# Closed face spinning reels



## skorgard (Oct 6, 2007)

The eldest of my girls (6 1/2) is now starting to get into fishing and is doing well. I'm thinking of getting a closed face spinning reel for her. These used to be popular around 30 years ago but there are some still made by Daiwa and Pfleuger (see

http://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/prod ... _reels_206
or
http://www.purefishing.com.au/reels/pfl ... na-closed/

The great advantage for kids is that for casting they just need to press the button to hold the line and then let go. The index finger thing for the young kids on a regular eggbeater seems a little difficult. The reels only hold quite small amount of line (about 70 m) and possibly don't work that well with braid. However if I'm trying to get the key message across that accuracy is more important than distance casting it seems a good way to go. It appears there are some reasonable quality ones and I'm even considering using it myself. I am a dedicated baitcaster man but have to use the egg beaters for the really light stuff and I have to admit my casting technique is rubbish.

Do any of you have any experience of these and any recommendations?

Thanks


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## jkis (Mar 17, 2011)

we started our kids of on some cheap closed face reels, and got them to practice casting into a bucket, very easy to use as a bow and arrow cast, we did find the cheap ones had a very poor drag and upgraded to the gc80 models, the 2 reels have caught a lot of fish over time and the only failure was the a small piece of nylon that goes with the roller, mind you it still laned a good 3 kg frigate mackeral that spooled the reel on its 1st run and we had to chase it down with the boat opps were using a lure haha, a very cheap part to replace around $6 they have stood up to some good bream and flatties, for short castting and accurate i found them good easy enought to service, had 2 of them for over 15 years, most new people in our boats have used them, i did try braid and wasnt happy at all and just used mono since, i'm not sure whats on the market now, they arn't the cheapest reel to buy but over the time well worth it
cheers stuart


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## Robbo (Jan 6, 2007)

Check out the Zebco Omega Z02. I have one. They are are the top end of the range of spin cast reels (called closed face in Oz)...best price is on ebay from overseas...not available in Australia but here is a link to reviews of this reel: 
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... ption_link

Zebco have since improved on this model with the Zebco Omega Pro (it's the black one), released this year but I don't know much about it. Zebco do make a quality reel though. It's a great way to introduce your kids (and you) to the fun of closed face reels...

Oh and a further point...these reels are one of only about 3 models that are designed to handle braid if you want to use that due to the ceramic line guide...


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## mudpat (Feb 21, 2011)

I use one as part of my sabiki rig, works a charm.


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## skorgard (Oct 6, 2007)

Have ordered a Zepco combo, looks good.

Thanks guys.

Paul.


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## john316 (Jan 15, 2009)

only ever used one once and it might reflect that it ws cheap cause it was also nasty... never ever want to use one again but hope it works well for the little ones and then as they grow they can expand their horizons as their skill also grows...

cheers

John


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