How often do you clean your rod and reel? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

jbapinoy · 07-05-2005, 11:02 AM

I always wash my setup with water after fishing to remove all the salt and sand. How about you guys when do you clean it and how?

Homerun04 · 07-05-2005, 11:06 AM

After EVERY trip they both get fresh-water washed thoroughly. However, I only open up my reels in the winter to clean inside and lube..

Rockport24 · 07-05-2005, 11:17 AM

this is a good question, I always just rinse my reel off with fresh water, but I just rinse it while it's fully assembled and that's it. Do you guys take it apart and rinse it?

eelman · 07-05-2005, 11:22 AM

After every trip I rinse the rpd and reel with fresh water,Once a week I take apart and clean.I even wipe the whole rod down with wd40, I change my line once a week if I need to or not. I also rinse waders every trip.....

reelecstasy · 07-05-2005, 11:22 AM

everything gets blasted by the hose when I get home, rods,reels,plug bag, waders and boots, and the dry top.....Winter I break them all down, although if I have a night when the reels are constantly getting dunked I will rinse them that night and usually the next day I open them up and lube. Sometimes you just gotta

eelman · 07-05-2005, 11:25 AM

I never rinse the inside of the reel with fresh water, I just clean with wd40 put it back together and spray the whole reel with wd and then just let it dry on there I dont wipe it off, I then put a couple of drops of machine oil on the handle, levelwind etc.. Keeps it in tip top shape.

The biggest thing however is the line change, I see guys leave there line on forever, it gets chalky, chaffed, nicked up etc... Its such a good insurance policy to keep fresh line on

Fish On · 07-05-2005, 11:36 AM

I soap the rods and reels down with a soapy cloth and then gently rinse with fresh water after every use. I used to just rinse with fresh water but a guy that was servicing my reels told me to soap them down. He said teh fresh water doesn't even come close to getting the salt off. I'm careful not to spray with high pressure to keep the water out of the internals.

jbapinoy · 07-05-2005, 12:40 PM

Do you clean them while the line is still on it?

Tattoo · 07-05-2005, 12:56 PM

Unless it's raining out....Never.

The VS 250 I am using now is over 3 years old, sent it back once the first year I got it and hasn't been back since. Never cleaned it other than dunking it to get the sand out. The backup 250 I have is still unfished.

The Saltiga I have still is smooth as the first day I fished it. The last fishing trip I had with it was on an island in early November last year. Hung it up and it sat all winter. Fished it the other day and you would never know it.

You get what you pay for.

fishaholic18 · 07-05-2005, 01:02 PM

I take my Stradics apart every week or 2,depending on how wet they got, it's easy enough to do so why not keep them in top working order....I don't want any preventable problems when I get my 50 on...

eelman · 07-05-2005, 01:07 PM

Steve has all the van stalls also but still rinses them after every trip, better safe than sorry even if its just to get the salt off the line, any reel should be rinsed after saltwater use regardless of price....IMO.........

Nebe · 07-05-2005, 02:06 PM

always rinse.. always. Then a quick squirt fo T-9.....

bassmaster · 07-05-2005, 04:23 PM

How often do you clean your rod and reel?
why

Fungus · 07-05-2005, 05:16 PM

In general I rinse my stuff with the hose about 75% of the time after use. If I get a lot of fish stuff on my equipment I will give it a cleaning with soap and water.
As far as taking the reels apart that is pretty much a winter project.

Sweetwater · 07-05-2005, 07:19 PM

I wash all my gear (and scrub boat if boat fishing) every time I go out. I also use Salt-X every 2 or 3 trips and all my gear has remained pristine. Salt is highly corrosive, and it only takes a few minutes with a garden hose.

Someone mentioned previously about using "soap" and that's good too. But don't use detergents, they strip all the lubricants out. Best to use Salt-X and fresh water.

CANAL RAT · 07-05-2005, 07:54 PM

how often do most of you guys change your line?

RoyL · 07-05-2005, 08:08 PM

I clean my reels after every trip with mild soap and warm water. I used to rinse them with just fresh water but it doesn't always get all the salt off them. so I now use warm water to disolve the salt. i try not to sray them to hard so it doesnt force the salt in to crevesis in the reel. I do take them apart twice and lube them. once in the summer after the spring run and then in the winter before I store them away. as far as the line if it's braid. what I do is at the end of the season I reverse the line so the line that was exposed on this season is in the back of the reel next season and the new line is up front so I guess every two years. If it's mono I change it every month and if the fishing has been very good every two weeks. Murphy's law any thing that can go wrong will go wrong, so you never know when that cow of a life time hits, id like to be prepared and know that my equipment is ready and at it's top shape. Sorry just my two cents.

fishaholic18 · 07-05-2005, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CANAL RAT

how often do most of you guys change your line?

3 seasons on my PP 50 so far, no break-offs yet, except for one fish in the rocks this season.

Notaro · 07-05-2005, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyL

I clean my reels after every trip with mild soap and warm water. I used to rinse them with just fresh water but it doesn't always get all the salt off them. so I now use warm water to disolve the salt. i try not to sray them to hard so it doesnt force the salt in to crevesis in the reel. I do take them apart twice and lube them. once in the summer after the spring run and then in the winter before I store them away. as far as the line if it's braid. what I do is at the end of the season I reverse the line so the line that was exposed on this season is in the back of the reel next season and the new line is up front so I guess every two years. If it's mono I change it every month and if the fishing has been very good every two weeks. Murphy's law any thing that can go wrong will go wrong, so you never know when that cow of a life time hits, id like to be prepared and know that my equipment is ready and at it's top shape. Sorry just my two cents.

thats a good advice. i need to clean my reels.

MADDOG2020, help!!!

Bass Babe · 07-05-2005, 10:04 PM

Someone I know takes his rods and reels in the shower with him.

Me, I'm way slack on maintenance, but I've never had my line break at an important moment, nor have I had any other problems. Still waiting for my "important moment" this year, though. I need my keeper!

Clammer · 07-05-2005, 10:09 PM

As tatoo said ///Never // why screw up a good thing

Line //I got a 18# year before last on a 20 year old set-up // the original line was pink /now its white /////////////////

NIB · 07-05-2005, 10:48 PM

usually in the spring to get the dust off em.