[Keith White]

just spent an hour washing braids on spools, rinsing reels, rods, polishing and spraying some wax onto the rod blanks, using ear sticks (cotton buds) to get inside spigots etc...

Not something the average sea angler does but I'm the first to admit, I've got sloppy. When fly fishing in the sea I do this 'everytime' I come home. Skishing, we often rinse everything down at convenient beach showers etc.

Now, they are ready to go again.

Need to sort rusty jigheads out from the good ones now...salt gets everywhere. Especially in jig boxes and in those Koa packs. Mine's shot to death btw. New one required yesterday or a fortnight ago..

So.

Who bothers cleaning ?, and, if not, why not.

 

[Tim Griffin]

Every time, Keith. A good rinse in fresh water in the sink, air dry and then a spray with WD40. Maybe not as fastidious as you but we do the basics....

 

[Steve Lewis]

I have recently started to wash my rod and reel down every time I come home but that is where it ends, I do not bother with the plugs or SP's, I have recently started to change rusty hooks and rings though :-D

 

[Andrew Morrow]

Everything get a rinse in fresh water, even the wading boots and waders!

 

[Andy Marquis]

I never clean anything, so if I still own something a year later you know it's good!! Why? I just can't be bothered unless a reel for example takes a dunking. I do oil them fairly regularly but that's it. No problems yet. Touch wood...

 

[bob jameson]

Always keith , rods & reels get washed with luke warm water then dried , lures get washed in the bath then hung up to air dry on the immersion heater cylinder foam ( looks like a pin cushion )...:-o.....:rofl:

 

[DECKY]

great tips guys i was on a penn site lately they say wd40 is no good for oiling reels only for cleaning

 

[Keith White]

WD40 rots mono.

Does it weaken braid ?

Yea, we wash plugs too Bob. Under the tap, in the bag and the WD the lot inside.
Maybe we should air dry them.

 

[Steve Lewis]

WD40 is a good product but is a water repellent and degreaser, be careful how you use it :-D

 

[Retired]

I have been accused of having angling OCD. Apparently a bit fastidious.....fussy? Moi?

Reels get wiped every trip, rods get a wipe too, SPs go into the mending bin for some welding later, braid gets some PE spray (a new development his year), boots and waders get a rinse, jacket likewise... sounds a lot but takes <30mins.

 

[Peter Smith]

Are you guys trying to make me look bad?
I never had the desire to clean my fishing gear, how are you ever going to achieve that 'poacher' look?

 

[Simon L]

Reels always get a quick rinse under the tap, and then left out to dry. Rods come in the shower with me for a wash. Waders get a quick rinse (sometimes), and hung up to air in the bathroom. Sand gets flushed from my wading boots to stop them ruining the neoprene feet of my waders. Nothing else gets washed. Rusty hooks & split-rings get changed.

 

[Steve Lewis]

I have been accused of having angling OCD. Apparently a bit fastidious.....fussy? Moi?

Reels get wiped every trip, rods get a wipe too, SPs go into the mending bin for some welding later, braid gets some PE spray (a new development his year), boots and waders get a rinse, jacket likewise... sounds a lot but takes <30mins.

My Hero Paul :wink:

 

[Nick Phillips]

I am mega fastidious about my gear.
Part of it all for me is looking after everything and de-salting everything etc.
Rods are cleaned in warm water and then deied off properly with one of those micro cloths and then 'silicone' coated with a gun cloth,it keeps them looking like new.
Like Bob says,plugs are washed and dried etc but if I'm on a 4 day or 7 day trip I only clean the plugs at the end of the trip and also my Simms chesties etc.
If you look after your gear it will look after you.

WD40 is 'lethal' anywhere near bearings or gears,it strips away propper lubrication.
Great for rusty nut and bolt problems though.

 

[anselmo]

Reels always get a quick rinse under the tap, and then left out to dry. Rods come in the shower with me for a wash. Waders get a quick rinse (sometimes), and hung up to air in the bathroom. Sand gets flushed from my wading boots to stop them ruining the neoprene feet of my waders. Nothing else gets washed. Rusty hooks & split-rings get changed.

Same for me
Rods in the shower with me (usually the first priority according to SWMBO!)
reels get a light spray with lukewarm water and a dry with one cloth and a polish with another
HB lures get a wash in fresh water and air dry then quick polish with a dry cloth
SP lures get removed form the jig head and washed as does the jig head - SPs repaired as required

waders get rinsed with warm water and hung to air dry
but twice a year (and more if required) they get a wash with nickwax breathable wash and left to air dry - pick a nice warm sunny day
my waders are like new - no wetting out and still bead perfectly despite being up to my nads in mud a few times last year

boots also get a rinse every trip and a twice a year was in nickwax cleaner

all in all i spend about 20 minutes doing all this
so no big deal

it does mean that when i go fishing i can grab my gear and be gone without worrying about tackle performance when i'm out on the water
I had a friend who got 20ks offshore and then realised his reel wouldn't turn because it had rusted since the last trip
he now subscribes to my theory of look after your gear and it will look after you

mind you this is the same guy who got 15kms and a day and half into a week long hike into a remote gorge, stands there with his rod ready, bag of new shiny lures ready to throw at some virgin Murray Cod water and looks into his bag, looks at me and says "I reckon I need a reel"

I'd like to say i was sympathetic, but my spare reel (thrown in as an afterthought 10 seconds before walking out the door) was good for negotiations on who swam for deep snagged lures

 

[Ben Field]

My waders get hosed down after almost every trip just to remove sand mostly and to stop the boot laces from going salt-stiff. I generally fish so often that lures etc will normally get a weekly rather than daily rinsing. Followed by a mass wd40 mauling. Hooks do last so much better, I should be less lazy sometimes. I must admit, everything else gets a bit neglected

 

[Gary A]

I never clean anything, so if I still own something a year later you know it's good!! Why? I just can't be bothered unless a reel for example takes a dunking. I do oil them fairly regularly but that's it. No problems yet. Touch wood...

I'm with Andy on this one. I only clean anything if it looks deperate or I know there'll be problems if I don't. My reels do suffer after a couple of years use, but I generally buy fairly cheap (£50-60) reels, so I consider a couple of years is fair use.

 

[mike symons]

Yes everything gets a good wash and clean afterevery trip no matter what time of day or night. I have always done this with beach gear fly gear and now the plugging gear. I do believe that it pays in the long run especially with the hooks and rings on the lures. Not to sure about the WD40 thou but i did read somewhere that its fish oil based.
Mike

 

[kevin agnew]

cleaning

Hi always wash rod ,reel and lures after every trip reel gets quick rinse under tap then excess water shaken off and left to dry on a towel when dry a quick spray of gt85 then a wipe with dry duster .rod gets a wipe over with warm soapy water and dried,lures cleaned warm soapy water then rinsed with cold tap water and left to dry an a towel takes about 20 mins well worth it

 

[Alex Jordan]

Middle of the road for me - few things get cleaned, mostly dry out the lures, sp's and flies - I do tend to treat my gear hard and most of the effort goes into cleaning at the end of the season ready for next...