You love them automatic fishing reels. Except your push-button proclivities end up as the butt of jokes every time you hit the boat with your redfish-catching buddies. The Power Fish’n Pro Hybrid Reel provides a friendly middle ground, providing both a mechanical crank and a motorized reel so you can do both.
Made by Rock Island Equipment Company, it’s a single reel that lets you operate in both manual and automatic modes. That way, you can lazily reel in your bass while chugging a beer when you’re rolling solo and then do all that macho cranking when sitting in a boat amongst your friends.
The Rock Island Power Fish’n Hybrid Reel features a regular spinning reel (Shakespeare brand) that’s been fitted with an electric motor that you can activate at the flip of a switch. Powered by four AA batteries, the motor runs quietly, so your friends don’t hear when you’re using it to bring in that 30-inch walleye (just make sure to move your shoulders in a rotating motion to give the impression that you’re cranking). The reel itself features a graphite body, with stainless steel guides, a graphite reel seat, a multi-disc drag system and a metal side cover.
Designed for fresh-water fishing, this is the first of a planned series of hybrid reels from the company. If you’ve ever had a fish bite while you’re busy texting with one hand (hey, they got signal down at them lakes), then you can imagine how useful that automatic function can be.
You can get the Rock Island Power Fish’n Hybrid Reel now, priced at $199.95.