Tony Orton takes great pride in his rods and reels. Like any good tradesmen who looks after his tools, he want them in perfect order for when he, or his guests, hook into that fish of a lifetime.

As a charter operator, rods and reels are the tools I work with on a daily basis, and I don’t need to be a trained technician to get the best out of them.

My charter boat is like a mobile Shimano showroom. We always have the latest tackle on board and just like the multi-million-dollar private game boats I used to run, we want to show off our gear and keep it in ‘brand new’ condition all the time.

There are a few things that I am very particular about when it comes to looking after my rods and reels. Over the years I have repeatedly seen a few things that will almost certainly damage your gear over time (I am cringing as I write a few of my pet hates).

One of my biggest hates is running and bouncing around the ocean with lures, jigs or sinkers banging on rods and reels. This is the quickest way to damage tackle. Lures and sinkers rubbing or vibrating against your gear will damage the coatings on your reels and the banging can shatter and weaken your rods.

I never store a hook on the eye of a guide. This can chip, scratch or even crack a guide. Once a guide is damaged, you run the chance of the guide wearing away at your braid or mono line and weakening it.

Reels banging into each other when driving is the perfect way to damage the coating on the reel, inviting corrosion and compromising the protective coating. When you put a rod into a holder, check to see if it is going to rub on anything. Be especially mindful of exposed blank butt style rods which can rub against the lip of the holder.

Winding a lure or sinker to the tip of the rod and keeping it there when travelling is the best way to damage your rod tip and guide. This is my number one pet hate when it comes to looking after gear. The bouncing of the boat can sometimes snap the tip right off the rod if rigged with a heavy jig head or sinker.

Securing the jig head over the grip prevents the lure banging against and damaging the rod blank.

As a charter operator I have a set routine each day when it comes to looking after and cleaning my tackle. It’s quick and easy, and our gear is always looking in mint condition, holding its second-hand resale value. We know it’s ready and in the best possible condition to fight that dream fish. Once you have a system, it takes minimal time to properly store and care for your gear.

Running to the fishing grounds

I always try and run with the lures and sinkers NOT on my rods. If I have a jig rigged, I usually slide it into the rod holder down beside the grip of the rod so it cannot rub or bang against the rod. If I have a live-bait set up with a large sinker, I put the sinker in the neighbouring rod holder to keep it away from the rod and reel. For soft-baits and small lures, I use a rubber hook keeper on the grips of the rods so the lures don’t vibrate against the rod blank.

There are some excellent rod holders available that have an accompanying drink holder moulded into them, which are great places to put sinkers, jigheads and the likes – even drinks!

Running in at day’s end

I always remove any rigs, lures and sinkers and generally tie a loop on the end of the leader and put it over the handle. This stops any damage and also eliminates the risk of a lure coming off a rod and hitting someone or damaging other rods. I have seen many rods over the years lose rod tips because of this.

When running at speed, especially if it’s rough, I put the drags up to strike to reduce the risk of water getting into the drag washers. I never motor in with rods in the side gunnel rod holder, as I don’t want unnecessary saltwater washing all over and through my reels. If for some reason we have to store a rod in a gunnel holder, I will always have it on the leeward side to reduce the amount of water washing over it.

Lures and sinkers taken off to prevent damage to rods and reels.

Wash down time!

As soon as we hit the dock or driveway, all the rods and reels are washed straight away. All the drags are pushed up and above strike (spin reels and star drags we tighten to what you may have it if you were fighting a big fish). This stops any water or debris getting pushed into the drag washers. If water and debris do end up sitting in the drag washers, salt may crystallise inside your reel and potentially cause damage to your drag system.

We have a designated wash down area and a racking system by the back of the boat where our rods and reels get washed. It stops them falling over and tangling, and it’s also very easy to see if we have cleaned each combo properly.

On a general day of fishing we only use fresh water to clean our gear, not wanting to risk chemicals breaking down the oil and grease inside our reels. If for some reason our grips or handles have blood, grime, slime or scales on them, we wash these with a rag or wash mitt with soapy water. We will do this first then give them a good rinse/spray off with fresh water to remove any soap. I use the garden hose with a multi-spray nozzle to wash our gear and rinse the reels from about a metre away so not to directly blast water into the reel body.

We then let them sit in the rack for a few minutes to let the water drain. Finally, we get a chamois and dry the gear thoroughly, stopping any water spots forming on the rod blanks and reels.

Gear is gently sprayed with a fine mist of fresh water before backing the drags back off and drying for storage.

Time to store the gear

Once the combos are dried, we back the drags right off and store them in our rod racks in the garage where, just like on the boat, they are not rubbing, hitting each other or tangling. It is important to ease the drags off as storing them with the drags up high will put pressure on the washers and reduce their life. Every now and then, I rub some grease and oil into a rag and give all our alloy reels a light wipe over to remove any water spots. I then put a light film on the reel as protection, being careful not to get any grease or oil on the rubber handles as this may damage them over time.

Use racks to keep your gear separated so it doesn't bang together or get lines tangled.

When cleaning and drying your gear, have a quick look to make sure your guides are okay, nothing is loose or damaged on your reels and check and replace leaders if required. Follow the above steps and you will know your gear is ready to go for your next fishing adventure.

A clean ship is an efficient ship and the same goes for your tackle!

	June - 2020 - Tony Orton New Zealand Fishing News Magazine. Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd. Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited