I had never caught a rod/reel before

I have caught two this year.

was excited when I saw it was a Zebco 33 today

had one as a kid and it was an excellent reel.

It was seized up….i was disappointed.

Well Len I caught a Zebco 33 with a shimano rod about 35 years ago below DBQ dam. I took it apart, cleaned and lubed it up and put on fresh line.That outfit has treated me very well pullin out slab crappies and bluegills ever since. May want to try it. FWIW

I’ve caught two also!! Two St croixs at redwing in he last few years. One I found the owner and gave it back. It happened to be deans marshals sunnie pole. It wasn’t in to long and still was in working order. The other one was really beat up and seized up also.

I caught a nice St. Croix rod a few years ago on pool 4 and it was a custom made rod that luckily had the owners name on it. A couple of posts on this site and I was able to get it back to it’s owner. The owner left a reward for me too. Felt great to be able to return it. This can be a public service announcement to have you name on your equipment.

We’ve dropped a number of them into Lake Mille Lacs over the past 45-50 years and never lost one. Always putting a marker on the rod right away and dragging for it either immediately or later after the guide trip.

But one rod dropping episode stands out over all the rest.

It was about 1973, on the NW corner of the Backer Flat. I watched the rod get dropped over the side of the launch and as usual, grabbed a marker and let it fly within a few ft. of where the rod went in. I decided to come back later–after the launch trip that evening, and drag for it instead of taking fishing time away from everyone on the boat. So–a couple of us rode out later and dropped some heavy weights with trebles attached and made a pass by the marker. “Got it” on the first pass…or so we thought.

Now, understand, back in the early 70’s, you could not or would rarely see another boat within miles of the Backer Flat-ALL summer long. So, except for our three launches and a Barneveld or two launch, it was very rare to see another boat fishing there–over all those early years combined!

So– “I got it ” went to “what the hell is that?” Our rod, dropped in only hours before, was a bait-casting rig with a 3-wway/spinner rig on it. But almost right in the SAME place ( within ten ft.) another rod–an old spinning reel outfit was hooked on our dragging rig.

HOW COULD TWO RODS GO IN ON TOP OF EACH OTHER ANYTIME ( EVEN MODERN DAY TIMES WHEN THERE ARE BOATS ALL OVER THAT FLAT)–LET ALONE IN AN ERA WHEN IT WAS RARE TO HAVE ANY OTHER BOATS THERE!!??

LOL What are the odds…?? So–next pass we caught our own rod and went home.

Still am amazed at that almost impossible scenario on the big lake–back in the day.

Not too may years ago, I cut a hole in the ice and saw a nice open water spinning rod right under the hole! That was my first “catch” of the season that winter…odds of stopping and cutting a hole on a rod under the ice?