Zebco 808

[Brownie77]

Anyone ever use this reel? I have one and am thinking about giving it a try, but am a little nervous.

[fishuhalik]

I'd always be a little nervous with a zebco......

[carpmanjake]

yep. me and my dad have been using them for years, he has them on all his cat rods. he absolutely loves them

[bobbymalone]

Not sure at all, but I have heard that Zebco's of today are far better than Zebco's of past, which by most accounts, were total junk.

[Brownie77]

Well this one is only a year old so. I figure I can try it.

[carpmanjake]

Not sure at all, but I have heard that Zebco's of today are far better than Zebco's of past, which by most accounts, were total junk.

we have been using our zebco 808s for over 10 years. i recently upgraded to bait feeder reels, and i love em. but you cant go wrong with the 808s. we have had no problems with ones we had to replace. these things took all the beatings on rocks, falling into water, thrown in dirt, and all that. and they just keep kicking. we have only replaced 3, all last year. the drag broke on one while we were greasing it. (my bad, lol)

the other 2, the bait clickers just wore out.

other than that, we have had no problems what so ever. and my dad swears by them. and he has been catfishing for over 20 years

[carpmanjake]

Well this one is only a year old so. I figure I can try it.

you wont regret it

[Brownie77]

Well for the price I know I wont.

[carpmanjake]

Well for the price I know I wont.

exactly!

be sure you let me know how you like em.

[Brownie77]

will do

[katoguy]

Here are the specs. I'd be nervous, too. (2.6:1??? I think this is definitely a case of getting what you pay for.)

808 Reel Specs

Fishing Type Line Weight Line Capacity Gear Ratio

Heavy 20 pound 90 yards 2.6:1

[DTro]

Spincast+Braided Line=Lots of four letter words

For smaller to med size channel cats, go for it. If you plan on catching anything 25lbs or over, I’d pass.

[fishuhalik]

Spincast+Braided Line=Lots of four letter words

Couldn't of said it better myself!

[carpmanjake]

Spincast+Braided Line=Lots of four letter words

For smaller to med size channel cats, go for it. If you plan on catching anything 25lbs or over, I’d pass.

we never had problems with braided lines. we have 3 with braid, and 3 with mono, never had any problems. and we can cast quite a ways with them. plenty far enough for the cats. my dad has caught many flats up to 50lbs when he worked in South eastern minnesota with them. and never had a problem. and they held up to many channel cats to 22lbs (mine ) at the "catfish capitol of the north"

[DTro]

Well sure I can catch a 50lb Flat on a pop bottle and a piece of string, but I would rather not.

You can never complain about something that is free , but even at $20 I would consider an alternative to a spincast reel for larger cats. That is just me.

I would have no problem using them for 2lb sunnies though,

[rushing]

When I lived in Wisconsin I would use the 808s with 2-2.5lb sunnies for bait.

[Shack]

I found some reviews on a combo with an 808 on it:

Quote:

A Real Good Buy...Pulled A 25# Flathead In Just Great And Still Goin...Great Combo At A Cheap Price

Quote:

this reel is the worst reel i have ever bought with its nylon bearings and all i used it once and it just grings now

Quote:

i would recommend this product because this reel can take a beating and keep on going ive let other people use it and its very easy to fix when they get line tangled up in the reel........its easy to use and its a easy reel to use .........its for any person that likes to go fishing .

Quote:

This is the fourth Zebco Hawg 808 that I have purchased and I am very satisfied with them. I would recommend them to anyone.

Quote:

The reel metal broke trying to pull in a large catfish. I would have thought the 20 pound line would has broke first, but the metal "T" securing the reel to the rod broke. Love Zebko, but I got a dud.

Quote:

Had it for less than 2 weeks and the line release button broke in the middle of casting. button is plastic. Great until broke. Feel poor craftsman ship the problem.

Quote:

It's from Zebco, Trust the name. It will never let you down. Remember your first rod and reel? Mine was a Zebco. Nuff said!!! Great Rod and Reel at a great price! Highly recommended!!!

Quote:

This is a good quality rod and reel with 20lb line you can easly bring in the bass and even catfish!

this is a great trolling rod but is a little bit of a challenge trying to cast with it because you can't cast very far with it, maybe 35 feet

overall its a good rod and reel for the price

Pretty diverse selection of reviews. In the end like Dtro said for free worth a try but any money down I would have to say I would pass. Just bought to many bomb combo's over the years and starting to go with stuff that has a proven track recored and higher end.

[Brownie77]

Well I bought the rod and reel separate.

[Surreal Deal]

Quote:

This is the fourth Zebco Hawg 808 that I have purchased and I am very satisfied with them. I would recommend them to anyone.

Dude's been through three of them, on his fourth and is still "Satisfied!"

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

My thing is after four you have spent 80 and at 80 bucks you could have bought one decent one that would last years on out. Just my opinion is what I speak.

[carpmanjake]

Dude's been through three of them, on his fourth and is still "Satisfied!"

doesnt mean they broke on him. this guy is probably not from MN, so he can probably use more than 1 line

there is not doubt that there will be manufacturer defects in some of them. especially for such a large company. but if they break return them, and get another. once you have one thats not a dud, you will love it. and the casting thing, saying it only casts 35 feet... someone doesnt know how to fast, LOL. i will say it takes some getting use to, its not like the smaller zebco reels. it casts differently. we cast 1/2 the way across the 'sippi with no problem. just goes to show you that once you get use to it. you will have no problem

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Didn't think of that in those standings I would stand corrected, but I stand with what I said. He said " BEEN THROUGH " so thats what I'm going to go by.

[ec30_06]

You won't see any in my boat, but I don't catch catfish anyway.

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Sh*t you seemed to catch plenty the other night

[katoguy]

Dtro is correct about braid on a spincast. I worked for/with Spiderwire in the mid-90's and heard this complaint all the time. It simply was too limp to be used with the spincast pick-up pins. A lot of the braid today is not nearly as limp as Spiderwire used to be, though.