Cleaning Saltwater Reel After Use

[Lacustrine]

I am looking at getting the Penn Spinfisher V, but some reviews say the seal leaks and water, or saltwater if used in the ocean, gets into the body. Do I need to disassemble after every use or just periodically? Will the seal hurt more than it helps because it keeps the water from escaping?

[dam0007]

Just take spool off and rinse it in fresh water. Wipe down the reel and line roller with a damp cloth. Annual dismantle and cleaning is always a plus. 

[Florida Cracker2]

I have the 4500. Great reel. The information I found on them is they are watertite as long as you don't reel it underwater. Every saltwater trip, afterward, I rinse them with the waterhose and wipe with a towel and let them dry. Then oil the bail roller. That's about all I do with any of my reals. I have some over 40yrs old and still work well. I'm sure more cleaning and oiling would be better...buts that's all I have done except when one has sit for many years...then I take apart and relube.

[Puggz]

15 minutes ago, Florida Cracker2 said:

I have the 4500. Great reel. The information I found on them is they are watertite as long as you don't reel it underwater. Every saltwater trip, afterward, I rinse them with the waterhose and wipe with a towel and let them dry. Then oil the bail roller. That's about all I do with any of my reals. I have some over 40yrs old and still work well. I'm sure more cleaning and oiling would be better...buts that's all I have done except when one has sit for many years...then I take apart and relube.

Yes, its amazing what time will do...

[0119]

39 minutes ago, Lacustrine said:

 some reviews say the seal leaks and water, or saltwater if used in the ocean, gets into the body.

On most forums the shimano worshippers took great pains to bash the Spinfisher when it was re released.  They made a point to bash the brand and claimed they were purposely cheating and lying. It all stemmed from the error of the Penn rep in his rather casual description of the seals and the reels designed purpose on a youtube video.  The reel isnt water tight it is water resistant.  Its not a Van Stall, ZeeBass or Penn Torque that are all designed to be "skished", thats a style of fishing some fools like to do in new York where they use the reel completely submerged while they do their best imitation of a seal in white shark invested cold waters.  When the earliest reels came on the market some "reel experts" found that one seal in the spool assembly was often not installed correctly.  It was a simple fix to simply loosen 3 screws push the seals edge inward and then tighten the screws.  Its a great reel for its designed purpose and for the money. It isnt a $800 Van Stall and doesnt offer what the Van Stall does at a cheaper price.  The real problem is a lot of people demand that it is and treat it like it is, then cry when it doesnt perform like it is.  Go to alan tani's forum where the "reel experts" hang out and give each other advise.  In the spinning reel sub forum you will find an entire tutorial on how to maintain and pre treat the reel to insure it will give you a decade or more of faithful service.

[Poolshark]

It is as water resistant as any reel you can buy at that price. Rinse it off ever trip. Do a periodic lube as recommended by penn and you will be good to go. 

[Lacustrine]

Thanks.

[atcoha]

i have several of the older models. I rinse them off with the hose. I have a couple 7500-8500 models that are 20 years old, still yankin' bull reds, and have never even taken the spool off. My newer spinfisher v models have been great so far, rinse and no problems.

I can not say the same for the battle series. Have had a couple "leak" and the bearings freeze up, had to replace, they are not worth the time in my book. I replaced the bearings once, if it happens again, they are going in the trash. The only thing I do not like about the spinfisher v series, they are heavy. Bought a penn conflict a few years ago for yak fishing, it's been terrific and much lighter that the v. They are similar to the old graphite series years ago. Good luck.

[0119]

9 hours ago, Poolshark said:

It is as water resistant as any reel you can buy at that price. Rinse it off ever trip. Do a periodic lube as recommended by penn and you will be good to go. 

Wrong. To get the degree of seals offered on the Spinfisher you have to look at a Stella SW or hope that the mag oil of the Ballistic with prove to be as tight as the seals throughout the Spinfisher.

[Kidflex]

I have saltwater fished (surf & deep water jigging/popping) for many years and never had a reel seize up or bearings rust on me. Here's what I do. Disclaimer: this is what I do and has worked successfully, ymmv. After each outing I tighten the drags and submerge my reels in the tub with warm water. I also run water on the spool(all reels spools with braid). I let it soak long enough to where I feel the braid has been cleansed of the saltwater. Afterwards I shake off and let dry on towels. The grease stays put on the inside and I put light oil on certain areas. 

light rinsing won't stop the saltwater in your line to affect the spool down deep. Aluminum will get damaged if done enough. Reels that have been put through battles include, Stella 20k FA & SW, twinpower 8k, saltiga 6k, saltiga expedition, accurate sr12,20 &30's, older team DAIWA 5000hia, accurate 665, 665nn 2sp, 197 2sp, OJ 4000, Trinidad 10a, multiple DAIWA sealine/grand wave. And those sealine reels have been submerged more than they should have in the surf. Still smooth as the day I bought them. 

[0119]

6 hours ago, Kidflex said:

 After each outing I tighten the drags and submerge my reels in the tub with warm water.

YIKEEESSS!

[Lacustrine]

Sorry for posting in the wrong category. Has anyone used both the Spinfisher and Clash series? I am between the two, but don't know if the difference is worth it, plus it isn't sealed. It does have some more bearings (1 of which isn't functional according to Alan Hawk, but I heard you can put a washer between the bearing and it then will become functional but don't know if this is true.) and machined gears (which is going to available for the Spinfisher V models separately in April for $50 which would bring it up to the price of the Clash). Thanks for all of the replies.

[Kidflex]

3 hours ago, 0119 said:

YIKEEESSS!

Works for me. All these beauties stay in great working order. 

[J._Bricker]

After a day on the salt, I'll rinse off the rod and reel with fresh water.   Then hit both with a light coat of WD-40 and wipe 'em down.  If it works....

[Poolshark]

On March 17, 2016 at 5:56 AM, 0119 said:

Wrong. To get the degree of seals offered on the Spinfisher you have to look at a Stella SW or hope that the mag oil of the Ballistic with prove to be as tight as the seals throughout the Spinfisher.

I bought it because it is very water resistant. I've even lost one in my kayak..swam for it... Fished with it for the rest of the day annd pull it apart later to find no water inside. I've never owned a Stella so I can't comment on it. Too much for me. 

[0119]

31 minutes ago, Poolshark said:

Too much for me.

Ditto. The Spinfisher has worked great for me too. Last fall I caught a 3ft. Sand shark on the 3500 and 12# mono. What a blast!

[soflabasser]

After each saltwater trip I clean my reels well with a damp cloth,then use a dry cloth to remove moisture .Every couple months I preform a maintenance inspection on the reels and add grease in the areas needed.Both Penn and Shimano make great saltwater reels and I have +30 year old Penns and +15 year old Shimano reels performing well that need little maintenance considering what I put these reels though.