Can braid be used on like a zebco 33 type reel? How does it perform on this style of reel?

I've tried a few different brands of braid in my 33s micro 11s and Z02s and it did not perform well in any of them. All dug into itself on the spool after landing a fish. Some left a film on the inside of the reelcover creating friction during the cast resulting in poor distance.

In general I think you would be okay if you used a type of "braid" that is fused (i.e. fireline) or some other variation that is coated to be super smooth / castable. I think using regular braid at 10lb or less would drive you nuts.

If I had to pick a braid for spincaster it would be Tuf-line Supercast. I fish the lightest pound test Tuf-line makes (6lb) in this type of "braid" on a baitcaster and it works okay without digging in to the reel so I think the same would be true for spincaster. This specific type of line is very thick for "braid".

My Favorite Braid is Power Pro Super Slick in Aqua Green in 20#. It fishes like 6# mono.

We have it on a few spinning reels for when we are working the spawn with corks.

It is the only Braid I have found that I personally like.

www.kastking.com maxthin8 Superior Braid should work just fine for your application.I would go with 15lb test.

Power Pro Super 8 Slick works on all types of reels. I use 15# test Hi-Vis Yellow, color holds up and its easy to see. A great braided line.

Try Gliss or Nanofil. Both do well with spincast reels.
They are superlines but not braided.

My wife use Zebco 33's for years when she first started. The first thing I would do is put on braid.
Light weight is best, no more than 20 pound, and I found that less is better. I would only put on about 30 yards at time.
It helps keep the 'dig in" to a minimum. She liked the KVD line spray which helped keep the line softer.

Glad to see I'm not the only one to discover how well light braid works on different spin cast reels including Zebco 33, Daiwa and Pleuger. I only use 8 or 10 # test braid for casting 1/16 or smaller jig heads + plastic grubs and always use a 4-6 # test fluorocarbon leader for best lure action, abrasion resistance and a personal superstition: fish can't see it(though I'm sure they can.) It's nice to be able to switch to spinning when needed using the same lines. 1/8 oz jigs cast great but not always good for conditions and some presentations.

But one thing I think is important when using any lure on spin cast reels is that the lure not put too much pressure on the line pickup spool to prevent wearing a groove in it and avoid fewer line problems inside the reel, like dig-in as stated by Jim. For me, that means using light lures and small bill crankbaits.

Not trying to put anyone down, but why would you put $20 line on a $15 reel?

Does it really improve they overall quality?

Different strokes for Different Folks & so on & so on & shooby dooby doo

You've summed up just about every crappie rig I own lol.

I put some sort of primitive fused line from Berkeley on a Johnson Century spincast at my mom's house 20 years ago. It still fishes like the first day that I first spooled it on. Granted the Johnson Century was perhaps the best cheap spincast reel made in it's day IMO. But superlines will tolerate decades of hot garages and kids reeling against the drag and stuff so much better than cheap mono line would.

I probably over do it but I use 5 variations of line for crappie rigs. Some of the line, like nanofil, isn't cheap. But in the right application, like casting 1/32 oz jigs against the wind in a light current, I'd take that nanofil + 15 dollar reel over cheap mono and a $100 reel any day.

absolutely, especially for beginners. and some of the new zebcos run $60,..and it makes fishing fun for them..

Thanks for the explanation.
I'm getting back into fishing, and still trying to figure out the how's and why's of the different setups.