10 Fishing Reel Repair Tips

If you follow these 10 fishing reel repair tips before you go on your next trip, keeping that fish on the hook will be a cinch. A good fisherman depends on both skill and preparation. Did you check your tackle to make sure it was in top shape before you got that bite? If not, you can't fix it and reel in that fish at the same time.

1. Inspect your reel and see that it works and has all of its parts. A fishing reel has a lot of moving parts and even a new reel can have missing components or be broken. One of the first fishing reel repair tips you need is to make sure you inspect the reel before you leave the store.
2. A fly reel should be cleaned with a little bit of alcohol or kerosene every time it is used. It is not necessary to take a reel apart to clean it every time it is used. A thorough rub-down of the outer surface will do a lot to maintain it.
3. Wash all saltwater fishing tackle in fresh water after every use. Salt water will corrode many of the reel's moving parts. Fishing reel repair is not as necessary on well-maintained tackle.
4. Apply lightweight oil on all moving parts before you store your fly, spinning or bait-casting reels. Since reels are exposed to moisture while in use, they tend to corrode quickly if drops of water are left in hidden recesses. This is especially true with tackle used for saltwater fishing.
5. A good fishing reel repair tip is to never lubricate your fishing line. The filament in the line tends to break down when exposed to oil. It is no fun to catch a big one only to see your line snap in two.
6. The reel should be disassembled and cleaned monthly. When taking apart a reel you should clear a space to lay out each piece. Remember the order that the pieces were removed by writing down the steps or taking pictures with a digital camera.
7. The fishing reel handle is attached to the axle by a nut or a screw. If the reel is held by a thumb screw, it can be removed by simply turning it counter clockwise with your hand. A pair of pliers or a Phillips screwdriver will take off most other nuts or screws. Make sure you carry some basic fishing reel repair tools in your tackle box.
8. After the handle is removed, it is easy to open up the reel casing to remove the spool and line and clean the inside. The next piece you need to remove is the star drag, which is screwed onto the axle at the base of the handle. This piece has small spokes radiating out like a star. It can be removed with no special equipment. Simply unscrew it. Once the star drag is off, the face plate of the casing can be taken off by removing four screws. The reel and line can be pulled out and the inside cleaned and the moving parts oiled.
9. One of the best fishing reel repair tips is to keep an assembly diagram of your reel so you can refer to it when you are disassembling and reassembling the reel. Nothing is more frustrating than not knowing how the reel is supposed to be built. Safe yourself a lot of time and aggravation.
10. If you cannot find new parts for a favorite obsolete reel, try looking for a reel fix-it shop that has been in business for a long time. They might have the part you are looking for stored away in the back of the store. If not, look on the internet for another reel of the same make and model.

It's no fun to catch the big one only to find that your reel isn't working. If you follow these ten fishing reel repair tips, your favorite reels should last a long time.