Reel Maintenance
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74442
Printed Date: 23 Jun 2026 at 10:22pm
Topic: Reel Maintenance
Posted By: AndyK-22
Subject: Reel Maintenance
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 9:32am
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Quite simply..... How do you do it? After each time you go out and cast a line what do you personally do upon once back on land that ensures she is smooth firing for years to come! A spray with water? Inox? what do you do? Just a place to give tips or advice on how to get the best out of your reel.  |
Replies:
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 9:52am
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Every year, I'll pull apart and degrease, clean and re-lube gears and drags. Get some proper grease and oil + a schematic - lots of kitchen towel and tubs for bits. Thread washer & drag stacks onto a string to ensure correct reassembly. Even take a close up photo once opened up.
Lock down drag after use and spray with detergent (I use Simple Green) and scrub any bits off. Spray with very light fresh-water mist, then dry off in sun/wind and spray on Tackle Guard/ Inox etc. Slacken off reel drags. Do rods too. ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: otter
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 11:15am
| spray with salt away and a coating of wd40 + get the pro to do the yearly maintenance... |
Posted By: footy
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 6:25pm
| Light spray rinse, dry and wipe with Inox soaked rag and pull apart as time/use needed |
Posted By: Potty
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 7:15pm
I must be fussy! drag tightened up sprayed with salt away as soon as i'm off the water. When dry drag loosened off & wiped with water. Finished off with a spray of inox on body of reel, bail arm, line roller & handle. About every 3rd time used, inox grease to insides. Reels still feel like new, love those daiwa spinning reels. ------------- Love fishing, love my job. It's a bloody shame that they clash. http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: RobDogg
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 8:31pm
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Bout the same here guys. Rinse with water then left to dry then spray with tackle guard. Yearly sservice at local tackle shop. ( too small and fiddley for me )
------------- Get The Net |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 9:21pm
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most of my reels are 15 to 20 years old hence back then Penn was the way go, you an i know they aren't easy to maintain... but they are still silky smooth and operate as they should... i pull them to bits when brand new and line the inside with a water pro grease hence saltwater can not attach itself to any internal parts.... apart from that i wash them down after most trips using a worm soupy water solution and a soft brush ... ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 9:33pm
I leave mine with a protective coating of fish slime and bait, it's very important to get the mix right. Seriously though, I rinse my gear off with a spray of fresh water and a scrub if needed. Spray on some stuff WD40 or CRC or Inox and that's it. I service my own reels and stopped servicing them every year ages ago because I have so many other things to do. Best to do them every year if you can though no doubt about it, more if you're lucky to get out lots or your gear gets a soaking as they do from a kayak. Most of my reels are pretty ancient but they still work a treat, apart from my last fishing trip out east on Diversity when the handle fell off my cheapie softbait reel.  I serviced my Penn Senator for the first time last year, it was the first service it has had in 8 years or however old it is. Admittedly it wasn't used much but it did a dandy job of landing a marlin for Skoti last year. |
Posted By: Fugu
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2012 at 10:31pm
Hot water is much better at removing salt than cold.....
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Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 1:09am
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I dont use water on my reels at all(except to wash line)...just spray with inox...leave for a while and then wipe off excess.....wash my line every time...braid or mono...spool top 20 metres in to the sink and then warm water lightly over the line on reel.spins = i take the spool off to do that(leave in airing cupboard overnight to dry). inox rollers.Braid and mono lasts a long time then. service drags on spin reels myself.Get Reel serviced by jeff murray(The legend) when i feel like it!wash rods with hose and inox guides(but never Fuji reel seats ,only metal ones) every time...never leave a reel on a rod.Drags backed off.
------------- Once the idiots turn up..Im outta here...No time for Drama Queens. |
Posted By: "Scooter"
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 6:49am
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I rinse every thing with fresh water an wipe dry. Spray a little inox in areas I think could use it. Fishing from a Kayak the odd reel will get dripped in the tide,so after that happens I pull em' apart give em' a clean an lube. Some thing I noticed as soon as I started doing that is that very little water does get in most of the time. I'm more carefull about cleaning my rods than I am my reels. |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 7:09am
------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Fugu wrote:Posted By: tobez
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 5:19pm
| Service all reels once a month all 10 of the buggers complete stripdown and re grease. Wash with water on some and others get a spray with inox depends if in have rubber handles or not |
Posted By: AndyK-22
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 5:25pm
Very good to know!! |
Posted By: U357
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 5:54pm
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Guys, why is Inox better than CRC Marine or some of the others? or is it just personal preference?
