Scratches and Paint Chips on Equipment

[Byang98120]

Well...

 

After keeping my equipment safe best as I can, my reel got its first paint chip yesterday after catching a northern. It's small, but I am OCD about these kinds of things and hard to let it go, but I just need affirmation that it happens to the best of us. What makes me more mad is, it could've been prevented if I just manned up, grabbed the pike and unhooked it. I have PTSD from treble hooks after being hooked from a flopping fish last year. Had to run to my car to grab grippers. Come back, fish of course flopped into the water, looked like the rod/reel didn't move, but some how got a chip. I was an idiot and not thinking. I can't resist using lures with treble hooks especially if it's the whopper plopper. Fish was fine...

 

Do you guys get scratches and chips no matter how hard you try to keep it cosmetically clean?

 

 

[Dens228]

I'm of the belief, If you don't lose lures to snags you aren't fishing the right spots for big bass.

I also think, if you're gear looks new you aren't fishing enough.

I take great care of my gear, it gets dirty and marked up.  It's the nature of the beast. 

 

This reminds me a time a few years back that I took a guy boar hunting in a swamp.  He assured me he was an experiences hunter, having done self guided moose hunts numerous times in Canada.  We go on a three day hunt to which he has pristine, clean, new looking camo and boots.  We split up on the first day and I get myself a nice boar about mid day.  Towards the end of the day he comes out of the swamp about as clean as he went in. Tells me he didn't see anything.  LOL  I'm covered head to toe in mud. 

 

The next day I take him out, we got his boar, and he was covered head to toe in mud. 

[Byang98120]

5 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I'm of the belief, If you don't lose lures to snags you aren't fishing the right spots for big bass.

I also think, if you're gear looks new you aren't fishing enough.

I take great care of my gear, it gets dirty and marked up.  It's the nature of the beast. 

 

This reminds me a time a few years back that I took a guy boar hunting in a swamp.  He assured me he was an experiences hunter, having done self guided moose hunts numerous times in Canada.  We go on a three day hunt to which he has pristine, clean, new looking camo and boots.  We split up on the first day and I get myself a nice boar about mid day.  Towards the end of the day he comes out of the swamp about as clean as he went in. Tells me he didn't see anything.  LOL  I'm covered head to toe in mud. 

 

The next day I take him out, we got his boar, and he was covered head to toe in mud. 

Haha, funny story. I am definitely that guy in the story.

 

I like what you said man. Losing lures, gear mark ups are part of the sport. Like a car...you pay a lot, but gets scratched, rust, paint chips, windows broken, dirty, dents, bumpers break, etc etc.

 

[J Francho]

Take a stroll through the Flea Market to see typical wear on reels.

[Mobasser]

After years of use, even if your careful, your reels will probably get some "boat rash". It happens

[Guitarfish]

I'm crazy protective of my reels and have very few marks spread over my whole collection of reels.  I hate when the lettering rubs off reels I palm a lot.  Before reel covers became a common thing I used to pull heavy wool socks over my reels when I went on a party boat. (A guy once racked his rod next to mine and thrashed my reel on the ride home).

 

My user reels are ones that already have a mark.  But even my users are pretty nice.  And most of my stuff is 20+ years old.  I look at it as respect for a fine little machine.  Maybe I'll relax when I grow up. (66 yesterday).

[jbsoonerfan]

LOL, I am definitely one of those guys who hates any visible wear on his reels. I use reel covers all the time when mine are in the rod locker.

 

Sort of off topic, I get made fun of at the golf course because I use club covers on every club in my bag. "Bag chatter" isn't as cool to me as it is others. Haha

[camman]

Yup it comes with fishing.  I try and keep my reels protected, all of them are covered to/from the lake.  Once I take a few out and put them on the deck, the reel covers are off and have gotten some wear.  I try and keep maybe only 3-4 on the deck at any one time which seems to reduce them from banging into each other.  I'm also one of those guys who swaps out reels every 2-3 years so my reels don't look too bad.

 

My saltwater reels on the other hand are pretty beat up.  I've had a few of my favorite reels for probably 15-20 years and they have taken an abuse...especially when I'm on the kayak

[NYWayfarer]

I can relate to this thread. I like my stuff to look like new. My rods and reels get a wipe down with a damp cloth after each session. I try never to toss them on the ground or let them bang into each other.

 

All reels eventually get scratches including my Pro-Ti which has a titanium deposition coating on it. I touch up black reels that get chipped with a black sharpie.

[LCG]

I try to take care of my stuff. Rods have rod socks on then and reels have covers on them. But once you start using them, they become tools and sometimes get scratched up. But luckily my stradic FL and Curado K are still in excellent condition from this year's season... So far. Other than the ocd factor, I am sure they will perform just as well with a few scratches. 

[Kevinator1]

Those are character marks! That shows who fishes a lot and who doesn't....I try to do the best to keep them looking good but i'm more worried about catching fish. I clean and lube my equipment each year but they all have some marks on them....that's what they are for, to use. It's kind of like the one guy on You tube who i won't mention but he acts like he knows his tackle stuff but there isn't a mark on his equipment or boat because he doesn't really fish much....my stuff gets used for its purpose.....my boat goes places others wont go because i love  feeling the tug of the green fish so if i end up scratching the boat or reels so be it....they still work just fine. Just wipe them off and go fishing. 

