Some REEL Stuff to Talk About

[D.W. Verts]

I know from life and my YouTube experience that a lot of younger folks don't pay much attention to what the "older" folks have to say, but the following is critical to your bass fishing, period. Also, it needs to be noted that there are many fine topics about this subject right here on UB from guys that are way better at this than me. Look some of this information up- it can save you some heartache, money, or both.

And if you are a part of the "throw it away" generation then the following does not apply to you.

I've spent several hours the last two days cleaning reels, and I'm maybe halfway to being done. It's been awhile since I did the whole tear 'em down, scrub 'em, lube them, put them back together and hope they work thing. It's the problem of owning over 150 reels that are usable- I tend to set them aside if they have issues and move on.

But last season I pulled my mini/tinny bass boat down miles of dusty gravel and dirt roads seeking out new bassin' venues, and the dirt, well, it was incredible how bad my rods and reels looked after getting to a lake. And I had to make the same trek back out. Wow. So it's been a pull 'em down and take them apart deal, and it's part of the fun, to a degree. Unless you're doing FORTY some of them. But I digress.

Anyway, point being- this is a fairly simple task if you spend much time fishing at all, something that I assume we all TRY to do, even if it's not working for me this year. Yet. If you fish a couple of days a week and haven't done a scrubbing in a while then I pretty much guarantee that your reels (and rods too, I wipe them down also, paying attention especially to the guides while looking for potential issues) are in need of attention. The ones that I'm cleaning right now are HURTING.

A boring topic, but ya'll need to understand- these reels are finely machined pieces of equipment with very tight tolerances. Fill those "tolerences" up with dust, grit, old grease (that catches the dust and grit) and such (I pulled INCHES of old stringy moss out of reels so far) and you are setting yourself up for problems sooner or later. And not much screws up a fishing day like a malfunctioning reel.

If you're not comfortable with cleaning reels then I highly suggest finding someone who is. A local would of course be best, but we are fotunate to have a couple of folks on this site that are very capable of helping you out. I suggest GETTING comfortable with tearing down down and becoming familiar with your own reels. Get a parts schematic (they're online I'm sure if you don't have one) and LEARN how a reel works. It may save you some day on the water- a little knowledge can sometimes fix an issue when the reel isn't really "broke". I've seen it many times.

So if you haven't cleaned your reels recently take a few minutes before your season really gets going and look them over. You'll see the crap that's ground into the reel body, the same crap that's trying to get into your level wind and gears and such. Trust me. You don't have to believe in this older guy, but trust that what I'm saying here is as big a truth as anything that I've ever written on this forum.

Peace out ya'll, and I hope that the BIG bass come your way this season.

Dale

[1ReelFanatik]

Don't have near your reels.  Only a hundred baitcast reels.  No place to do my own maintenance.  But then I don't get out often so cleaning every year isn't critical.  I keep covers on all reels when not actually fishing with one.  I worry more about grease hardening then I do about dirt.  Well...except for any dust that might get in them from sitting around.  I try to rotate my reels so all see a little action and none see a lot of action, but have to admit that a few haven't been used in a long time while a few others have seen more use than the average.

I think the professional reel cleaners/repairmen love me.     I try to send out at least 5 at a time for cleaning and/or upgrading or repair if needed.  Always wanted an Airy Red.  Got one in excellent condition at a good price...except I couldn't spool line on it even with the drag locked down.  Had it tuned and upgraded while out for repair.  Cost more than what I paid for the reel, but I am not sorry.  Beautiful reel now.

