Salty reel maintenance?

[12ring]

I could prob use the googler but figured y'all'd have the answer.

Every year we buy Walmart spinning reel/rod combos to fish at Corpus. Don't want to ruin my cheap freshwater stuff, lol.

By the 2nd or 3rd day they are barely functional. Won't hardly reel. Is there something to keep this from happening? We were rinsinsing them daily in the hotel tub best we could.

Thanks, D.

[Walker]

Spend a little more money. I use Penn Battle ll's. Rinse with water hose after each trip. They last me 4 or 5 years.

[kingranch]

Don't rinse to point they soak
Just hose off the rod eyes.
The gears will go bad if they get wet... I usually buy the 30$ spinners from academy and use them for a summer then chunk em- after horsing reds in they usually are junk

[Mexico]

Don't rinse to point they soak
Just hose off the rod eyes.
The gears will go bad if they get wet... I usually buy the 30$ spinners from academy and use them for a summer then chunk em- after horsing reds in they usually are junk

Pretty good advice here. I have my high dollar stuff, but every year buy a cheap reel or 2 for the surf knowing they'll be in the trash by summer's end.

[Kenner97]

Yes do not rinse. Just put a little oil and suggest not the cheapest.
I would try and find Lews in the $40-$50 range if you can afford it.

[Capt Glenn]

First of all do not dunk in saltwater. Ever. Second, keep them out of the sand if you are on the beach. Those are the two quickest ways to kill reels.

Next, buy decent reels. And they don't have to be expensive to be decent. The Penn spinners are great. Fierce and Battles. Daiwa spinners are great. The BG is a solid reel but so are some of their cheaper ones. I have had good luck with the Daiwa Revros and Regals too and they are pretty dang affordable. Much cheaper and you are in the disposable zone.

When you buy your reels don't assume they are oiled with anything that will actually stop corrosion from occurring. I open up my brand new, never used reels and re-oil them with Corrosion X's Reel X oil. For spinning reels make sure you get the roller bearing under the rotor and any other bearing under the rotor, on the main shaft, etc. Those are the ones that water is going to get to and those are the ones that will rust and cause you issues. Also oil your line roller and bail return mechanism. Those items will come in contact with water and will give you issues as well. I basically double the life of my spinning reels by oiling with reel x before they ever see the water.

When you rinse your reels use a fine mist of fresh water and just a short rinse. Do not submerge. Fresh water will rust the bearings up too. If you submerge them in fresh water and let it soak all in there you probably just killed that reel unless you tear it down, get all the water out and re-oil it. I have also found that I have fewer issues if I rinse my spinning gear laying flat on the floor of my boat vs standing up in the rod holders, reason being when they are standing up you will get water up around and under the rotor and it will run right down the main shaft and into the roller bearing which is the one that is usually going to get you. When horizontal the water can drain off and away without running down the main shaft. And again, just a quick fine mist to get the salt off the outside of the reel.