Reel Winter Work
Published: Friday, February 15, 2019
By: Dan Armitage
The first couple months of the year are down time for most Great Lakes anglers who fish from boats – for obvious reasons. This time of year the closest we can get to participating in our passion is attending winter boat and sport shows and living the catching vicariously through presenters of fishing seminars, standing atop the bow of “half boats” bolted to giant mobile aquariums stocked with our favorite finned quarry.
The best way we anglers can bide our winter “off time” is by making sure that when we do get the chance to set a hook, that our tackle is up to the task. Because they are the most vulnerable to malfunction, the first items you want to check out are your fishing reels.
Reels typically come from the factory with a tube of grease or oil and a special wrench with the fittings cut to match the nuts and bolts and screws you’ll find on the device in hand. If you’re lucky, it also came with a sheet explaining routine maintenance procedures, as well as showing how to break down the reel for more in-depth work. That said, if you keep tackle as long as I do, those accessories are long gone and you’ll have to improvise with small tools and a basic understanding of what needs to be done to keep the reel working through the next season or three.
Power strippers to remove old line from fishing reels before cleaning them makes that part of the job quick and easy.
Start the reel-renovation process by removing the line, which will force you to spool on fresh mono or braid – something most of us put off far too long – after the basic cleaning job is completed. Once the line is removed, clean the outside of the reel using warm water and mild dish soap. For stubborn stuff, you can use products such as Arm & Hammer Scrub Free or common toothpaste, which contains a mild abrasive, applied with an old toothbrush. Tight places may require cotton swabs dunked in the cleaning solution to remove the buildup.
Proper off-season maintenance for fishing reels calls for mild soap, paper towels, swabs, and lubricants made for the job, as well as fresh line for the spool.
Don’t be tempted to use cotton balls or swabs when cleaning the worm gears of level-wind reels, as the fibers can break free and get tangled in the gear systems and cause problems. Also, don’t use solvents such as mineral spirits unless you need them for stubborn oil-based clogs, and never soak your reel in spirits of any kind, as the chemicals can damage some composites such as graphite found in drag washers.
Once the reel’s exterior is clean and dried using a paper towel, it’s time to lubricate the reel’s moving parts. This is where most anglers, myself included, tend to go overboard with the “more is better” mantra and apply way too much lube, be in oil or grease, in too many places. Drag washers are especially at risk of receiving any lube, which will drastically reduce their effectiveness. Keep in mind, excess oil anywhere attracts and holds dirt, making matters worse down the road.
Reel cleaning kits, like this model from Ardent Outdoors, offer everything you need to maintain your fishing reel in the off season. (ardentoutdoors.com)
Without the reel’s maintenance manual available, learning where to lubricate is simply a matter of working the reel and watching where there are moving parts. Anywhere that parts move should get a dab of lubricant where surfaces meet, and any excess should be wiped off.
There are plenty of lubricants available that are specifically made for fishing reels. Use the lube that came with the reel or purchase reel oil and grease made for the job. I like to use Zebco’s Hot Sauce when available because it is red in color and allows me to better see how much and where I am putting it, including when I apply the lube with a toothpick to reach a small area. I also use Penn’s reel oil for no other reason than I have used it for years and never had a problem with it. Penn and Abu-Garcia both make great oil and grease lubricants for their – and other brands’ – reels.
Reel oil designed for the task is the preferred lube for reels’ interiors, as grease can break down or gel up in cool Great Lakes weather.
Depending on how much use it receives, or every time it gets used in saltwater during a fishing vacation to the coast, you should open up the reel and lubricate the interior gears. Some of those parts require oil and others grease, and your manual will tell you which. The reel’s main shaft or axle, for example, should only be oiled, and only with products made for lubricating reels or oils blended for use with machinery, such as 3-in-1 oil. That said, some Great Lakes area anglers opt for oil on all interior moving parts because some grease will bind up in cold weather.
The rule is the same inside and out: if it moves, it gets a dab of lube or a drop of oil. I use Hot Sauce for grease jobs inside and out, as I may use the same reel on a frigid day in March that I will use on a 90 degree day next August and I’ve never had a problem with the Zebco lube.
General purpose lubricants are fine for the outside of fishing reels and for use through the season, but make sure you use what the manufacturer suggests when replacing lubricants inside the reel.
Finally, the last thing you should do – and this goes for the end of each fishing trip – is to loosen the drag on your reels. The delicate washers that offer the smooth release of line under the pressure of a fish can bind if they remain tight against each other over extended periods. And losing the first good fish of the season is a major drag in itself.
About the Author
Dan Armitage is a popular Great Lakes-based outdoor writer and host of the Buckeye Sportsman show (buckeyesportsman.net), syndicated weekly on 30 radio stations across Ohio. Dan is a certified Passport to Fishing instructor and leads kids fishing programs at Midwest boat and sport shows, and is a licensed Captain with a Master rating from the US Coast Guard.
This article first appeared in the Winter Issue (Jan/Feb) 2019 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Boating 101, Fishing, Service & Repair
