I used to have a friend who rented out a small room in the back of a tackle shop I used to shop at, and ran a tackle repair business there. He was good at this work, and stocked the most common parts he might need. In winter, when my work slowed down, I would go there , have a cup of coffee and visit with him a little. He compared his business to the lawnmower repair business. In winter, things were pretty slow for him. In the early spring work would start to come in. It would start slow, then pick up quickly when the weather finally warmed up enough for fishing. Tournament fisherman, even though they brought in a lot of business were tough. Some of these guys would wait untill the week before a tournament, bring in 10 reels to clean, spool, and repair, and need them the next Friday for the tournament they were fishing. If this happened 3 times, he had 30 reels to service in a short time, and would have to work long hours to get them done. Those, along with the stuff the weekend fisherman brought in, made it very hard to give his customers a quick turnaround. He eventually had to close his business. Now, in my area, there are no tackle repairmen. I've learned to repair the things I could myself, and on my older round ABU reels, I've been able to keep them going. To be good at reel repair, it takes a person with some mechanical skills, who enjoys working with their hands, and can deal with very small parts. In my area, guys like this just don't exist. Do you repair and service your own gear, or have someone do it? One thing I've learned through the years is that a little routine maintenance goes a long way towards preventing problems. I've made my reels last by routine cleaning and lube.It sure helps, but reels are small machines, and with heavy use, all.machines need repair at some point. We live in a throw away society. Lots of folks don't repair things anymore, they just throw them out and buy a new one. Most quality reels can be repaired, and made to last many years, with a little maintenance too. Do you repair your own tackle?
