Rods and reels getting wet?

Come share your backwater or even blue water success and help others learn more about fishing from a 'yak.
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Dark3
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Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by Dark3 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:07 am

I am dabbling in the idea of starting to fish out of a kayak. I am active army and was forced to sell my g3 jon about 2 years ago. I miss that boat so much. Had it rigged with the latest and greatest electronics, gps trolling motor ect. Since I have been bank bound which leaves me not fishing much. Budget is a huge factor and I ussually try to set aside a couple hundred bucks a month to feed the monkey or to save up for something like this. TT seems the apprapriate place to ask one of the main questions or thoughts on why I have reservations. I myself dont mind getting wet but the thought of loomis rods and the couple met MGLs, scorp 70s, aldeberan hg ect getting wet on a regular basis is a major turn off. Im not trying to be prissy here but I am a tackle enthusiast aswell as a angler so the thought makes me cringe. Is the answer something along the lines of "find a straw, unwrap it, and suck it the F up"? Or..do you guys have any words of encouragement.
Thanks, Alan

Jeffbro999
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Re: Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by Jeffbro999 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:49 am

Which kayaks are you considering buying? Most are pretty good at keeping your gear dry, but there's a few things you can do if factory rod holders don't work well. You can build a crate with rod holders to keep them high and dry if splash is a worry. Or build a custom rack from PVC to span from factory flush mounts behind the seat. If it's water coming off the paddle, mount a rod holder towards the front to use whenever you need to paddle or land a fish. If your only fishing in freshwater, I wouldn't even worry about it. My Met used in the salt gets a good freshwater wash after every trip.

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GOOD YEAR 71
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Re: Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by GOOD YEAR 71 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:47 pm

Give this a try. It'll cover most the assembly, including reel. They're a little bulky, but high quality.

http://reelrodcover.com/

Blast it good with aerosol fabric sealant. Get one side wet, let it dry overnight, flip it and get the other side while you pay special attention to the seem. I've had good luck with aerosol sealants. You'll know if/when it's time to reapply.

Warning; sealant is just that, as such the cover won't breath anymore. When back in remove the assembly and let it air dry independently. Also, this won't like hooks points so no lures and such. Good luck.
:peace:

Dark3
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Re: Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by Dark3 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:23 pm

Thanks for the swift replies guys. Do you guys find yourself dunking your cork handles in the water? I keep witnessing people doing that while watching kayak bassin type you tube videos. As far as the boat, it would be a toss up at this point being in the class of a 12-13 foot boat by a good manufacturer, feelfree, WS, jackson ect. I want to stand but would still want some speed. Definitly a SOT because I have a bad lower back. I road run almost daily and am very fitness minded but I have to be careful with my lower back due to stenosis and a disk pertrusion to name a couple things. I would want to car top the boat with my mazda3 using aftermarket roof racks as the car doesnt have any. I would probly consider a trolling motor for use while fishing and paddle from point a to point b. Thanks for any further guidance. I will owe you guys one, once and if I decide to take the plunge, hopefully no pun not-intended Lol

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cortman
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Re: Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by cortman » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:18 am

Thank you for your service.

I don't have very high end gear but what I have is high end for me, and I'm pretty particular about it. Freshwater has never hurt any of them yet. A teardown and thorough cleaning once a year really seems to help.
If cork is getting wet constantly I guess I'd want to use some kind of sealant, but I don't get mine that wet very often when in a kayak.

Houndfish
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Re: Rods and reels getting wet?

Post by Houndfish » Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:57 am

I fish a good bit of brackish water out of my kayak and I have just come to terms with my gear all getting a little wet and salty. What I do is keep a 5g jug of water (the kind with a spigot) in my car and give everything a rinse as soon as I land. The other month I saw a guy do the same, but with a small Hudson sprayer. I spoke with him and he said the high pressure water worked great for making sure all the salt washed out asap, then at home he would hit all his reels with a hairdryer to try and blow as much of the clean water out.

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