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Winterizing Fishing Tackle
Winter Storage of Fishing Tackle
by Jim Shepherd
Winterizing fishing tackle time. Despite the fact it's a
beautiful fall here in the south, I'm preparing to
seriously curtail my fishing. I reluctantly do this
about the same time every year. There are no complaints
about what I am fortunate enough to do for a living,
other than sometimes it seems that I'm overly seasonal
in my pastimes because I spend more time writing about
them than I do actually enjoying them.
My freshwater fly fishing gear's the first to get put
away. This year, since I used boots, footed waders and
wading sandals, I have to remember to carefully clean
all the soles and check the condition of the felt on
them. With the sandals, there's really not much more
involved other than hosing them down with clean water,
but wader and boot care is more complicated - and
important. Actually, proper wader care is important. If
you want to toss your waders in a box or a corner until
next year, take my advice and wait until the water's
warm to use them in the spring. Otherwise, you'll get a
chilly surprise when those creases and cracks you caused
through poor storage practices leak. And they will.
If you use waders with no boot, consider hanging them
upside down. If you use the booted-style, stick some
newspaper into the boots (dry boots please) to help
prevent moisture and mold from getting started. Then,
hang them up by their braces. And hang them somewhere
other than by your furnace or in the attic, willya.
Cooler is better and no direct sunlight and cooler is
best. If you are planning on storing your waders in a
box here's the best advice anyone can offer: roll them
up, do not fold them. Folding causes creases. Creases
cause leaks. Leaks cause bad language.
The fly rod and reel then follow. I have a jointed rod,
so I disassemble it, wipe each section down with fresh
water, dry it, then lubricate the cork parts so they
stay moist (the cork wax is the only thing from my
daughters' band days that still gets used). I also check
the line guides to make certain there's no fraying on
their binding. Now's the time for touchup if it's
needed.
For my reel, it's not a complicated deal -I strip off
the line and backing, stretch-straighten it, then run it
through a rag to which I have lightly applied some
silicon lube. Then it's wrapped - loosely - and stored
until next spring. If it's three years old, strip if off
and take it to one of the line recycling centers in your
area - it's served its purpose and usefulness. My reel
is taken apart, the dirt rinsed out with water and the
parts blown dry (I use my compressor for this). Then
it's a light coat of gun oil, reassembly and into the
neoprene cover until next spring.
A little TLC here will pay off. No rust is good.
Where the small things hide. Empty, clean, replace and
it's good-to-go in the spring.
Where I generally mess up is maintenance of my flies and
lures. It's easy to forget that hooks and metal parts
need to be cleaned, and a little bit of lube on the
hooks - and a tackle box's metal parts can save you a
rusty mess in the spring.
I also completely empty my fly vest. That's when I find
all the stuff I thought I'd lost - and replaced - over
the summer. Since my primary vest is the flotation type,
I also check that part carefully to make certain it's
holding a charge, give the fabric vest a good shake,
clean stains with either a Shout wipe or gel-pen, then
reassemble all my cleaned gear back into the vest and
hang it on a wooden hangar with my waders.
Several of the anglers I now like to wait to clean their
gear until the weather's nasty. Personally, I like
knowing my gear's clean before the weather turns really
nasty. It keeps the word "nasty" from describing my gear
come spring. If I put it out of sight unclean, I'll find
it unclean when I go looking for it in the spring.
While an ounce of prevention definitely is worth a pound
of cure, careful storage beats a wet bottom and soggy
feet in the spring - or losing a big fish because of
poorly maintained gear.
Winterizing fishing gear, time to look at a couple of
items that can cause problems in the spring when you
pull out your fishing tackle and head back to the water.
If you're a year-round angler, this might not be
entirely relevant to you, but you'd be surprised how
many good anglers really aren't very good about
maintaining their gear.
We all know that rods are the last connector to the
line. The line is the only connection to the fish.
That's one reason we know to check our line guides for
rough edges and any sign of damage to the whipping that
holds line guides in place. I realized the other day
-mid-cast, of course- that one of my line guides that
looked secure was flapping along on the line.
Turns out I'd checked for fraying, but I'd neglected to
give the guide a little "tug" to make certain it was
secure inside its fastening. The guide may have had a
bit too-much cement applied at assembly and it had
cracked. That allowed the guide to simply slide out of
the mount.
It wasn't a big fix - but it was a reminder as to why I
carry that tube of super glue in the tackle box.
And speaking of super glue in a tackle box - remember
that stuff's not supposed to last indefinitely-
especially after it's been opened.
If you don't take time to clean the tip and close your
tube tightly, you're going to find your glue still
"super" but glued inside the tube.