[PhishLI]

I keep my reel covers in my pockets or waders, and when I switch rigs the covers go back on each reel immediately. Even with that I somehow manage to get some superficial marks occasionally, but nothing approaching boat rash. Still, I wanna punch myself in the face when it happens. It bothers me. A little spit on the finger as lapping compound and a good rub on the mark and I'm over it. My main wading pal usually totes around 9 rigs. All have rod sleeves, but no reel covers. He bundles them up and carries them through the woods like a stack of 2x4s over one shoulder. Aldebarans clanging against Zillions clanging againsts ProTIs, etc. It's something to see! Doesn't bother him in the least as long as his NRXs are sheathed.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

Reel covers and rod sleeves eliminate at least 90% of the problem.

 

 

[Byang98120]

1 minute ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

Reel covers and rod sleeves eliminate at least 90% of the problem.

 

 

I have rod sleeves and reel covers, but I do not bring them because I usually carry one rod. I bring the covers when I go on a boat...I don't know why I don't bring them when I bank fish...i should start doing that.

[roadwarrior]

I hope a few of the guys that recently purchased reels from me will respond on this thread.

All of the reels are at least 10 years old, a couple 15-20.

 

[Dens228]

I always use rod sleeves when transporting to and from the water but I've never put a reel cover on.  

[mrpao]

In the rod locker rods get rod sleeves and reels get reel covers.

On the deck of the boat, to and from the lake, reels get reel covers.

Once on the water, which ever reels get used, loses the reel cover until time to come back in.

[Mbirdsley]

paint chips, scratches, tooth scratches on baits and dirty cork on rods all represent war wounds and should be shown with pride.  Mechanical issues are taken care of as the arise or in the winter time 

 

I buy the best equipment I can afford to use and not re-sell .  With that out the way and all said. I am slowly buying rod and reel sleeves.  Scratching equipment catching fish is one thing. I’d rather not scratch it transporting rods and reels 

[Smalls]

I try to take good care of my stuff so that it lasts as long as it can, but I don't baby it. Rod socks and reel covers are easy and inexpensive piece of mind. They're all tools meant to be used, not put on a mantle. 

[fvogel67]

I've been OCD big time with my gear,The best thing I've done is fish it hard and not worry about it.

After a while You'll learn to appreciate the nicks and gouges.  Tight Lines!

[J Francho]

In my experience, bank/shore fishing is rough on gear. You’re always setting your gear down and climbing around shore line cover. 

[OnthePotomac]

On the deck my reels lay on a 3/4" foam rubber pad, so no carpet rash and in the rod locker the reel covers stay on.  The foam rubber pad is easy on my old feet also, keeps scent goo off the carpet and came off a big roll in the carpet dept at Lowes. It extends from the bow to about 8" past the butt seat pole on the deck and port to starboard.

[WRB]

Most damaged comes when transporting reels on rods for rough roads in the vehicle or white cap water rides in the boat. Rod sleeves and reel covers help a lot during transport but when fishing they get taken off. 

Most folks buy tackle to use it, some abuse it and a few take exception care. I fall into the use it category and try to take care when transporting my stuff with sleeves and bath towels between layers or rods in the locker. My habit was to only keep out what I am using, about 3-5 outfits so they don't get knocked around or go overboard.

Bank only 1 outfit.

Tom

[king fisher]

    I buy my equipment to use, I don't care about resale value.  I will most likely be the last owner of almost all my gear.   All my gear is nothing but tools to me.  I make sure every tool I own is taken care of maintained and works as it was designed.  Cosmetics is not even a consideration.

    I guided a client on a Caribou hunt in AK a few years ago.  We were stalking a record book caribou.  We had to crawl across a exposed bolder field.  My client wouldn't put his gun on the rocks while we crawled.   He kept trying to hold it in the air and crawl on all fours at the same time.  He was slow and the Caribou was going to get away.  I told him to crawl like me and not to worry about the scratches in the stock of the rifle.  He had an off the shelf rifle, so it wasn't like he paid a fortune for the stock.  He told me my rifle looked like hell, and he wouldn't treat his in the same way.  I told him if he hurried up, and got the Caribou, I would buy him a new rifle with out any scratches, or he could continue the way he was and go home with out a trophy of a lifetime.

      We got the Caribou and he ended showing off the scratches and talking about the long difficult hunt for years.  At the end of the hunt I set up a target and proved to him, my piece of junk rifle looked like hell, but was very accurate.

      I don't believe in abusing my fishing gear, but I do believe my gear was made to catch fish, I don't care what it looks like.  That is me, if you like to keep your gear looking like new, and don't mind making the effort to do so, than that is what you should do.  I'm sure there are people that catch more fish than me, and their gear looks perfect.  I know I wouldn't have any fun fishing if I had to worry about how my gear looks all the time, and fishing is supposed to be about having fun.  

[fishwizzard]

I bankfish a lot and take reasonable care with my gear, I use rod/reel covers for storage and transport and always throw my hat on the ground when I need to set my combo down.  Stuff still happens and the only damage I really hate is when it's due to me being an idiot/lazy.  Slipped screwdrivers and me slipping and falling are the two biggest causes.