Can You Use Vaseline on Fishing Reels Updated

Can You Use Vaseline on Fishing Reels

November 05, 2010

Fishing equipment will concluding a long fourth dimension with proper maintenance.

Gear needs care. Simple equally that. And correct now, with winter setting in, is a good time to think about maintenance. Even if you lot're a 52-week angler and never stow your gear for the season, weather surely will knock out a angling day some time soon. Invest that solar day in tackle maintenance and commit to establishing good care routines. In the long run, you'll save line-fishing time, lessen the likeliness of lost fish and make the gear you have invested in terminal longer.

A modest stiff brush is useful for getting lube down into the gears of a reel. Proper lubrication improves the function and extends the life of reels. –ª Photo courtesy of TTI/Blakemore.

Reels, which are delicate and somewhat complex, offer a good place to start. They should be wiped downwards and stale after every use and occasionally opened for basic lubrication and to check for any droppings that might have gotten inside the reel, said Joe Davis, an engineer for Quantum.

TJ Stallings of Blakemore, which makes Existent Magic Reel Lube, has spent more than hours than he'd similar to think taking apart fishing reels. While Stallings was growing upwardly his dad ran a tackle shop, and reel repair was part of the store's offerings. In addition to giving Stallings an early on understanding of the basic workings of fishing reels, it gave him a major appreciation for the importance of proper care.

"Reel maintenance needs to be ongoing, not merely a flavor-end thing," Stallings said. "The life-giving parts encounter a lot of use and need to be taken care of on a regular footing."

If you opt to exercise a total breakup for cleaning and lubrication, keep the exploded parts view from the manual in front you. Modern reels, especially baitcasters, take far more parts than nigh anglers would expect. Stallings advocates laying down a slice of heavy white paper to identify all the parts on because you can come across each function well and you can write on

the paper if you need to accept notes virtually specific parts. Lubrication should be according to manufacturer recommendations.

"One big myth is the petroleum jelly makes a good reel lubricant," Stallings said, having seen far likewise many reels that were stiff or even locked downwards because they were "cleaned" or "lubricated" with the products that weren't designed for utilize on fishing reels.

Fifty-fifty dedicated reel-care products have specific functions. Reel Magic Reel Lube, for example, is excellent for lubricating a reel'due south gears, but it'due south not designed for something that needs to spin freely, such as the spool shaft on a baitcasting reel. That requires a light oil, and a heavy lube or grease volition tedious the spool and shorten casts.

"For parts that mesh, such every bit gears, use reel grease. For parts that rub, use oil," said Davis, explaining that grease differs from oil based on thickening agents that aid information technology stay in place on gears.

When you do clean your reels, exist certain to check the line. If you'll exist stowing your rods and reels for a couple of months, strip the line and go out it off until just prior to your first trip of the new flavor. That style you'll know yous are starting with fresh line when yous begin over again. If you're just taking a maintenance day and will exist fishing again soon, strip the line and re-spool.

Line lasts a long time on the original spool, in the basement. As long equally information technology stored in a relatively cool place and out of direct sunlight it should be fine. The lifespan of line on your reels is much shorter every bit it wets and dries, sits out in the oestrus and gets twisted and nicked with use. The amount of line on the spool as well gets smaller as you change lures, lose baits to snags, cut off line because of "twisties," etc. Unless your line has been very freshly spooled, at that place's no reason to not showtime fresh equally long equally y'all're working on your gear anyway.

Rods are much simpler than reels and don't require much maintenance. Rubbing a rod from terminate to end with a damp material then a dry cloth does assistance keep a rod in expert condition, but the virtually importance bit of rod care is a simple check-up. Look at every rod from finish to end to brand certain reel seats and handles remain secure and that all the eyes are direct and have inserts that are fully intact. A tiny flake in an center insert can fray your line, and you may not know what happened until it is as well belatedly.

Looking by the rods and reels to lures and concluding tackle, the first important footstep is a good organisation session. Whether all your gear is in a unmarried tackle box that you comport everywhere or your gunkhole or basement serves equally a behemothic tackle box filled with smaller stowable boxes, always matter should have a place. Unless you are exceptionally organized, things tend to fall out of guild as you lot fish, and occasionally you demand to stop and resort.

Across the obvious on-the-water value of chop-chop finding a sure colour of Spook when the fish of a sudden first schooling, putting things back in their places reminds you of items that have run low, hooks that accept gotten aptitude out of shape and need replacing and other budget tasks that demand to exist washed. Make a listing of things you desire to furnish and visit the tackle store or place those orders right away so you don't of a sudden call back that you had run out of worm weights as you lot're about to tie on a Texas rig in the jump.

This is also a good time to re-evaluate your sorting system. If you've gotten more into jerkbait fishing than you had in the past, for example, those baits might exist inundation and it might be fourth dimension to start a dedicated jerkbait box. If yous do use some sort of stowable-box system, sorting baits and last tackle past category and putting easy-to-read labels on the edges makes you much more efficient on the water. Labels don't have to exist fancy. A roll of masking tape and a permanent marker exercise the job just fine.

By the time all your baits are back in their place, you lot should have a pretty good feel for what else needs to exist done to get everything in good working order. Beyond replenishing supplies, the biggest job that might need doing is hook sharpening. If you have boxes filled with baits, testing hooks for sharpness and honing them with a sharpening tool tin can seem somewhat tedious; however, information technology's a far better selection than setting the hook on a big fish and coming upwardly empty.

While you lot're in the sharpening mode, information technology's a proficient idea to pull out a stone and acuminate your pocketknife and filet pocketknife, lubricate your pliers or multi-tool and make sure other accessories are in good working social club.

Finally, once all the tackle is in good working society, take a peek out your garage door and run into if the weather has improved. At present that all your stuff is back in proficient condition, you might want to get line-fishing!