I will admit to not being the absolute best when it comes to doing all the maintenance I should be doing with my saltwater gear. I will admit to not being in the 60th percentile on that, really.
Still, I know I SHOULD take better care of my gear. The salt is unforgiving and this stuff isn’t exactly cheap, so it makes sense to look after the gear you just might catch the fish of a lifetime with.
I found some good advice on rod, reel and line care.
What do you do to take care of your gear?
Well, there’s your problem right there.
- Unique Post
Tags: proper care
I am terribly hard on all equipment! I have been through countless cameras, they just don’t like getting wet, so I started using “indestructible” underwater cameras…I just bought my fourth one? A Go-Pro, I really like so far! As far as rods go you have to buy the ones with an unconditioned guarantee, Saga may ban me, I have sent so many back, but they do replace them no questions asked. As far as reels go, are you suppose to do any more that rinse them off in freshwater before you throw them in the closet?
My bonefishing buddy used to be “tackle boy” for Joe Brooks when he’d come back from FFSW. He told me how Joe had him clean the reels: take them to a park and tie the leader to a tree. Walk all the line out and rinse the spool in a bucket of fresh water. I was able to do this at home in my 1 acre front yard using a fence as a skein of sorts. It kept people from walking into a spiders web. I did this with both reels and its a pain in the ass but worth it. I found little accumulations of rust under my backing. I was able to brush it off. Maybe that’s why old timers invest in in a mechanical spool device. BTW, my friend fishes in Joe’s old fishing vest!
As a guide, stuff breaks all the time – often due to client abuse, but sometimes due to neglect on my part (have a bunch of trips in a row, not taking time to clean after the fact) . . . I learned to repair a bunch of my own stuff – when it breaks, it goes into the “post-season” pile in the garage . . . after tarpon season, I take a couple of days, set up shop, and start working my way through stuff. Even if I don’t know how to do it, there are so many online tutorials and things out there today . . .