Reel cleaning after turtling

[Fishead69]

Anybody have suggestions on how far i should tear down my reel after yesterday's adventure? It was under the waterline for a few minutes yesterday morning. So far ive rinsed it twice and sprayed it with Ardent reel guard. Hope everyone from bwkc made it home safe.

[fishinmachine]

Best to tear it down completely, especially if the reels contain any ball bearings. Plain bearing reels hold up to a little temporary saltiness better than ball bearing reels, but still should be torn down at the nearest opportunity. If this is a conventional reel, pulling the sideplates and rinsing the plates, spool bearings, spool and bridge are a good temporary solution until you can get home and do a complete teardown, but this will not clean much salt from tight spots like the drag stack.

Ease of teardown is one of the features that make Penn Jigmasters a popular choice for BTB anglers. Loosening one thumbscrew allows pulling the sideplate and removing the spool for a quick rinse. Jigmasters also have plain bearings.

If you are new to reel teardowns, I highly recommend Alan Tani's site for reel cleaning tutorials...

http://www.alantani.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TigerLandSportsman]

^^x2

[Prof. Salt]

Alan Tani is the place to learn, with some great photos and step by step tutorials. It might take you a while to find your reel there, but once you do the answers are there and easy to put into practice.

[dlaws60600]

I turtles on the way back in but I don't have to worey about cleaning my gear, cause some lovely Corpus residents decided to force down my back window and steal all my offshore and inshore gear. I replaced a couple combos so I could get some family fishing time in today. I guess just another excuse to buy new gear. I'm more passed about my messed up back window than anything. Smh.

[fishinmachine]

That is lousy news, David. Were you parked on the beach when this happened?

[Duweezy]

I turtles on the way back in but I don't have to worey about cleaning my gear, cause some lovely Corpus residents decided to force down my back window and steal all my offshore and inshore gear. I replaced a couple combos so I could get some family fishing time in today. I guess just another excuse to buy new gear. I'm more passed about my messed up back window than anything. Smh.

I'm sorry that had to happen to you man. I always get paranoid with thieves when fishing.

Sorry to stray away from the subject a little but as for reels, when I know that the surf will be gnarly on the way back in, I take off all my reels from the rods and stuff them in a dry bag to save the headache of cleaning submurged reels. I turtled coming in from the bwkc as well.

[fishinmachine]

... when I know that the surf will be gnarly on the way back in, I take off all my reels from the rods and stuff them in a dry bag to save the headache of cleaning...

This is always my plan when going out or returning in conditions where I'm not sure I'll make the passage upright. Reels and all tackle are stashed in the the hull or in a drybag securely attached behind my seat, and rods are lashed parallel to the hull so they will not break during a turnover in shallow water. I do not mind getting bowled over by the surf, but do NOT want to lose tackle, break tackle or disassemble tackle unnecessarily. Going through rough surf is just fun for me when I'm not concerned about my gear. I still blow it every now and then in surf that looks very manageable and am rewarded with the bonus reel cleaning, but it's almost always due to underestimating the surf or back-to-back breakers that kill my momentum and leave me hanging in the crash zone...or unintended surfing rides when I don't get the brakes applied in time on the way back in.

*EDIT*- And just about the time I think I'm getting good, I get my hat handed to me by some innocent-looking 2 footers.

[dlaws60600]

Na I was at the La Quinta. I usually bring the yaks and rods in, but was on the 3rd floor this time. I figured putting the rods in my truck just sticking out a bit would be enough. Guess not lol. Another guy staying there got his yak stolen.

[TennesseeYak]

Wow, I stayed at the LaQuinta on the 3rd floor as well. I had my yak on my trailer and all my gear in the truck. I am sorry to hear it, the f'er should be used as chum during shark-a-thon. Is it wrong I'm just a little jealous though..... that I have nothing a thief would even waste his time on. I am just kidding, but seriously, I gotta get nicer stuff.

[jnd1959]

Last time I rebuilt my reels there was sand inside the sealed bearings.

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[Fishead69]

Thanks for the advice and information on reel cleaning. I got mine cleaned and ready for my next btb trip. I'll be hoping fir better conditions that last Saturday. Thanks again

[fishinmachine]

You are welcome, Fishead. Reel cleaning is one of those tasks that's very easy to put off after a long day or three on the ocean. Salty reels just don't work very well the next time out when the innards look like this, though: