Here's another quickie about Zebco and their great support. We have a bunch of these Zebco 33's. I love them for slow retrieve baits (slow topwater, working the bottom with soft plastic baits, etc). We have these with various mono sizes and some with braid. They're very inexpensive no-backlash reels, and are pretty darn tough!
I bought a new 33 and had a heavy topwater tied on. about a month of almost-daily use, the cast button literally broke off. One of the hinge tabs cracked and came off. No biggie, I picked up another and kept on fishing. I emailed Zebco, in hopes of buying a replacement part, because I likely broke it with too much force from my thumb while casting those heavy baits. A couple of days later, a new bottom and trim ring arrived on my front steps for free. Wow! For a reel that costs under $20, this is simply amazing. Here's a few pics of the reel and broken parts. The new parts snapped in, and the reel is still in regular operation, today.
