Rod Storage / Line Life

[artcarney_agr]

I was wondering if everyone leaves all of their rod and reels in your boat rod lockers all the time, or do you take them out everytime you're done for the day? The reason I ask is whether you feel your line might deteriorate more quickly in your rod locker or not.....

[roadrunner]

Scott I always leave mine in the rod locker the sun can't get to it and I don't have a problem with bad line. However I fish Bull Shoals early April late October and I change line twice a year on my bait casters. I do use spinning line for up to two years or more with no problems.

[Danny]

Scott,

I too leave mine in the boat all the time, except in the winter when I take them out in case I get the inclination to take the reels apart and clean them.... LOL... so far I've only done that once, and that reel no longer works!!

My tackle storage system makes it impractical to remove the tackle after every trip.

One thing I do though, I keep Arm and Hammer baking soda in all my dry boxes and rod lockers. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems that my boxes and lockers seem to build up a smell of the fuel and oil. I don't think that can be good for the baits, so I keep the A&H in there to try to off set the smell some.

Good luck, and I hope this helps some.

Tight lines and God Bless

Danny

[artcarney_agr]

Danny I agree about leaving baits in the boat.....my question was more in regards to line life. I kind of thought maybe leaving spooled up reels in your locker might be a bad idea. I know the temperatures get pretty high in my boat during the summer when it's covered (especially since I have a black cover) and wasn't sure if temperature had any effect on line life. Another concern was moisture, if you've fished in the rain do you still leave your rods in the boat? I wouldn't think several days of exposure to a high humidity area would be good for line, but it may have no effect at all - that's what I'm trying to figure out! I've just known a few people who go to extremes to prolong line life and was just seeing if they are right on or just being ridiculous. I've known one guy that keeps packages of line in his refrigerator to keep it fresh, but I think he's nuts!

[Danny]

Scott,

If I fish in the rain, I don't cover the boat. I make sure to leave it out in the sun, with all the lids open to allow it to dry. I do keep it covered between trips, but my biggest problem is that I tend to get mildew growing on the seats if I am not careful.

My braided line usually last about 3 years, my mono lasts about 2 years.

One other thing, I had an enclosure built to keep my boat in, however my last boat was kept outside. I had some trouble with heat damage to my electronics, so I began to loosen the cover on the really hot days and make sure to ventilate the boat. I hated having to replace the depth finders, I wish it had been just damage to my line.

Good luck,

Tight lines and God Bless

Danny

[Moose1am]

I unattach my depth sounder screen and take it into the house. I also keep my boat in an unheated but attached garage. I leave the rods and reels in my boat stored in an open rod horizontal holder system.

Fishing line, mono, is attacked by sunlight and OZONE GAS. Other chemicals in the air will also attach the fishing line. Acids in the air and rain can also effect the mono lines. But the biggest damages is caused by UV light. UV light will break the bonds of the plastic in the line and deteriorate the fishing lines. Not sure how braided lines are effected by the elements. cotton lines are also effected by the acids in rain. Some rain where I live has a pH of 4.0. That's 1000 times more acidic that pure distilled water which has a pH of 7.0. Acid rain effects everything it touches and slowly oxidizes or reduces things that are exposed to it. It takes time because the acid rain is not very strong even though it's pH is low. But over time it does a lot of damage to things like Plastic webbing in the lawn Chairs for example. I think that anyone who has had one of those folding aluminum chairs with the webbing deteriorated knows what I am talking about. Ozone at the ground level will also eat the plastic webbing up. That's what Ozone does to your fishing line too given enough time and enough Ozone at ground level.

If you protect the reels and lines from the sun and air then they should last longer. I also use a pray on silicon substance that wets the line and take the memory out of the line. This reel magic works great and it also coats the mono and gives it some protection from the sun and air. Sort of like putting on oil when sitting out in the sun to prevent a sunburn.

Hope this helps.

Moisture may hot harm the fishing line but it might be a good idea not to get the inside of your expensive reels too wet. Moisture and especially moisture that's acidic in nature may start some unprotected metal to rust sooner. Most of the reels these days are made from stainless steel hopefully and the chromium helps to protect the metal from rusting. Still it's a good idea to take the reel apart and degrease it once in a while and then add grease and oil back on the reel after it's all dried off and all the sand and grit has been removed. Sand which is silicon dioxide or quartz crystals is hard stuff and it will wear on the metal parts if it's allowed to get in the gears. So by decreasing the reels inner parts with something like Trichloroethylene or Perchlorethylene you can get all the old grease and grit out of the reels grease and make it last longer. If you can't take the time to do this then have someone else do it for you every once in a while. My dad always took the older reels apart and cleaned them each winter. And we always used fresh new line before any major fishing trip. And he sharped up all the hooks on the crank baits using a diamond sharpener.


Regards,

Moose1am

[peter]

Thanks for the detailed info. Very interesting.

Peter

[Cobra190]

I keep my boat in a detached garage. As long as it is in the garage I keep all the compartment lids open. This way all stays dry and or dries out after I have fished in the rain. The only line problem I have noticed is deteriation through the heat of Summer. While fishing a small club tourney in September, I felt like I was fishing with rubber line. I had so much heat built up in the garage during those 90+ degree scorchers that it had to be the problem. Re-line all reels and solved the problem. This Spring will probably add a roof vent into the garage. So "My Opinion"-- Not so much the cold, but the heat as a deterioration factor. Have also heard that a good soaking of your preferred line lube, (WD-40, CDP ETC.)can add some protection in extreme cold or heat.

[zx150]

Does anyone use reel magic on jig/spinnerbait skirts. If so will it leave a smell/sent that will turn the fish off?

[ChampioNinKY]

I try not to leave my rods in the locker in the Summer because of the heat and I take them out in the winter because of temp changes inside the reel causing moisture. This past year I started using KVD's line treatment it is amazing stuff but i still change line at least once a month.

Jerry Cole

[artcarney_agr]

Thanks for all the info!