If you're a worrier (like me) you're probably going to
carry two tubes - or buy the slightly more expensive
single-use tubes so you don't have to worry about
contamination after usage - or gluing the glue to the
tackle box. I've done both.
Anyway, back to the rod - if you're storing, wipe it
down with a damp cloth and take time to check for any
obvious damage. Go through the line guides for burrs or
wear spots- and replace them if you find your super
tough lines have worn a groove in the guide. The repair
work on your rod, incidentally, will help give you more
"feel" when fishing - and realizing how things feel if
they're in optimal condition will help you head off
potential problems -before the big one gets away.
The reel is one of those items with moving parts.
Moving parts mean friction. Friction is relieved through
- you guessed it - lubrication.
If your reels sound or feel like you are grinding grain
when you should be cranking line, you probably should
stop for lubrication immediately. If you didn't, but
know the sound and feel I'm talking about, it's time to
open up the reel and see if you've done any permanent
damage to the synthetic or metal gears, teeth or guides.
First, blow out any dry gunk that might be in the reel.
Use a brush if you need to get into tight spots, but get
it all out.
Use compressed air (I like Air Dr. dust remover - it has
a hose and an air-powered brush in addition to the long
plastic tube for cleaning) to get into the tight spots.
I then rinse out any remaining grease or gunk, give the
whole thing a quick rinse and rub and re-lube everything
according to the reel maker's specifications.
Line is one of those items where I frequently run into
trouble.
Having put expensive line on a reel, I'm always hesitant
about recycling perfectly good line at the end of the
season. That's despite the fact I know pro anglers
frequently re-spool their line.
But I'm not putting the same wear and tear on it.
But I admit being stumped by the concept of "line
memory" - does that mean line's going to kink, curl and
generally perform poorly after it's been on a reel?
After all, it does comes spooled - and generally wound
pretty tightly.
So I decided to get some expert advice. That's next in
our winterization.
We have prepared the storage of our fishing gear not
related to fly fishing. In that preparation, we were
looking at the various items that need cleaning,
inspection and possible maintenance- preventative or
otherwise.
Those items include a few parts and pieces that are
common to all mechanical fishing gear: line guides on
rods, gears and other moving parts on reels, and the
items in your tackle boxes that you don't want either
gunked-up or rusty when next you open your gear.
Presuming you've emptied, cleaned and carefully
re-packed your vests, the remaining item is one that is
subject to a dozen different theories: the fishing line
itself.
As the only direct connection between the angler and his
quarry, the line is the single point of failure that can
stand between you and that monster trophy fish - or
dinner. No matter what method of fishing you follow
(catch-and-release or batter-and-fry), losing one
because of line failure ranks as the most frustrating.
There are many rationalizations, but the simple fact of
the matter is that with a little basic line maintenance
all year long, your chances of losing a fish are
significantly reduced.
But what's reasonable maintenance?
That's the question for the ages - or the experts.
To get an answer, I turned to Pure Fishing's line guru,
Clay Norris. His answers are based on a career learning
about line and perfecting the multitude of offerings
from Pure Fishing.
When it comes to line spooled on reels, Norris
recommends "winterizing" - stripping monofilament or
fluorocarbon back to leave twenty to twenty-five yards
of "backing". He says that makes it easy to tie on and
spool fresh line in the spring. It also keeps you from
having to recycle line that may have been on the reel,
but is otherwise new.
He also offered the answer to a question that I've
wondered about for some time: is there a problem with
line strength or "line memory" if you leave the line on
the reel?
The answer is a conditional "yes."
If you leave nylon and fluorocarbon monofilament on the
reel, it will not lose strength over the winter. If,
however, you leave it stored for long periods on small
spool arbors and put it through extremes of temperature,
it can induce line memory.
That small arbor and extreme temperature is the reason
that some of your reels put out that frustratingly
looped line during the summer. Cooking and cooling it in
your car, your boat, or wherever you keep your gear
induces that line memory. After all, it's superheated
resins drawn into thin strands in extremes of heat.
Re-heating the line will, logically, alter the shape of
the line. Not enough to give you a lump of resin, but
more than enough to induce line memory.
And braided line?
There's no problem with memory in braided lines, but
there are a couple of other items that might lead you to
want to strip down your reels.
According to Norris, braided lines' major problem would
be wear during the course of a fishing season. It's
strong, but everything is subject to the wear and tear
of friction. Braid is also subject to discoloration and
color loss simply because of what is the equivalent of
frequent washing over your fishing season.
Those facts in mind, Norris suggests you simply strip
off the top portion of your braided lines so that you
get to the fresher color and better conditioned line
that has not been dunked and dried all summer long.
There you have the basic winterization preparations for
the bank- or boat- fisherman. Taking care of your gear
will pay off in more ways than one -but one of the most
important ones is not letting the big one get away.
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