Use to be a very good reel but I haven't been around never ones. Should do the job you want it to do.

Yes 33s are what both of my boys started on VERY young. That's a great reel for that age group.
Jim

To bad you guys aren't close to me In Oregon WI. I'm working with my friend on a estate and we have at least 300 rods most of them have reels and they are free for the taking.

My boy was casting a baitcaster at 4 1/2. A 33 is fine for small children and ladies, men should certainly use real reels.

Don't forget to give them the Zebco dunk before you start casting. Makes em work smoother.

Zero Bomb Company......"Zebco" I collect vintage Zebco 33 reels. You can still pick up the Made in USA vintage ones on E Bay. fairly reasonable. ADC I use the older reels for night fishing, from channel cats, to carp they bring them in. the older ones from the 60's and 70's are tanks. Put a 33 on a yellow fiberglass Eagle Claw rod and you have a bullet proof combo. My pet reel a 33 I got at 10 years old, is still fishing just shy of 50 years now. How many of those "manly" reels are still fishing after 50 years?

Thanks for the help guys. Going to go with zebco 33 for all of them. And the short 5 foot poles. Will work for them till they get 13 years old and if they want to up grade to longer pole and spinning reels they can. Brings back memories. I use to get a silver dollar from my grandma every year for my birthday. She was poor and 20 grand kids. My dad took me to true hardware store in 1967 and I plunked down 8 silver dollars for a Zebco 202 reel and pole combo. What you think those 8 1920’s silver dollars would be worth today ? Ha ha ha. I still have the reel and original pole. I caught a lot fish with that thing when I was little. Thanks for the info. Marry

Bev. I am from Rockford ILL and visit often. What day And address is your estate sale ? I might be close to were you are having your estate sale then . Few years ago You tuned out some #3 duke traps for me. I picked them up at your house in person I remember. Marty

They are at least casting rods right? Don't put them on a spinning rod.

YES! 33s are the ticket, they have their ticks, but I still use em to this day! They also have awesome customer service, if need be.

I and a couple of my creek trout fishing buds even my wife, use a 7 1/2 to 8 foot fly rod with a old al metal 33 at the bottom. Seems to be the best set up for dapping trout in small creeks. bait is most often a salted minnow, worm, Mepps spinner or fly. No casting involved, reaching and placing better describes it.