Cleaning....

[DJHolly22]

Wondering if anyone out there has ideas on cleaing reels besides just breaking them down, reason im asking is that i live close enough to the coast that its not really dirt but a sandy mixture so sand likes to find its ways into the reel, ive heard of ppl hosing if off with fresh water and wiping it dry does that work or are there any other ways?

[pussiwillow]

i fish on alot of sandy beaches in the wind. always windy here, and i dont usually have an issue with sand inside the gears side of the reel, the only thing ive noticed gets sandy/dirty is the paw/worm gear for the level wind on my baitcasters. those are the only reals ive used and torn down...

[.RM.]

You fish a salty environment, you need to fresh water rinse the reel every time out.

Then do a total break down to C&L the reel (frequency) dependent on how often your fishing.

You may not feel it in the crank, but very fine sand and salt particles are in the reel/s and, will mess up gears and other parts over time without proper C&L...........

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Yup, absolutely rinse any reel that's been near salt water, even if you didn't use it on that trip.

[Mike L]

On my fresh water gear I rinse off the rod and handle after every trip but not the reel.

I always thought if they wet better chance of rusting. True?

Salt water gear everything gets drenched.

Mike

[BobP]

There usually isn't anything inside a reel that will actually rust.... but salt will corrode and pit the stainless steel parts and will destroy ball bearings pretty quickly. Some baitcast reels will go totally belly up from one year of saltwater use, without some TLC. I rinse mine thoroughly with fresh water after every day's fishing, including the level wind system. When I get home, I'll re-oil the bearings and level wind and flag the reel for a 100% take down, cleaning, and lube as a priority over the reels I use in fresh water. Some guys treat equipment as disposable. I want mine to last until I get tired of looking at it, maybe a decade or two down the road.