BILL DANCE zebco crappie series reels

[crappie30]

has anyone here used a Bill Dance crappie series rod and reel combo?

[Tommy Tidwell]

I field tested them for Zebco all of the last fishing season. They worked fine with the two depth pins to lock in the depth at which the crappie are biting. I have some that have caught at least 500 crappie and they still work fine. Also, a client of mine caught a 5 foot gar on one and the drag worked fine. I have 10# big game solar on all of mine. I am referring to the new SLDL10 spinning reels. They are the upgrade for the SLDL20 that was already on the market.

[Glowgood Jigster]

We have a pair of them that we use for crappie. Love that tapit tip and the depth keeper. My wife thinks the reel is too heavy and doesn't balance too good with the rod. I still like it.

[locoman]

Do you know if the slab seeker Zebco reel is the same thing?

[Tommy Tidwell]

Yes, both versions are called the Slab Seeker. One is a spincast and the other is the spinning reel.

[Glowgood Jigster]

Tommy, had you already used the SLDL20 model reel before the 10? I went to check it out at BPS online and it sounds like it's a smaller/lighter reel? Also like the new color. Has the rod changed any from the older version?
Thanks!

[Sabot]

I have at least one of reel: spin cast, SLDL20 and now I own 3 of the SLDL10. I fished have used the SLDL20 Spinning reel on every trip up until I received the new BD SLDL10 last month. Going from the SLDL20 to SLDL10 is just awesome when it comes to the weight savings.

As for the spincast, I never liked it and now it sits in my misc stack of reels. As for the rods, don't like them either. I purchase the reels and mate them with other rods.

[Tommy Tidwell]

Yes, Jigster, I used the 20's before the 10 came out. You are right the 10 is lighter and better suited for crappie fishing. I use mine on 6 foot Quantum Tour edition rods. I don't like the flimsy rods for crappie fishing. I like the graphite ones with a little more sensitivity and backbone.

[tim]

Where can a person buy the sldl10 i looked at bp and all they have is the sldl20 thanks.

[mduncan62]

I swore by these the first 6 months that I used them. Once I started catching some big slabs consistantly, I found that the pins would pop out when I set the hook. that became too annoying for me, so I swithched off of them. I also snapped two of the rods trying to swing big crappie into the boat.

I'd say if you are catching small crappie, you'd be fine.