As the weather begins to warm up and fishing season approaches, it's time for every angler to start getting their gear organized. One of the things that should be done every year is to clean your fishing reels. If you take the hour or so to clean your fishing reel before the start of the fishing season, it will add year's to the life of the reel. I've got fishing reels that I paid less than $50 for and are over ten years old and still work like new. Why is that? Because I take care of them and take the little bit of time it actually takes to clean and grease them every year. Cleaning a fishing reel is very simple, here's a list of what you need :
1 Small Phillips Head Screwdriver
2 or 3 clean towels
5 or 6 Q-tips
Some Paper Towels
WD-40 or a small tube of Reel Grease
Begin by removing the fishing reel from the fishing rod. Now find a nice clean area to work, such as the kitchen table and lay out 2 of the clean towels. One of the towels is to work on and the other is to place parts so they don't get misplaced. The first thing that must be removed is the handle of the reel. It will either be held on by a screw that you unscrew with your fingers or you simply turn the handle counterclockwise and back it out. Once removed, place the handle and screw that held it in (if there is one) on the second clean towel.
At this point, take the third clean towel and some warm water and wipe the entire reel off well. If you're using WD-40, you can spray a bit on the outside of the reel before wiping. We simply want to clean the reel and remove any debris that might be present. Now turn the reel onto the side that the screws are visible. There are normally four small Phillips head screws. Simply remove the screws and place them on the clean towel so you know where they are. Once the screws are removed you should notice how the screws were holding the reel together. Simply remove the plate and place it on the clean towel as well.
Now the inner workings of the reel are exposed. You should notice a couple of gears and such. At this point you want to use a couple of your Q-tips to remove any sand, dirt, or debris that can be seen. Once that's done, you want to grease the gears in the reel. Just add a couple of drops to each moving gear. If you're using wd-40, simply spray a small amount on each gear. Now simply reverse the process.
