Collecting Antique Fishing Gear Can Be Fun and Interesting Local
A friend of mine who collects old fishing gear recently acquired this first Zebco bait casting reel in near new condition. Most of us who fish are familiar with the company’s closed face reels, but may not be familiar with these earlier models.
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Name an item and someone probably picks it up. Fishing gear is no different. I know a lot of people who collect fishing gear at some level. Collecting fishing gear and lures would be a great activity right now to say indoors and warm, while staying connected outdoors.
Collecting anything usually leads you to find out more about the item you are collecting. It’s almost automatic. Most serious “collectors” I know can pick up an item and give you a history lesson, whether it’s a Heddon Fishing Lure or a Smidt-Rubin Rifle. Finding and learning about something is perhaps what I love the most about the collection.
For example… a few days ago, I did not know this information. A friend of mine who collects vintage fishing gear recently called me and asked, “Did you know ZEBCO made a bait reel? I thought about it for a moment and said no.
“Well they did,” my friend said. “I just found a ZEBCO 310 model which is in mint condition, new, and it has the original box.”
When I saw that, I must have known more. My quest to learn a little more about ZEBCO as a company and this particular reel has begun.
The “father” of the ZEBCO fishing reels was RD Hull. By trade, Hull is a watchmaker in Roten, Texas. He was also an inventor and a fisherman. In his quest to find a backlash free casting reel, he took a Model 1000 South Bend casting reel, modified it with two spools, and allegedly made a backlash free casting reel which he called “The Texas”. Only 5 models were manufactured.