Dale II

[Oldfart9999]

If you're going to do your own, it can be educational and enjoyable, break out the phone or camera and take a lot of pics as you tear down, it'll help you put back together. Use a good cleaner, there are a bunch mentioned here, use quality lube, oil and grease and don't over do it with them. Good lubes are also mentioned on the site. Both Mike and Kevin Rush have tutorials and there are many on you tube. If all else fails and you don't want to do it then Mike is the only one left on the site as far as I know that does the work, he's very good at it, you'll be happy with his work.
Rodney

[Mike Cork]

Great advice here. Most reels are pretty simple to pull down clean and put back together and as OldFart mentioned the best tool in your arsenal is the phone in your camera, if you feel you need to, take a picture after you remove each part. Or set it up so you can video your tear down. Anyway with your phone camera you won't have to worry about "how does this part go back"

A reel is a pile of assembled parts to make a whole, a puzzle if you will. Except you get to see it together and then tear it apart in pieces. One major piece of advice, if it doesn't come apart easily, you are missing something. Take a second and find what's holding things up.

There are a lot of fine oils out there. I like TSI 321 but Reel Butter and Ardent make a good oil. For grease I like Super Lube, again Reel Butter and Ardent make good products. With a quick google search there are tons of newer products out there as well. The biggest key is to not over grease or oil any parts. Grease and oil weigh down your parts and collect debris.

If you get in a bind, you can always post a photo here and we can help out 

If this isn't something you're willing to do, the post office can get them to me or your reel mechanic of choice.

[fishingram24]

The last few times I tried to really take one down they always ended up in the parts bin with the other old broken reels. Probably twice a year I will take them apart but not disassemble them, oil the gears on the right side plate, bearings on both sides of the spool, bearing on the left side, worm gear and knobs on the handle. Wipe all exposed parts down with q tips and clean rags and put back together. Only have 25 or 30 out for use but only 10 to 12 that get put in the boat every trip. Since I started replacing all my round reels about 10 years ago, 5 years before retirement, with the 100-140 dollar Lews' and more recently with the Shimano SLX XT reels I have had no problems other than line pawls on the Lews
     

[apenland01]

I've had Mike and Matt do some work for me and they've been great.

I also own mostly Lew's baitcasters, so I pay to ship them to Lew's and they service them and send them back for free.

I tear down, clean and lube all my spinning reels, which are a mix of brands...

[SHC286]

I've recommended to people to be on the lookout for battered old round reels at pawn shops and flea markets to practice with if they want to try their hand at it. Many of them have fewer parts and more room to work with.

Aw man, I was putting a custom trigger group in a gun a couple weeks ago. At one point I had in my hand, six parts that had to be held together from three different directions while hooking a spring into a little tab while sliding the assembly into the frame... then I heard the dreaded "ting! Tick tick tick..." of a spring flying out of place and bouncing across the floor...
I was trying not to cuss, and my son said I made a bunch of noises that sounded like I was summoning a demon.

[Mike Cork]

Ouch... the "Ting" yep. I've gotten to where I have so many spares now I don't sweat it. Even after the thousands of reels that I've done, I still let one get away from me once in a while LOL

[Oldfart9999]

I've recommended to people to be on the lookout for battered old round reels at pawn shops and flea markets to practice with if they want to try their hand at it. Many of them have fewer parts and more room to work with.

Aw man, I was putting a custom trigger group in a gun a couple weeks ago. At one point I had in my hand, six parts that had to be held together from three different directions while hooking a spring into a little tab while sliding the assembly into the frame... then I heard the dreaded "ting! Tick tick tick..." of a spring flying out of place and bouncing across the floor...
I was trying not to cuss, and my son said I made a bunch of noises that sounded like I was summoning a demon.

That's why I wear knee pads when I'm doing reels.
Rodney

[D.W. Verts]

We used to call those little c-clips "Jesus" clips. One would leave and you'd say "Jesus!". Or a lot worse.

Dale

[Espresso_Junky247]

I can definitely agree as preventive maintenance is key with most things in life. For decades I've been in the habit of wiping my reel down, tearing down often for a basic touch up (especially spool bearings) as well as wiping the rod/guides down after every single use. Whether I fished 1-2x weekly like years ago or rarely these days due to health I still have taken that same approach every trip out. Of course I've never had a single tackle issue on the water either. These days I have ONE fantastic rod/reel as I only have ONE casting hand, so what more is needed!?!

[SHC286]

Not gonna lie, it took me a minute to figure that out.