How to Clean Your Shimano Fishing Reel

To keep your reel working as it should, and to last as long as possible, it's important to clean it regularly. The last thing you want when reeling in that big one, is for your rod to mess up!

Let's start with frequency. You'll need to clean your reel only once or twice a year (twice is better if you fish in salt water). It's not a difficult process when you know what you're doing. Let's start with the needed tools:

* one clean towel

* a small screw driver (usually Phillips head)

* a bottle of reel grease--not WD-40 (WD-40 leaves a residue that attracts dirt. Use a good quality reel grease)

* some Q-tips

* some paper towels

First, remove the reel from the rod. Use a couple of paper towels to wipe it off completely.

Now you need to remove the handle of your reel. This is usually done either by removing a screw that might be there on the handle itself, or else by winding the handle in a backward direction. With the handle off, sit it down on a clean paper towel.

Lie the reel down so as to expose the (typically) 3 to 5 screws that hold the reel together. Remove these screws and set them beside the handle. You should now have exposed a small plate--remove it too, and set it down with the screws.

At this point the inside of the reel is exposed. Use a clean Q-tip to remove any visible dirt that you see inside the reel. Then use your reel grease and put a couple of drops on every moving gear that you see.

*Note that this is not a case of more being better. In fact, too much grease can really clog things up! Only a little bit of grease is needed to do the job right.

Now it's time to reassemble. Just reverse the process you followed above. First put your plate back in place and screw it in. Now it's time to reattach the handle, but before you do, add some grease to it as well, then reinstall it.