Big Catfish on a $30 Walmart Fishing Reel

[@rickjames6948]

I like many, started out with Zebco. Got older and spent more money on Abu, Shimano and Daiwa. Those started showing wear and age. Went back to a fleet of Zebco 888's and surf rods. Swear I could pull a bumper off a pickup truck with an 888. Caught 59lb flatheads, 120lb Tuna, lunker Snappers, AJ's, and a couple low 1oolb marlins. Reels are unstoppable.

[@Zebcofisherman]

Shoot been catching big fish on cheap 17 buck specials for years. The ol tiger poles lol that zebco actually ain't to bad for some big fish long as the drag is set and have the correct line it does its job!

[@davidray3558]

Glad to see you're back out on the water, nice fish on the Zebco

[@katotornado4312]

Glad to see another upload!!

[@takedowncatfishing]

Dieter great video buddy super nice fish always fun catching bait love to catch perch I bought an 888 when I was about 20 years old give or take I'm 57 and still have it love that reel. Got it on an old eagle claw rod. Still sling it ocasonally. I have caught a lot of fish on it love hard to set it in the corner. Thanks buddy. Tight lines and Big Takedowns!!!!!

[@keithcarter4086]

Very very nice fish!

[@hensleyshobbies-doug7761]

Heck back in the late 80’s , early early 90’s That’s all I used fishing for flatheads, and caught quite a few real good flathead’s on a Zebco 808 and a Zebco 888 but those were the older style ones and they had brass gears in them. I used 30 lb Big Game and BPS Excel at first but then switched to 25 lb later ( mono)!

[@kendavis8138]

I pulled a 888 from the bottom of Santee Cooper, still had a fish on it, It was the old style. That was 15 years ago still using it.

[@lancedennison9341]

Nice ! GF caught a 50 Flatties on a 808 last spring just got her the saltwater one at Christmas

[@chrisclary5595]

Sunset Island facing the main channel has a nice edge drop where I used to catch some cats. The north side towards Buster Boy on the island has some nice big River clams that I would use for the Cats..

[@TheReelFishermen]

That tiny one would be a great for an aquarium! The spincast reels are so nostalgic 😢 glad to see it catching a slob!

[@jasonlopez4855]

Hunting is hunting for land or water what my grandfather told me a long time ago and I see it like that. Wish they had deer finder like for fishing 🎣🤔 just got a Zebco 808 Boss Hawg combo for Christmas for only $20 change out the factory line for 15 lbs line I've used it 3 times and like it. Big ZEBCO fan for years still got my first 33 for the 80' the Boss Hawg good rod and reel for Big fish.

[@papilloncycles3463]

Love it, I want a Zebco 888 for my travel rod for the beach in NC, seems like something that could be thrown around a bit in the car!

[@faifersfishing]

Caught a 34lb flathead from the bank last summer with the boss hog 808 from Walmart. 2oz weight 25lb big game mono. It got the job done!

[@rickjames6948]

Bet you were showing more stress than your 808 on that day LOL. I can pull cars out of a ditch if need be with my 888 LOL.

[@fishlovme]

Sweet fish on that ol' 888!

[@royschlickeisen2539]

Thanks for the video and missing them🎣

[@richardglaser7912]

Just got back into fishing last year. Have a couple ugly sticks and there great for 50 bucks a pop.

[@johnny51984]

I have 4 Ugly Stick catfish rods set up with Zebco 888 reels with 25lb mono. Less than $100 in each. Can’t beat that

[@larryking606]

Dieter , A 41 pound Blue on a ZEBCO ! Dang , You got the touch ! Take Care and Be Safe

[@spencer6764]

Pretty Awesome Brother thanks for sharing

[@206pappy]

That aint fair! My lake is iced over solid!

[@CatTrackerOutdoors]

Great video. Growing up my dad had 33s , 808s , and 888s and that was all I fished with till I was in my late teens. I can vouch that they will catch a trophy fish. I know that's a catch you will remember.

[@moonlightfishin4113]

I have some good baitcasters but I started out with the Zebco 888's with 30 lb mono. I still use them along with the bait casters.

[@dominichollisfishing]

I hope you're going to be at Catcon! Because I can't wait to meet you!

[@philipcraft3835]

Awesome!!! I LOVE my 888s. Been using them successfully for years. No, they’re no AG, but they get the job done!! Great catch

[@allenmeyer7707]

That's what I was talking about there with the 888 zepco. What a fish!!! I thought you either messed up the reel or pop a line. Nice

[@pedrocruz4710]

You da man Dieter!

[@rickjames6948]

I've caught 35lb blue cats on a Zebco 404. 76lb gar on a Zeby 606. The 808 and 888's are over kill for most all fish. Big stripers all day long on an 808.

[@conrailfan6277]

That was awesome Dieter!! Most of us that grew up fishing have those old Zebcos, I have 2 spin cast reels I bought as a kid in the early 70s that were actual Kmart brand and I still use them!!!

[@rickjames6948]

Dieter had the drag turned waaaay down catching that big 41lb blue. My 888 will lock the drag and snap 30 lb line LOL.

[@denttech8447]

I read the 888 has bearing and the 808 has bushings. I bought an 808 boss hog combo for Lee's than 40 bucks that catches big fish.

[@davidspangler4430]

First flathead was 28 pounds on an old 33 with 12 pound test, always keep an old 33 with me!

[@andrewcochran7642]

My old lady caught a 35 n he boss hawg she loves it beautiful blue n silver rod

[@thecatfishking9047]

That's how I roll Walmart rigged up. 8 foot Berkley Big Game rod around $25 and Quantum Optix 60 spinning reel around $26.

