Oklahoma’s Famous Fishing Brand Started As A Bomb Company

Whether you like fishing or not, the history behind one of angling's most legendary companies started here in Oklahoma and wrote a legacy that still lives on today.

Here's the short story.

Back in the 1940s, there was an explosives company in Tulsa that carved out a living in oil country, making oil well time bombs.

It sounds like a bad thing, but it's not. Or maybe it wasn't. When oil wells blew out of control, one of the earliest and most effective ways to get it under control was to blow it up.

The times were wild back then.

The company's name was Zero Hour Bomb Company. And while that likely doesn't ring a bell for the lifelong fisherman, here's the payoff.

A watch-maker and avid angler from West Texas named R.D. Hull had designed his own fishing reel after struggling with the fishing gear of that day. The biggest complaint back then is still the biggest complaint of today. Backlash.

That's the bird's nest of fishing line that gets wrapped up in a reel when you're not doing everything correctly. It's super annoying and brings out the worst in most anglers when it happens, but R.D. Hull seemingly solved it with his legendary design.

In search of a manufacturer, Hull approached Zero Hour Bomb Company, and they went straight into business with each other.

The Zero Hour Bomb Company fishing reel would eventually become a huge success, but the name didn't speak to the industry. In fact, it almost got them all into big trouble when they mailed one to then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House... complete with a Zero Hour Bomb Company logo on the box.

It ended up in the trash, a likely investigation, and one heck of a good story to tell later, but that was the moment Zero Hour and Hull agreed they should just change the name of the company.

It became Zebco.

Even the newest fishermen across the country are at least somewhat familiar with Zebco. There's a good chance that was your first fishing reel when you were young. So iconic, the knock-off versions are still referred to as Zebco reels, the same as all tissues are called Kleenex.

With fresh branding, Zebco instantly changed fishing and opened the sport to people who otherwise wouldn't have even tried. It was just so simple and easy to use. Push a button, cast the line, reel it in. Perfection every time.

Zebco reels were some of the most reliable and highest-quality fishing reels a person could get for a very long time while they were manufactured here in America. You might roll your eyes at that notion, but they were.

Of course, the normal modern-American business trajectory did its thing on the Oklahoma brand. It sold to another company in the 1960s, then was acquired by several other companies down the line before finally ending up in the portfolio of Rather Outdoors.

The quality and reliability have all but disappeared during the offshoring efforts to remain competitive in price while keeping profit margins in line... probably. Today, you can still buy Zebco products in your local sports department and online. They may not be the lifetime purchases they once were. I know my grandfather's Zebcos still fish great, but those are from the handmade-with-quality-materials days.

All the same, and I'll admit this in the name of baring it all, I have a pair of high-end Zebco's I bought about 15 years ago to add to my rod rack. They were anniversary models, and haven't let me down yet.

To be fair, they don't get fished with unless I'm taking kids out to the perch ponds, but I digress. While they'll never get used and abused as much as my Shimano Curado DCs, Zebco's do have their place.

While it's just a drip of fishing history, that's the short tale of a once-Oklahoma legend.