Freshwater Reel With Saltwater

[Inoah88]

I have a bait caster and am going to fish in saltwater, If i bring my freshwater bait caster will I have to clean it after?  Is it worth it to bring a freshwater reel to saltwater and fish off the beach?  It won't be used on the ocean.

[John G]

What kind of reel do you have? You should wash off any reel that is used in salt water and the beach may not be the open sea but it is still salt water. 

[Penguino]

I have a bait caster and am going to fish in saltwater, If i bring my freshwater bait caster will I have to clean it after?  Is it worth it to bring a freshwater reel to saltwater and fish off the beach?  It won't be used on the ocean.

How can you bring a freshwater baitcaster for saltwater, and not use it in the ocean? LOL. But in all actuality, it probably wouldn't be to good of an idea. Unless you throughouly clean it, salt will enter through the spool into the bearing and the pinion gear.

[Inoah88]

Thanks and I was meaning on the beach not in a boat.

[reason162]

I have a bait caster and am going to fish in saltwater, If i bring my freshwater bait caster will I have to clean it after?  Is it worth it to bring a freshwater reel to saltwater and fish off the beach?  It won't be used on the ocean.

 

Fishing from the beach/surf is probably not a good idea, not necessarily bc of the salt but bc of the sand. From a boat or a dock where your reel is not likely to get sprayed by saltwater or dunked...should be perfectly fine.

 

You do need to gently spray down the reel with freshwater afterwards. Lock up the drag and use a spray bottle or garden hose set on a very low mist...never a hard spray bc then you force salt into the reel. Wipe dry, loosen drag, and air dry. Then quickly oil the bearings and worm shaft etc, no need to completely take apart. I use my Curados and Tatula strictly in saltwater from a boat, and they're fine.  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Any reel used in salt water should be rinsed and dried immediately after use. A full teardown shouldn't be necessary unless the sand is an issue. Be careful how you handle a reel in a beach atmosphere.

[Bigchunk]

It will be fine, like said rinse off ater every trip out, watch the sand, just need to be broken down and lubed more than if it was used in freshwater.

[zeth]

Well all I can say is Quantum PT freshwater reels are designed to be able to be used in salt water as well.  Try it and see what happens.  Take it apart and rinse thoroughly and you should be fine.  

[kikstand454]

Even if the reel is made for saltwater. ... it doesn't matter. A gentle spray and great attention should be payed to it if you use it inshore.

I fish inshore ALOT and I only use baitcasters.

[SirSnookalot]

Fishing from the beach/surf is probably not a good idea, not necessarily bc of the salt but bc of the sand. From a boat or a dock where your reel is not likely to get sprayed by saltwater or dunked...should be perfectly fine.

 

You do need to gently spray down the reel with freshwater afterwards. Lock up the drag and use a spray bottle or garden hose set on a very low mist...never a hard spray bc then you force salt into the reel. Wipe dry, loosen drag, and air dry. Then quickly oil the bearings and worm shaft etc, no need to completely take apart. I use my Curados and Tatula strictly in saltwater from a boat, and they're fine.  

This response should be tagged as the "best answer".

As any every day saltwater fishermen, rinsing is always a good idea especially from the beach or boat.  Sea walls and jetties IMO it's not mandatory if there is no wind, but of course no harm in doing it if done correctly.  Don't forget the rod guides.

 

I'm one of these people that are vehemently opposed to using any bass gear in saltwater, however for the occasional outing use what you have.

[blackmax135]

You don't have to go out and buy a new rig.  I use my fresh water reels out in salt water all the time. Like the rest of the guys said, CLEAN it.  The rod also because it will rust it up quickly.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Give it a good thorough rinsing with the hose when you get home. You'll be fine. It's not going to say "Oh gawd! Saltwater!" and start to melt. You'll only have to break it down completely if you dunk it in the water. Do your best to not let any sand get into it though. That'll be a sure fire way to mess a reel up.

[Poolshark]

Rinse it off when you get home with fresh water, try not to dunk it and keep the sand out of it. You should be good to go. I use my curados, calcuttas and c3s with no issue in the salt. Simply rinse after you use it and deep clean once a year. The 100 and 200 sized reels are a lot of fun to catch snook and blue runners with.