Frankfort, Ky. – Over the past couple of fishing trips, your spinning reel feels like it
is slowly filling with sand. The handle sticks in one spot on the retrieve, making rhythmic
presentations difficult. The reel binds after getting wet. You figure it is time to replace
the reel, not a popular suggestion at home with money tight.
But, an hour with some grease, an old toothbrush, rubbing alcohol and a quality reel
oil will make your reel feel like it did right out of the box. Winter is a great time to do
some reel maintenance.
Spinning reels take a lot abuse, especially if you fish for trout or smallmouth bass, or
if you float-tube ponds. They get dunked often. Dunking a reel in a stream, lake or pond
removes valuable oil and grease and replaces it with crud.
Over the past couple of years, reel oils and greases that form a molecular bond with
the metals they contact have appeared on the market. They cost twice as much as
traditional reel oil and grease, but they make a reel sing. They are worth every penny.
You’ll be astounded at the difference these new lubricants make in the performance of
your spinning reel.
Grab a used egg carton to store the parts you remove from the reel. Nothing in the
world is as frustrating as searching for a tiny screw in Berber carpet. The tiny ultra-thin
washers in spinning reels are nearly impossible to find if they drop on the floor.
Take off the spool first. Clean the spool shaft and add a few drops of reel oil. Again,
use the new molecular oil or reel oil, not household oil. Household oil thickens and
hardens much quicker than reel oil and can form a layer of crud on reel parts. Check the
nut at the bottom of the reel shaft to make sure it is tight.
Squeeze a few drops of oil on the roller guide that wraps the line around the reel
spool. Oil the area where the bail spring meets the reel spool housing as well.
Remove the handle by either a screw or by rotating the handle backwards. Apply a
few drops of oil on the handle knob shaft and the shaft that fits inside the reel.
Take the side plate off with the small screws to access the guts of the reel. Right in
the middle is the main bearing. Lift this bearing off the main gear and remove the main
gear if possible. Drop the main bearing in a degreaser, kerosene, rubbing alcohol or
lighter fluid to dissolve old grease and sludgy oil. Clean the teeth of the main gear with
an old toothbrush and soapy water or degreaser.
Allow the parts to air dry and apply oil to the bearings and a tiny amount of grease
to each tooth of the main gear. Check the inside of the reel for crud, sand, dirt, fibers or
any other gunk. Do not spray the inside with harsh chemical solvents or use gasoline.
This may damage some of the plastic parts and push crud into the inner recesses of the
reel.
Grease the spiral worm gear in the bottom of the reel and the gears in the front of the
worm gear with a light coating of oil. Grease any part that slides along another part. Use
grease sparingly as it attracts dirt and sand and negatively impacts the performance of
your reel. Applying too much grease makes the reel feel like it is full of mud.
Put the reel back together, spray the outside with WD-40 and wipe it down. Now
you have a smooth spinning reel that will last you for many fishing trips to come.