day to day casting reel storage

[angry john]

i never worry about the cast control due to my reels having magnetic action. I do run higher tension on the spool AKA rookie settings where the spool stops on lure water entry. I was never worried about loosening this setting until i took a reel apart and observed it to be a plastic type rod. i also did not know if the fiber disk would compress or if i should even worry about that. I would think with all the design that goes into these reels that someone would have thought of that many generations ago!!!!

[Texas_bullet]

Any combos used during a day fishing go home for a gentle rinse and air dry. Then I fit reel covers and rod socks and they're good till they go back on the boat. I back off drag for sure to keep the C shaped drag spring washers from fatigue. I also back off the cast control from habit. My original reels were ABU with the copper washers that would dimple. Salt water will get inside the reel. The pinion gear support and crankshaft support bearings will corrode on you over time, so use grease on those. Even ceramic bearings that have SS outer shells will rust. I put a light film of oil on the outside. I asked an inshore fishing guide how they maintained their reels. "We dont...every year we send them back to the manufacturer for inspection." I assume this is part of a testing program.
TB

[KCL655321]

Cabela's reel covers & Rod Gloves is what I keep my stuff in when it's not in use during fishing season. The Cabela's cover has a loop over the handle design, so I have to back the drag down to get the handle spun so I can loop the flap over. As far as spool tension goes, I usually have it set to where it's only on tight enough to keep the spool from moving, so that's not a concern for me.

[panyafish]

Salt water conventional gear is certainly low maintenance. I think baitcasting gear has to be treated differently because they have more and smaller moving parts. It sounds counter-intuitive but I believe that when a reel gets used a lot then a basic wash down and some oil in the bearings is enough. Reels that don't get used as often need a more thorough cleaning between trips. In other words, if you use it less then you need to clean it more

This is especially true for reels with AL drive gears. I think I ruined 4-5 sets because I put a reel aside for a while to fish something else(the curse of having too much gear ) Galvanic corrosion had set in and the teeth had broken off right where it was touching the pinion gear! My situation is different because I am using light freshwater gear in salt water. I had been using the Curado 100D, Curado 50E with a Core 7:1 gearset, and a Bass Pro Finesse. I had to order replacement sets of gears for all three reels. TWICE for the 100D

These reels were fine as long as I used them frequently, they were smooth and everything worked great. However, a reel sits unused for a week or so and things go start to go bad. If you let it sit even longer then suddenly you need a new set of gears! I eventually learned my lesson, maybe...

Of course, if you fish fresh water then you don't need to worry qiute so much.

[Pegasus]

very interesting, i have never considered loosening the reel seat. Is this something you do every time or when the weather starts to cool to prevent excess tension on the seat due to contraction?

during the fishing season whenever I come back from fishing I wipe down my rod and my reel back off the drag and the tension knob an I release the reel seat lock to a minimum I do this every time no need for tension if I am not fishing.
Regards

[Pegasus]

Reels come off the rods allow to air dry with drag backed off completely and then back in their respective box till next time. Rods go into the Rod Sock and put aside. Never thought about backing off the spool tension. Why exactly is that needed? Drags compress and why I backed them off.

Because inside the tension knob there is a little square probably made of some kind of carbon material by keeping the tension knob tight all the time you run the risk of putting an indentation in it. its just a precautionary measure that is all.

[njbasscat]

I don't do anything special when storing my reels or rods. They go in the rod locker and my boat is parked in my attached garage so weather or theft is not an issue. I don't loosen the drags or cast control during the fishing season. I wipe down my gear occasionally. I service the reels once a month. I have reels over ten years old that function like new.

[E73Bass]

Some of you guys are crazy loosening tension knobs and removing reels from rods. What could happen by leaving the reel on? I would think all the of the on/off is putting more wear and tear on your reel seat than anything else.

X2 especially on and off rod!

[MTBF]

When I get home after a one day trip I back off the drags and put the rods on the rack. While camping for a week or even a long weekend I never back drags off or play with spool tension. Tension and breaking settings are exact to how they need to be for that bait I'm throwing. Unless it's killing my reel, the tension knobs stay how there set unless it's for winter storage.

Rod Socks and Reel covers on during travel in vehicle.

[VRG]

I mostly fish from a kayak in a river with clsss II rapids so my reels get splashed quite a bit. Every trip I remove bait casters from the rod and do a light cleaning/and VERY LIGHT lubrication to keep them running smooth. I don't use any tension on the cast control so no need to mess with that but I do back off he drag. For spinning reels I take the spool off and take it into my home office with the bait casting reels and check the leaders and line level on both (I use braid with fluro and mono leaders). Every few trips the spinning reels come in from the garage to have the side plates popped off to make sure (a) there's no moisture inside and (b) the sideplate screws aren't loosening (an issue with older Pflueger Supremes). Finesse bait casting reels that are used to push the limits of bait casting performance with light lures benefit from having the centrifugal brake pads cleaned up and rotated, extra grease removed from the brake "rims", spool shaft, etc. At least they sound better during a cast after this treatment. And it's nice to get any dried vegetation residue from vegetation removed from the level wind and surrounding area. Spinning reels, other than the obvious stuff, cast the same regardless of maintenance. You just don't want stuff falling off or grinding inside the gearbox. (Just noticed that you asked specifically about casting reels....)

[angry john]

no worries, its turned into a basic return home discussion and i have spinning to, so more the better. My ADD keeps my mind all over the place on top of that....

[froteur]

i back off the drag (when i remember) but don't back off the tensioner. maybe i should. reels generally stay on the rods unless it was a rod/reel combo specific for whatever body of water i was on. these days, i switch reels a lot more when i fish the delta ..... i try not to use my more delicate reels out there since there is now more and more salt water moving into the west delta.

if i happen to take a reel off of the rod, then i throw it into a reel bag or use a reel cover then throw (not literally) it into a bag i use for my reels. i do need a bigger bag though.

[Teal101]

I dont really do anything. If I'm fishing a lake thats soupy or has a bloom going on I will break down the ones I fished with and do a full clean. This last weekend the lake I fished was terrible and all of my reels had a protective coating of dried green slime on them when I got home. I tend to break reels down every other month for a full clean, acetone in the spool bearings to clean out the old crap, then re-lube with a drop of oil. I'll also clean all of the grease off of the gears and internal parts and will re-lube. Otherwise they sit in the rod bag ready to go for next time. During the winter I put them on racks and back everything off.