How to clean and maintain your fishing gear
Cleaning and maintenance is the best way of getting a long life and good service out of all your outdoor gear and equipment, and so it is, and possibly even more so with fishing tackle.
Tackle that is used solely in freshwater fishing requires less maintenance than saltwater gear, but never the less, following a regular maintenance regime when it comes to your fishing tackle will not only see it last longer and perform better, but be able to survive any encounter with that fish of a lifetime!
Fishing lines are often the first items to show signs of wear and tear, they become frayed and damaged with use, especially when your fishing around areas that have jagged rocks, timber jetties, trees and gritty sand.
Lines should be replaced every 12 months or more regularly depending on the amount of fishing you do. If the forward sections of the lines are frayed or you’ve lost a fair amount of the forward section of line off the reel, which can hamper effective casting, it is possible to top up the spool with line instead of replacing all of the line on the spool.
Reels should be washed with a gentle flow of freshwater after every fishing outing in saltwater and every few months if being used in freshwater environments. Don’t use any soap when cleaning, simply rinse off any grime or salt with a thorough washing and wipe down with a dry towel. Let them dry out completely before packing away to avoid retaining moisture.
Rusty hooks should be discarded from your tackle box to avoid them turning good hooks rusty as well. Treble hooks on lures likewise. Again, as with reels, thoroughly rinsing lures that have been used in saltwater immediately after use and then allowed to dry, will maintain the quality of your lures and their hooks for longer.
If you’re not in the habit of testing and re-sharpening the points on bait or lure hooks when out fishing, you should start doing so. Sharp hooks mean more hook-ups!
Sand should be removed from sinkers by brushing or rinsing with freshwater, as should other terminal tackle.
Cleaning your fishing rods is also important. Use a soft clean cloth to wipe off any fish scales stuck to your rod. Wash down with freshwater immediately after fishing in the salt or inland areas where the water is very muddy and turbid. You can help preserve your rods sheen by periodically wiping down the blank with furniture polish.
Runners or line guides should be checked to make sure they are not broken or bent and the internal rings should be checked for any potential line cutting nicks that could also lose that trophy fish.
Avoid leaning rods against walls when they’re not being used as this can lead to them taking on a “set” or bend. Either stand them vertically in a rod holder or hang them in a cool, dry location.
Turning tackle
For the most part, quality tackle performs well and needs little adjusting. However, there are always ways in which you can improve the performance to correct minor problems that pop up with continual use and normal wear and tear.
Fishing reels for example can develop a rough drag system and this results in line coming off the reel in fits and starts instead of a smooth constant drag. It’s quite simple to pull the drag system apart on spinning reels; the drag system usually consists of a series of metal and compression material discs that can be removed and washed with white spirits to remove the build-up of grease or grime that is likely causing the drag to grab and jump.
Lures can be bent out of shape as a result of knocks and torsional stresses when fighting fish, but can be carefully adjusted to swim correctly again. If a swimming lure is veering off to one side or the other, use a pair of long nosed pliers and carefully bend the towing eyelet – in the direction the lure is swimming towards – and this should correct any misalignment and allow it to track straight and true again.
Like washing cars and unpacking after a camping trip, maintaining and washing down tackle is often seen as a chore or neglected altogether. But if you can get yourself into a routine to wash, clean, check and pack away after every trip you will notice the difference in the long run. It really does make a noticeable difference.
First appeared on the Ray’s Outdoors website. Visit them here for more camping advice.
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