If you are, or want to become, an avid fisherman then proper maintenance of your fishing equipment
will become of paramount importance to you. And the most important piece of fishing
equipment you need to be concerned with is the reel. Reels have more moving parts
and often are the most expensive single piece of equipment you'll have. A good reel
is an investment. Take care of it, and it could last you a lifetime. Now matter how
good the quality of the reel is, however, if you neglect it, it will fail. And if it
fails, it rarely happens on that routine fish you've caught a million times. No, it
will fail when you have on that fish of a lifetime.
Now, I must admit that there have been numerous articles written about reel maintenance.
Some I agree with, others I do not. In fact, you may not agree with some of my points.
However, I have had some degree of success and I have yet had a reel fail me. One of
the biggest discrepancies between fishermen is the amount of use a particular reel may
get during the season. I personally have almost a different reel for every type of
fishing situation, so any one particular reel is not used too extensively. However, I
fish a lot in all kinds of conditions, so each reel sees it's fair share of hard use
during the season. What I write about here is how I approach reel maintenance. Your
particular circumstance may be different, but the below should give you a general idea
of how to approach it. It works for me, and keep in mind that even if you do vary
from what I've written below, the most important point is that you take reel maintenance
seriously.
At The End Of Each Trip
Rinse, Rinse, Rinse. This is especially
true after saltwater use, but also is not a bad idea after freshwater use, as dirt, sand,
and vegetation can get trapped in the reel. Take the reel off the rod, or by the end
of the season it may become permanently attached. Now while some say a light spray is
best, I give it a healthy blast and have yet to get salt or other debris into the
internal mechanisms. Back off the drag and rinse again. Leave the drag very loose and
allow the reel to air dry. Rinse the rod (especially the eyes and reel seat) and
re-attach the reel.
At The End Of Each Season
Regardless of the amount of times I have used
a particular reel, at the end of the season all the line gets stripped off. It is amazing
how much damage heat, water, ultra-violet rays, salt, and various underwater obstructions
and structure do to fishing line, particularly monofilament. I guarantee you that at
the end of the season the tensile strength of your line is no where near what it was when
it was first put on. With the line stripped off, I wash the reel exterior with a mild
soap including the side plates, reel handle and arm, spool, and stand. This will remove
all oils, dried vegetation, and dirt. After washing, rinse the reel and wipe it down
with a soft, clean cloth. Let it dry thoroughly. Since I use many reels, I let the
reels sit for a week or so, ensuring full dryness.
Now, each reel gets a thorough inspection. If it performed flawlessly throughout the
season, and isn't due for a major overhaul, I lubricate all moving minor components including
reel handle, drag knob, bar arm pivots and rollers, clicker assemblies and all oil ports
with a top quality reel oil. Then the entire reel gets a bath in a water displacing lubricant
like WD-40. I spray the entire exterior of the reel. It then gets stored for a couple of months
until a few weeks before the start of the new season. At that time, I thoroughly wipe
off all the excess WD-40, put on a fresh spool of top-quality fishing line, and tighten
the drag, setting it with a hand-held scale.
Major Overhaul
Every three years for freshwater reels and
every two years for saltwater reels, I perform a major overhaul where each reel is
opened up and stripped down. The drag washers are closely examined for wear and are
replaced or repacked. Old lube on the main gearing is removed and a close inspection
of the drive gear teeth is performed. Major gears are replaced or repacked and a new coating
of reel lube is applied. I also remove and inspect the bearings and bearing sleeve
and replace, lubricate, and repack as necessary. The clicker and clutch assembly is
cleaned, inspected, and lubricated. On spinning and spincast reels, the rotor and main
shaft is cleaned and lubricated. All covers, sideplates, and gear housing plates are
thoroughly cleaned. I place a drop of reel oil into each screw hole and then tighten
everything down. A quick test to make sure I put everything back together
correctly is made and then I perform the End-Of-Season maintenance on each reel.
For a quick and easy reel maintenance checklist, click here : Checklist
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