Offseason Gear Prep: How to Clean and Maintain your Rods and Reels

With the outside temperatures dropping and ice fishing gear coming out to play, it’s a good time to take inventory of your open water gear and do a little maintenance. But what needs to be maintained, and how do you actually keep your gear from breaking after a long season of catching big fish? Here are some tips:

The first step with your fishing rods is to look them over and inspect for any visible damage. You’ll want to look for cracks, splintering, or loose reel seats. The guides are another huge area to pay attention to, as they are some of the most fragile aspects of any fishing rod and need to be taken care of.

Try to wipe down the entire surface of the fishing rod, and get into the inner parts of your line guides as well to get rid of any buildup or debris you may not have noticed while out on the water. It’s not a bad idea to do this with a damp cloth and possibly some mild soap for particularly stubborn buildup.

Once the rod has been cleaned, dry it off completely before storing. If you identified any actual damage in your earlier inspections, now is the time to fix those problems before you forget about it until the next time you go to use them in a few months.

Your fishing reels are even more important to maintain, as they have many moving parts that can all become victims to rust, debris, and more after a long season of open water fishing.

Just like your fishing rods, you’ll want to visually inspect your reels to make sure there isn’t any rust or debris built up on the outer portions of the reel. Next, you want to completely disassemble your reels (try to keep the parts as organized as possible so it’s easier to reassemble later).

Once disassembled, inspect the inner parts, particularly the areas with gears. Clean each part with some non-abrasive cleaner and a soft brush to break down any dirt and buildup while also not harming the components themselves. Once cleaned, you’ll want to rinse them with fresh water and dry them immediately.

Once everything is fixed and cleaned, you’re going to want to store your rods and reels in a safe environment for the next few months. Try to put your rods in a place where they can be stored vertically and away from anything that could potentially damage them. For reels, either keep them on the rods themselves or in their own protective storage system.

The ideal storage place for rods and reels is somewhere that is cool and dry. Try to avoid places like garages or sheds, as these locations often have drastic temperature changes that can damage your gear over time.

All of this is particularly important for saltwater fishing rods. While many rods and reels are designed specifically for saltwater applications and have measures in place to help prevent corrosion and damage from saltwater, nothing is going to work perfectly. You need to do a thorough cleaning of every component of your saltwater rods and reels to make sure that they stay as perfect as the day you bought them.