I can’t think of a better animal to name a spincast reel after – Zebco’s Rhino RSC Spincast Series.

I fish with spincast reels. There I said it, and you know what? I’m proud of it. I appreciate their simplicity. I love their relative value for the dollar, and I admire their overall tenacity, quirkiness and pick-up-and-play attitude. For the past three seasons I’ve been giving the honored duty of throwing my top water plugs to spincast reels - and let me tell you I’ve put them through hell (and sometimes back). Sometimes they’ll stall, and sometimes they’ll bark back, but for the most part I’ve received much satisfaction in using closed-face reels for this style of fishing. Truth be told, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a spinning or baitcast set-up for lobbing hard plastic fantastic frogs around the lily pads, reeds and blown down slop.

One of the Spincast reels I used last season (and plan to use again this season) is Zebco’s Rhino RSC3 Spincast Reel. I love this machine for a whole number of reasons, not the least of which is its name – don’t we all want to go into battle with a machine called Rhino? Another reason for my admiration is its rugged good looks, with its black rubber thumb bar and just the right amount of black, red and aluminum accents. Heck, it’s even got some guts in it, what with a 3 bearing drive and something called “Helical-cut worm gears” – that just sounds great when I say it out loud - Helical-cut worm gears – sounds like something under the hood of a custom Chevelle Super Sport. In any event, the reel has performed flawlessly for me the times I have used it, and since my main closed-face reel finally went belly up at the end of last season (I beat her like a rented mule and I kept her handle as a reminder), I will rely on this new brute to do all the heavy lifting for this upcoming season.

 

Rhino RSC Spincast Features:

> 4-Bearing drive
> Helical-cut worm gears
> Rugged composite body
> Roller-adjustable Rhino drag
> Machine-forged aircraft aluminum cover
> Die-cast aluminum crank handle
> TPE sealed thumb button
> Dual ceramic line pickup pins
> Changeable Right or Left retrieve

Topwater Bottom Line: Most anglers view closed-face or spincast reels as beginner reels or the reels they give to their kids, wives or little cousins when they accompany them on a fishing excursion. I don’t view them quite the same way. I’ve found spincast reels to be quite reliable when it comes to tossing my top water plugs, but most importantly for me, they hark back to a simpler age, when fishing was fun and was something you did with your little dog Spike at your feet, a tin pail of worms under your stool, the sun beating down on your face and your mother hollering at you because you were late for lunch. Call me nostalgic if you must, but I still get a big thrill reeling in a big bass on a closed-face reel. While they may not be as technologically advanced as their spinning and baitcasting brethren, reels like the Rhino RSC scratch me right where I itch, and for me that’s all that matters. The Rhino RSC Series of reels can be purchased for about 23.99 per unit. As always, please practice catch and release with this reel.

 

Topwater Rating: 

 

 

5 out of 5 bobbers

 While closed-face or spincast reels may not be everyone's first choice, fishing is more than just catching fish in my opinion - it’s about the experience. And the type of reels I choose to use can only add value and ambiance therein. The Rhino series of reels do very well in that regard.