[@geraldlathan2355]

Always enjoy your videos. I have a mixed bag of rod and reels as well. I use the Abu 6500.acouble of the markings on mad kats and some quantum on ugly sticks. Al work well.all of them have 30 lbs slime line.

[@williampound6065]

Zebcos are good reels with the right line & weight on them but I like my okuma rod & reels better ( open face ) & my okuma clx 450 baicaster ...nice fish mr.melhorn he looked he was fun bringing in on that zebco

[@catfishreaper4922]

The drag on the 888`s isn`t as smooth as it could be but when you know how to compensate like you did big fish are no problem !

[@keithbartlett6708]

Tripping drag!

[@jasonlopez4855]

Nice 👍🏽 fish Damn 🧐 good 👊🏽

[@ChrisDavis-dt6xx]

Another great video buddy

[@willtrax71]

Nice Cat my friend. I just got back into Fishing after 2 Decades off and I fished Primarily Cats and the New River all my Life. The Baitcasting Reels are certainly different now with the little magnets on the side and nothing like my Abu Ambassadeur 5500 I retired. Do you think the Zebco Big Cat Rod would work for just a regular Baitcasting Reel like a Lews with the magnetic brakes? I was wondering how much flex it had for casting lighter Lures. Great Video my Friend stay safe and Semper Fidelis

[@nicknoga88]

Ive always loved my ugly stiks

[@MarioJArellano]

Concur with chicken being a good bait but I believe (and this video proves it) that quality fish come from cut bait

[@neeleywoods3149]

Do you use drifting sticks even when you arent trolling or drifting? Thanks! Love the videos!

[@DieterMelhorn]

Yes, unless I need a lot of weight for casting or in current…

[@asherdaker3227]

Awesome video Melhorn! I have acquired a lot of knowledge from you over the winter and finally getting all my gear to start catfishing this year and I can’t wait. Also wondering if you have used whisker seeker braid or mono and if it’s good?Tight lines Dieter🎣

[@williambenner5550]

Good test for the Zebco reel! Very impressive! I am still wondering why do you use cut bait over live bait. Is cut bait easier to manage when you have a lot of lines in the water?

[@richardcolbert6264]

Nice👍👍

[@ctb7894]

Dieter, how often do you go out and not catch anything? I just want to see if it compares to my luck......

[@DieterMelhorn]

Rarely. It may only be 2-3 fish, but I can usually manage something. When the bite gets that bad I will downsize baits and see if anything wants to eat, and can usually at least pick up some smaller fish.

[@JohnsonBannerman]

Hey Mr. Melhorn, really enjoy your videos. We are blessed to live on Lake Wylie so it's very informative to see a pro fishing my local waters. Seems like you mostly fish the northern part of the lake? I haven't watched all your videos but Crowders Creek was the furthest south I saw. Are there more fish up here or is it just more convenient from where where you are typically launching?

[@DieterMelhorn]

There are fish all over the lower end. I live in NC, so it’s a shorter drive for me….

[@JohnsonBannerman]

@@DieterMelhorn That's what I thought, I am just north of Buster Boyd so can cover most of the lake pretty easy. I'm setting up a little Carolina Skiff J16, see you out there sometime!

[@johnwilkerson9804]

I have a super cheap spincaster and it's my highest catching pole 😂

[@rbarrett8441]

Finally! This is that zebco video I been waiting for🤘 I do think that reel functions better with 20 or 25lb test mono instead of the 30 tho. Maybe try it someday and see if you can tell a difference.

[@rickjames6948]

They do. The 808 and 888 love 2olb mono.

[@quyle9483]

I ran 30 pound test on my 808 for about a year and decided to respool with nice quality 25lb mono. It was definitely alot smoother and still landed a 38pound flathead from 100ft out on the bank with no landing net. I still run an 808 for medium duty fishing like 10-20lb channels but recently purchased the same 888 that Dieter used for bigger cats. Yet to land anything bigger than 30pounds but the 888 is so much smoother than an 808. The bite alert works wonders on these affordable spincast reals I just love that feature for catfishing.

[@lauroguerra732]

@@quyle9483I just bought the boss hawg from Walmart. It comes with 20Lb test line on the reel. What would be the best line to replace it with? And how strong of a line? And also what brand? Or should I just stick with the line that came with the boss hawg.

[@quyle9483]

@lauroguerra732 I have a few spools of zebco mono I bought at Walmart in variant weight ratings and I think the line itself is kinda crap. I respond with Berkley big game 20 lb. You can get about 130 yards of it on and works very well and casts decently.

[@lauroguerra732]

@@quyle9483 so it’s definitely worth swapping out the line to the berkely 20LB line? What about the 25LB or the 30Lb line from berkley? Any thoughts on that

[@reelgoodtimesoutdoorchannel]

Love the video!

[@leroyjantz9717]

Here is two questions for u what is your opinion on the 11 foot king cat rod and the ugly stick spinning reel

[@terrorbloc9529]

Can I put a trolling reel on an spinning rod and it will be fine

[@seymourwrasse3321]

upgrade the drag a little and this would be a killer starter reel

[@tonniemcneil5990]

Great rod888 I have 25 888rods

[@OutFishing13Matthew]

I noticed you were concerned about the surging drag on the Zebco 888. Occasionally they come from the factory not lubricated properly. Generally the drags are very smooth. I take mine apart and service them right out of the box. Here is a video on the same reel (although it is an 808) that I serviced right out of the box and then added ball bearings. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqbcoq2tn92qqJI Thanks for the videos. Nice catfish!

[@Yelladog78]

What you came for starts @ 14:40

[@mattaneshansley4358]

Zebco sells more reels because the value is there.

[@johnnymcmichael8449]

If it takes skill to catch the little ones then I'm a skillful Man

[@steveguyett384]

You think