How To Safely Store You Rod & Reel For A Long Period Of Time
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Want to know how to safely store your rod and reel for a long period of time?
Maybe you’re a seasonal angler and have some long gaps in between your trips. Or life gets in the way and you aren’t able to fish for a while.
No matter what the reason is, you’ll see some helpful tips for storing your rods and reels so that they don’t rust away while they’re not being used.
Check out the video below.
How To Store Your Rods & Reels [VIDEO]
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Below is a step-by-step process I go through if I’m storing my rods and reels for a prolonged period of time.
Step 1: Rinse everything off
The first thing I do when I get off the water is rinse off my equipment with fresh water.
I just do a light mist on my reel because a strong stream of water can push saltwater farther into the reel, but with the rod, it doesn’t matter as much since there are no internal parts.
After rinsing everything, use a rag to dry it all off.
Step 2: Respool your reel
If I’m putting a reel up for two or three months, I like to respool it.
Saltwater can sit in the line and if it’s sitting there for a few months, it can start to corrode your spool.
So I like to take all of the line off, clean the spool, then put new line on there so it’ll be ready to go when I start using it again.
Step 3: Spray your rod & reel with lubricant
The two types of lubricant I like to use are Corrosion-X and Clenzoil, although I prefer Corrosion-X.
First, I spray the lubricant into all of the moving parts in the reel, including:
- the handle
- where the arm meets the shaft
- where the handle connects to the body of the reel
- where the bail flips open
- the line roller
- and any other moving parts on your reel
After I’ve sprayed all of that with the lubricant I use a rag to wipe off the excess.
Then, I’ll spray some lubricant onto a rag and wipe down the entire rod and reel, including the guides and inserts on the rod.
Step 4: Make sure everything is loose
Loosen up your drag, the reel seat locking nuts, and the hook on your hook keeper.
If these pieces are tight, they can lock saltwater in, which can cause corrosion.
Conclusion
If you’re putting up your rod and reel for a while, you want to take a few steps to make sure that they don’t rust while they’re not being used.
Be sure to rinse them off with water, get some lubricant on the moving pieces, loosen the drag and real seat locking nuts.
Have any questions about preventative maintenance and storing your rod and reel?
Let me know in the comments below.
And if you know someone who needs to learn to store their equipment correctly, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Thanks for this info. Very helpful
You’re welcome Roger!
Hi Tony, I have viewed many Saltstrong videos and on-line training, your tip on Corrosion X, has been on of the most to dramatically improve the performance of my entire reel collection(not to mention every other tool in the house, that’s been getting the Corrosion X treatment too!!!). I use Clenzoil as well. Thank you so much for one of the best tips I have received from Saltstrong. There is always something new to learn from the Saltstrong team. Keep up the good work, we appreciate your time and efforts in producing the videos.
Hey Carlos! Thank you for the awesome feedback! That stuff has tons of uses and I always have some on hand in my house, in my truck, and in the kayak.
Hi Tony
Several weeks ago, I asked you for the full name of Corrosion X and yes you have replied for which I am grateful I should receive my order of this product from Amazon within the next several days..
I have one other question pertaining to my rod. I have serval 2 piece rods and would like to ask you what should I apply to the area where the 2 pieces of the rod are joined together to make it a one piece.? Many times I find it difficult to dislodge the 2 pieces because they become too tight once assembled.
Any help you can offer is appreciated.
Thank you.
Peter C
pcreanza@yahoo.com
Hey Peter! First you want to understand why it gets stuck in the first place. A number of factors can come into play such as dirty ends, heat expanding the joints while out in the sun all day, and how you connect the joints.
You want to keep them clean from salt, sand, and any type of debri. So after every trip I highly recommend cleaning them with warm fresh water and wiping them dry. Use a q-tip to clean the insides of them. You do not want to lubricate these areas or you will have your rod fall apart and/or twist every cast. Just keep them nice and clean and dry. Also during storage, keep them apart. You don’t want to store the rods fully assembled or you run the risk of corrosion causing them to stick together.
As far as how you connect the joints, be sure not to just jam them together. Slowly twist the pieces together until they are snug. Quickly jamming the pieces together can create a vacuum of air (like jamming two 5 gallon buckets together) and make it very difficult to get apart.
Hope this helps!
Is there any reason to remove the spool and clean and lube under it ?
Can definitely help! Salt and dirt likes to build up underneath the spool. Over time it can start to get on to the shaft the spool sits on and work its way down into the reel. The cleaner the better!
Enjoyed the rod/reel maintenance tips. I have this cool little device that I use for misting down my gear. It’s called the aquabot water bottle by Lunatec. You can use it to spray a fine cooling mist on yourself when it’s hot out and a stronger mist to a stream to drink out of or mist down your gear. I also use it for rinsing dishes when we are sailing and conserving water.
The device acts as a kid for a nalgene drinking water bottle. It has a built in pump to pressurize the bottle so you can control how strong a stream you need. Check it out! They are available a lot of places but Amazon is the most popular. I love everything about this tool other than the price. Not horrible but a bit pricey. I like it so much, I have three.
Very interesting I’ll have to check it out! I have a portable water tank/pump in my truck that holds 4 gallons of water. It plugs in to a cigarette lighter and pressurizes and i can spray down my gear right after a trip.
I’ve become a big believer in Salt Away. I spray every metal piece on my boat after washing it. I use it after rinsing my reels with fresh water. Then apply Corrosion-X. Finally, I spray with Reel Magic or other line conditioner. Is this overkill? Maybe if I’m using Corrosion-X it also breaks down salt chemically as does Salt Away. I am still using Shimano reels that are over 20 years old.
I don’t think it is overkill. I would suggest spraying salt away on the reels first (let them soak for a few minutes), and then lightly rinse with fresh water. The salt away helps break down the salt initially and the follow up with fresh water knocks it off. Dry them off and then wipe down the reel with corrosion x. I feel corrosion x holds on much longer to coat the reel for protection. I use it on my pedal drive for my kayak and after a whole day on the water there is still a film of it on the metal parts.
Yea it’s amazing at how many anglers buy quality tackle but don’t take care of it then complain that the item is defective while everything quality will last a long time care and maintenance still needs to be performed otherwise one will regret it later you don’t buy a car or truck that almost costs a years worth of work pay then don’t change the oil on it when due well the same goes for anything mechanical if it’s mechanical maintenance needs to be performed at some point thanks for the video and all you do????
Great points Steve!
Tony, I realize this is for long time storage. But what about getting some of the lubricant on the line?
Will it last and the smell scare off fish?
I haven’t experienced any issues with that. But I try my best not to get any on the line by spraying the product on a rag and then wiping it onto the reel. You can also remove the spool during this process to avoid that. One thing I forgot to mention is that I like to spray my line on the spool with Reel Magic. Helps keep the line conditioned and is made for it.
Would you also take of the spool and lubricate the shaft and anything else in that area?
Yep that is also a good idea! Also wipe down the inside of the spool. A lot of dirt and salt tends to build up in there.
Tony do you ever spray this on the internal parts of the reel?
Hey Russ!
Noooo. The only thing that should go inside the reel is grease. WD-40 and other types of spray lubricants will actually break down grease. I usually leave the internal maintenance to the professionals. I have taken apart quite a few reels only to have them get put back together wrong and in worse shape then when I started haha
Tony – Makes total sense, glad I asked.
Thank you
No problem!