How to Clean Fishing Reels

In an early age, a friend of mine took me on a riverside. That day I feel the excitement of fishing. It’s amazing to describe.

After that day, I go back there a thousand times and cache fishes that make a rush in my blood. I travel thousands of miles and tried to fishing in those areas which makes me a great competitor.

There is no such thing to worry about your fishing gear. It was my mistake that I never care about my fishing gear. My fishing gear is like a baby to me who need much care after each uses especially in saltwater. I made myself an Angler.

As an angler, I know that fishing becomes my life. I’m in love with it. I love lots of things related to fishing to make myself a happy angler at the end of the day.

Cleaning fishing gear, especially the fishing reels becomes the same importance to me as like fishing. I didn’t know how to clean fishing reels? So, a guideline helps me to do this task in an easy way.

Assemble Tools and Supplies:

Before you start cleaning all the parts of your fishing gear, you must assemble all the necessary and the right tools. You also need some cleaning supplies as well.

These will assist you to clean and maintain the fishing reel in the best ways. Here a list is given below to check out.

1. A pair of tweezers
2. A toothpick
3. Old toothbrush
4. Two small screwdrivers

Keep it in mind that, all the reels are not the same according to the design and specification. So, you must treat them with great care. Collect all the parts that came with the specific reel you are using.

There is no cleaning product is specified because every angler has their own choice about it. So, I suggest you choose the best one.

Clean the Reel

First of all, you have to clean the reel. There are lots of parts that you need to care while you are cleaning a reel. You have to prevent all kinds of water contamination of the reel by tightening the drag.

Take some warm and soapy water drag using some stack and lightly sponge. Some people immerse the reel in the water, but this way is not right.

Washing the reel under high pressure is bad for the reel. It can easily force the water into the gearing system. It can damage the reel a lot. Clean the reel gently with some fresh water.

After washing, wipe it with a clean cloth to dry. Before the wash, you can remove the spool to get a space for individual cleaning. You must focus on salt and gunk which sitting under the spool.

Reel rotor also affected by it. Running water is the best option to clean these salt and gunk easily. If you think that your reel is clean enough, then you have to do one more thing with it and that is overlaying some lubricants.

As a finishing task, take some lubricant and spray it onto a clean and soft cloth. Carefully wipe the cloth over the reel. Be careful about the line. You may try to wipe the line as well. But it causes deteriorate.

Cleaning Solvents

Cleaning solvents play a vital role to clear the reel perfectly. It must be mild. Some mild is not perfect for the reel because they can damage the plastic parts.

So select the solvent carefully. You also need to ensure that the mild must dry and not leaving any kind of residue. According to the condition, cleaning may vary with these types of solvent.

As an example, if your reel needs some minor cleaning then isopropyl rubbing alcohol will give a good solution. For this, you can use any kind of pump spray bottle.

What you will do for heavy cleaning? The Crystal Simple Green cleaner is one of the best solutions for it. Spraying is not the last thing. Take a toothbrush and scrubs the reel and the spot carefully and gently.

There is no need to clean it with water if you are using the alcohol, but using Crystal Simple Green you must use water for rinses.

There is another option available for the clean the reel. That is a degreaser like WD-40. But there is an extra step you need to complete and that is washing the film, which needs to complete after the reel dries. Soapy water need for this cleaning process.

Reel Lubricants

there are lots of companies you will find who make grease and oils. But some of these are becoming a specialist for making it for fishing reels. Most of the fishing company which produces fishing reel, also making these lubricants.

According to your reel brand, you can buy the lubricant from the same manufacturing company. So, the chances of using the wrong lubricant will be gone. Some people use WD 20 decreases. But I suggest never using it to lubricate a reel.

People also think that using more lubricant give the reel some boost for better performance. It’s not true at all. Overlapping may impede the spool. As a result, the casting distance will reduce.

You should use lubricant once or twice in a month according to the fishing. But there are some reels you will find where only the main drive gear needs the grease. Remember, Grease holds dirt.

Other cleanings

Cleaning the reel is not the last thing to take care of. You must place everything you need. There are lots of tiny parts which may cause a problem for cleaning the reel.

So take a colored T-shirt or towel to place all these parts. Then you can see every tiny part easily. Now you have to take the cleaning solution and spray or soak it over the gears and other parts.

There are bearings which need to soak in a separate solution. This is important to keep them free from grime.  If you are getting a problem to scrub the parts with the cloth, then you can use a toothbrush as well.

Focus on the pinion gear to clean with the toothbrush. Because it can spool shaft spins freely. You can also use small foam swabs. It also works for this. You also need to clean the case.

It ensures the casting brakes have silky smooth backlash control. Inspect all the parts of the reel that need the lubricant. If you feel that lubricant needs for the specific part then apply it.

A fishing reel is the most important part of your whole fishing gear. Even professional angler care about this equipment. Proper care and maintenance make the reel more effective in the Warzone of fishing.

In many ways, a reel becomes powerful with its increased performance and lifespan because of the proper care. It doesn’t matter that you are fishing in saltwater or not.

After every use, you must count that; it will need cleaning to get good feedback in the future. Keep the dirt and sand away from the reel because these two is the number one enemy to make you suffer from getting the actual performance.

I hope this guideline will help you to increase the overall performance of your fishing gear.