Cleaning Your Fishing Gear

Michael Cheser

Content Marketing Supervisor

We've read Jim's blog, Gearing Up For Spring Fishing Season, but did we all follow those directions?

We've probably all done it, we've gone to the garage grabbed the rods, tackle bags and any other essentials and headed to the fishing hole only to find out when we arrive that the gears in our reels probably aren't in tip top shape. If you haven't, take this as your lesson to keep that winning streak up because you don't want to be sitting there with a rod in your hand and a reel that doesn't work.

A personal story to show my lack of supervision of my rods and reels. A few years ago we were on a photoshoot, I had brought my personal fishing gear to you know, "go catch some fish when we weren't shooting!" Those who have ever been on a photoshoot know this is a pipe dream, of all my years traveling to new places for photoshoots, with fishing gear stowed away for that extra hour of time, that extra hour of time rarely comes and if it does you're probably studying the backs of your eyelids.

So here we are, Key Largo, Florida, I haven't been to the keys since I was filming a fishing show series for Discovery Channel a few seasons prior. My goal was get the photoshoots done, hop on one of the Masters 247s that we had just released and head into a back country spot just around the corner from where we were staying and try to get onto those snook and bonefish I had seen there a few years ago. A wishful soul I was, that never happened, not for me at least. My fishing gear ended up being used in a photoshoot where some others got to go to my little secret spot and try to catch some snook and bonefish. Though all we ended up with in the hot August sun was some mangrove snappers but hey, at least we got some fish on video.

Now, the photoshoots over, we've melted away in the sun all day and everyone's ready to get a nice cold shower and fine the dinner table. We unload the gear with that lovely theory of, we will wash everything in a bit. The sun sets and the night grows and it's time for bed, we are all beat and that 5am call time is coming up quickly. The boats will be okay, but the rods should have made their way from the corner of my balcony to the shower in the least. However, the only thing going to bed clean that night was me and there were no more fishing shoots so those rods aren't getting another shot tomorrow unless I remember them. A few days later those beautiful Daiwa reels never saw the slightest sprinkle of freshwater and were loading up in the truck headed back to Summerville, SC.

Flash forward about 8 months, those rods have sat in my garage untouched and forgotten about. Hunting season had started when we got home from Key Largo and fishing season was put to the side. Now it's April, the bite is hot and it's time to go get some fresh air. I toss them into the bed of the truck, grab my fishing bag and the dog and I head to a local pier to just catch an hour or so outside and see if we could find us a flounder for the dinner table. I've got lines rigged, hook is baited and I cast the line right out into a spot I know holds big redfish and flounder. I go to give the line a nice reel to keep it tight and within an instant I feel the grinding and the sound no angler wants to hear. Wondering what the heck happened I begin to remember that beautiful day in the keys, how quickly we rushed to dinner and it all comes back to me. I never cleaned those rods off, these reels are toast. So what's next, I grab the second rod and reel, repeat the steps and the outcome is the same. Now I am thinking, okay today the only flounder you're catching is the one smacking you in the face for not cleaning those reels, let's hope the third one is good to go. Rig, cast, and grind. The third one is yet another toasted reel and I am left standing there with my head in my hand thinking you idiot, now you've got $800 of reels sitting here absolutely toast and your fishing trip is over.

So long story short if you're planning on going fishing, plan on coming home and giving the rods a bath before you take one. Your wife is going to remind you to clean yourself but she isn't going to remember to tell you to spray off your rods and reels. Now, if you're wondering, "Okay Michael, what do I need to do to avoid this mess?" I have an answer for you and it's very easy.

Needless to say, just give your gear a little bath with the garden hose and you should be pretty set for your next trip. Lesson learned, if you fish in saltwater all day, don't wash your gear, and then take it out 8 months later, it's likely not going to work any longer and you're going to have a decent bill to replace it.

If you want to see some fishing videos along with tips & tricks for fishing check out our series The Sportsman Experience. Our host Jim is an expert fishermen and is the reason I have the saltwater fishing knowledge that I have. Then lastly, if you want to see some more videos about maintaining, cleaning and other boating knowledge you can check out our series Tech Talk which is a series containing knowledge from all of our awesome employees at Sportsman Boats. Now, go fish, catch some fish and clean your fishing gear. Don't be the goofball at the end of the dock making a ruckus with a squeaky reel like me.