------------- 404. That’s an error. That’s all we know. |
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 6:36pm
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Braid doesn't like sprays like crc etc,if you can try not to get it on the braid As it shortens the life of it ------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: BeachedAsBro
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 7:06pm
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CRC also seems to fucl the rubber handles. I use a spray bottle of hot soapy water to spray down my rods and rel. Leave for a bit to drip while i do some thimg else then wipe dry with a cloth followed by a good spray with inox. ------------- Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish caught will we realise we can't eat money. |
Posted By: John_Ra
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 7:08pm
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I just hose em down rod & reel, attachment is a multihead use the shower part give em a good hose & drip dry. None of that CRC ****e. That warm to hot water sounds the go.
Started showering with em too  ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 8:30pm
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Inox smells yummy too...wd40 is ok but the smell of crc makes me want to pwk. Do you sleep with em too John?  ------------- Once the idiots turn up..Im outta here...No time for Drama Queens. |
Posted By: donnyboy
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 8:36pm
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light spray of water and use crc tackle guard, is that ok on braid??? i always spray the cloth and wipe it over
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Posted By: Men In Black
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 8:44pm
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I clean all my tackle in the shower after each and every trip... may as well get it clean when I get clean ....tighten the drags ...light soap up with the wife exfoliating glove and a rinse off under a medium pressure before drying and applying a light coat of Inox (Line excluded) ------------- www.synit.co.nz |
Posted By: John_Ra
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 8:49pm
 Have on occasion yesCRC is banned substance on our site.... ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 9:00pm
| I wouldnt put them in the shower, good way for even more water to get in. But if it works.....I dont but gear too often and my braid has to last me at least a year or two, cant say I've had a problem with aerosols damaging it. |
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 9:30pm
Crc tackle guard and products like that are designed to penetrate and displace water,they do that very well.if you use a woven braid and spray it with these products it will soak in and stay in the braid,while I have no proof it damages these braids I'm positive it deteriorates fused braid.when I used to test braids on the line tester I soaked a spool of fused braid in a spray on product left it for a week then tested it.the results were the braid broke at a lot less that it did before immersion in the spray.this braid was used and was about 3months old,it had lost that slippery new feel fused braid has.ididnt test any woven braid and I wish I did. ------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: kaveman
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 9:31pm
shower is the best way smudge, not too much water pressure and perfect water temp to remove salt residue. tighten up drags before,sweet as -------------  www.kavemantackle.co.nz
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Posted By: AndyK-22
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2012 at 9:57pm
Is Inox alright with braid? Handles? etc?
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Posted By: Potty
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 9:29am
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Andy-22, It says on the inox label that it can damage rubber. On my reels I spray the reel handle just where it turns and keep it well away from drag washers and areas that are greased. I also try to avoid the braid but spray the main body of the reel & bail arms with it. ------------- Love fishing, love my job. It's a bloody shame that they clash. http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: AndyK-22
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 9:48am
| Ahh Awesome! Thats good to know. Thanks Potty |
Posted By: Fishing Addiction
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 9:53am
| when I took my reel in for a service I got told not to wash my reel. Just a wipe down and a light inox |
Posted By: Don18025
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 10:00am
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FA, I have been told both. This discussion is great as reel problems have been a challenge. I have a moored launch and my gear stays aboard. I normally hose down with freshwater at end of the day allow to dry and then stow away. I do not spray on lubricants as it just spreads throughout the cabin. When a reel gets stiff, noisy and challenging to crank it goes to Swordfish Steve, about every 3 years on average. I have got two reels in bits in containers at home I tried to strip and service myself - so have given up on DIY and get Steve to do the precision work. |
Posted By: Fishing Addiction
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 11:02am
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think it could depend on the reel. The overhead are prob a bit more waterproof than the spinners overall so if the drags are cranked up then no water gets in therfore can give it a very good clea4N by washing it under the hose/in the shower etc on the outside to prevent corrosion. On spinners think they aren't quite as waterproof so a wipe down and inox might be a better idea? interested in other peoples ideas on this |
Posted By: CanadianJohn
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 11:08am
i used to pull my reels apart yearly for a service. i have 2 diawa SL20 and 2 shimano tld 15. far too often i got them apart and they were exactly the same as when i had put them together the year before. i've now dropped servicing intervals to 3 yearly! evidence that i buy good quality reels or that i don't fish enough.
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