Earlier than placing away all of your gear for the winter, think about this: Opening season is a number of days away. You pull your gear out of the basement, flip the deal with of your favourite reel … and it’s frozen. What now?
Effectively, you possibly can attempt to disassemble, clear, and lube it. You could get fortunate, and the whole lot comes aside freely, or possibly not. If you happen to’re not so fortunate, you possibly can contact the native bait and sort out store, however they’re in all probability swamped.
Preventative Reel Upkeep
Assist me provide help to. It’s easy. Wash your reels! Each time! As quickly as you pull again to the dock or get residence from the surf, get the freshwater hose out and wash down your gear. Get all that salt and sand out as a result of it can rapidly destroy your gear. Salt hurries up the corrosion course of tremendously, particularly between dissimilar metals like aluminum and stainless-steel. Sand is a pure abrasive (assume sandblasting). Now, put that sand within the gearbox. It’s not good. Do you ever hear your line screaming because it comes off the reel? All it takes is one grain of sand within the line curler to trigger havoc.
There’s no want to make use of any particular product, resembling Salt Away. Water works simply nice. By no means use any water displacement product, both, like WD-40. It should really break down the grease within the reel and trigger it to seep out. You need to use CorrosionX to spray your reels as a result of it has waterproof oils in it, although it’s wanted provided that your reels are saved in a salty surroundings, resembling a ship or shed by the water.
In case your gear was saved correctly, the season is approaching, and your reel isn’t due for service, some easy upkeep will help maintain the reel going all season.
Step 1: Apply Reel Oil
Choose up some reel oil and put a number of drops on the base of the deal with knob, on the road curler (if outfitted), on the level-wind worm drive (if outfitted), and every other shifting components such because the star drag, bail lever, and so on. Then, add oil periodically all through the season.
Some reels include oil ports. If the reel was serviced inside a correct timeframe, it’s not obligatory to place oil within the ports. The marine-grade grease contained in the reel is simply nice.
Step 2: Take away Line
This subsequent suggestion would possibly sound excessive, nevertheless it is sensible when you concentrate on it. De-spool all of your reels on the finish of the season. Mono, braid, flouro, all of it. Any friction tape or backing that’s not epoxied down, take away that, too. What occurs is the road holds the salt, sand, and moisture proper up towards your spool with no escape, so it gained’t take lengthy earlier than it begins to corrode. That corrosion breaks down the spool, forsaking tough, sharp edges that like to chop into your line.
Step 3: Dry Storage and Break Down
One other consideration is storage. Attempt to retailer your gear indoors and within the driest location attainable. Keep away from storing your stuff on the boat, in a moist shed or basement, and undoubtedly not out within the climate. If you happen to stay in a moist or salty surroundings, think about using a dehumidifier.
Additionally, break down your rig, separating the rod and reel. One other spot the place salt likes to cover is below the reel seat. In reality, when it’s time to place the outfit again collectively, place a small piece {of electrical} tape below the reel seat. It will create a moisture barrier between the reel and the rod, which is able to assist maintain the dissimilar metals from corroding.
It’s so simple as that—a freshwater washdown and dry storage. Observe these steps and your reels ought to final a lifetime.
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