Fishing reels are an essential piece of equipment for any angler. They allow you to cast your line accurately and retrieve your catch smoothly. However, reels can be damaged by saltwater, sand, and dirt. Regular maintenance is essential to keep your reel in top condition and extend its lifespan.
How to Clean Your Reel
It would be best to clean your reels every time you return from a trip.
To clean your reel, you will need:
- A bucket of clean water
- A soft cloth
- A rag
- Rinse the entire reel with clean water.
- Gently wipe down the reel.
- Rinse the reel again with clean water.
- Dry the reel thoroughly with a rag.
How to Lubricate Your Reel
Once your reel is clean, you can lubricate it to keep the moving parts working smoothly. You will need:
- A reel lubricant (we recommend Reel-X)
Apply one drop of reel lubricant to moving parts on the handle, bail arm, bait feeder system etc. A little goes a long way.
DONT spray it with Salt-Away!
We appreciate that it even gets mentioned in their (Salt-Aways) literature, but any reel tech we have ever spoken to will not recommend spraying your reels with anything.
There are two aspects at play here. One is spraying, and any pressure is potentially forcing water and salt into your reel. The second compounding issue with something designed to 'melt' salt is that you are now forcing more salt water into your reel.
Upon hearing that Salt Away has been used, many techs will immediately take the approach that any warranty discussion is out the window.
In short - clean, fresh water on a rag, gently wiping it down.
How often should I service my fishing reel?
We recommend that people have their reels serviced at least annually, depending on the use. In fact, many manufacturers specifically recommend it as part of the warranty. Not doing so can fall under the 'neglect' category and void a warranty.
Servicing regularly is a key aspect of looking after their investment. It helps maintain their warranty and ensures no fish or fishing time is lost to broken-down equipment. Servicing your reel is important to maintain its good working order and maximise its longevity.
Servicing includes cleaning all parts, re-lubricating, re-assembling, and testing the reel.
It is particularly important to have your reel serviced after it has been immersed in salt water - i.e. dunked in the surf or dropped overboard!
Even reels that are wiped down on the outside can still suffer from salt water ingress.
Is a service covered under warranty?
No. Cleaning and maintaining your reel is often stated as a requirement for a valid warranty but is not included as part of warranty work. A reel repair that has been required due to lack of maintenance, representing itself in the form of excessive wear or corrosion will not be covered under warranty.
What will it cost to service my reel?
Service Charge
A general service, which includes cleaning all parts, re-lubricating, re-assembling and testing of the reel. This is preventive maintenance and should be done regularly if you are not comfortable totally stripping down your reel (beyond just taking off the spool) and checking the internal workings. Most manufactuers actually state that trying to service your reel yourself to detail level will void the warranty.
A general service starts at $75. Parts will be on top of that.
Repairs Charge
If the work goes beyond a basic service, in that parts need replacing, we will quote the work before commencement. Once the quote is approved, we will go ahead. With the wide variety of reels and parts costs, it’s hard for us to provide an estimate before pulling the reel to parts to assess.
Additional work and parts may be required if the reel has the following issues/symptoms:
| Bearing Replacement |
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| Gear Set Replacement |
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| Body Replacement |
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Turnaround
Please allow for at least four weeks turnaround (longer during summer) with all reel servicing. All repairs are sent to specialist technicians.
Please note:
If a quote is not going ahead, the reel will likely be returned in parts, as most companies are uncomfortable putting a broken item back together and returning it to a customer due to the implied responsibility. In addition, we are not charging any inspection fees - and reassembling reels takes additional time that isn't being passed onto the customer.
Items that are not collected after three months will be sold/disposed of to cover costs.
Can I organise this through the website?
Certainly. Please go through the RMA Process and return it to us for service/repair.