How to clean/maintain rod and reels after each trip?
 

Now that I’m buying more expensive gear instead of the cheap Wal-Mart stuff I used buy I was wondering if a simple hose down is enough to keep it going for a life time.

So how does everyone else clean and maintain their reels after each trip?

Hose down rods with fresh water and reels with light mist of fresh water from hose or aspirator bottle, then wipe dry with clean cloth. Do not submerge reels in fresh water. Remember to back off the drags on your reels. bosco

to dunk or not to dunk that is the question :)

Avet actually tell people to tighen up drag and dunk their reels into soap water....for me i tighten up drag, grab spray bottle and fill it up with close to hot water. Make sure its on the mist setting and give it a couple spray from all angle....when reel start dripping water is a good sign it's enough. Then make sure drags are backed off and clicker turned on... flick your wrist to get rid of the excess water and wipe done with a microfiber rag. If you know you got lots of saltwater into the reel then you gotta break the reel down

others can chime in

Any special attention to braided lines?




BTW most of my reels are spin reels.

nah not after use but some guys after a season would actually take the braid off and rinse it....braid retains water a little better then mono with that salt. I have seen spools with corroded spools but i think those are from the guys that hose down their gear pushing the salt farther in

After every trip I wash down all my rods with a car soapy mix and a soft spongy. Then air dry them in the back yard. I do this as soon as I get home, I think not waiting is the key. 8 years out my gear still looks good. I always have a fresh bottle of water on hand to wash down the reels as soon as I am done. Then a quick swipe down. This is what works for me hope it helps.

I just leave my reels in the rod slots of the PA and hose them down along with the yak. I always use the "Shower" setting on the hose no matter what I'm washing. After they dry I give them a quick shot with Salt Stop, along with the gaff, my pliers and deck knife...

Pretty much what i've done in the past; lay the rods next to the PA and hose them down together.

i dunk them in fresh water and let them dry. greased carbon drags and tighten them down so no water gets in there.

keep a couple gallons of distilled water on you for extended trips.

Spray down and wipe dry. If it was a wet ride or landing I'll open up the reels to check bearings, line roller, and other moving parts and add oil as needed. Any signs of grit gets the full tear down and rebuild.

this is why he has nice things!

Booked marked !

Depending on how many days I'm out will depend on how thoroughly I clean my equipment.
All my gear is conventional gear. On my 5-8 day trips and longer I hose down rods with a power washer. Trolling rods with roller guides are torn down, cleaned & lubed, all reels are torn down degreased then bearings properly oiled & gears lubed again, then put back together paying special attention to grease the screws so they don't corrode inside. :the_finger:
Everything shorter than that will depend on how the fishing was. A dirty boat will be hosed by the deckhands. Rods in the rod holders are bound to get sprayed to some extent depending on how much blood is on the deck! I would thoroughly hose down the rods with the reels removed try to get water hosed in the reel hoods to rinse out any excess saltwater. Then as mentioned by a previous member grease drag reel need to be locked down to keep out unnecessary water, I try to force water in any seams or dunk the reel in a bucket of fresh water and crank the handle a couple times to force out any saltwater that may be still in the reel (I like to do this a couple times to make sure the reel is as clean as possible without having to tear down each reel). :)
FFY