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Put
it Away Right!! Except
for the “hard water” anglers (as far as I’m concerned, any recreation
involving ice that doesn’t include a swizzle stick is absurd!), most of us
have winterized the boat, put the equipment away and, with the exception of the
Novi Fishing Show, Gibraltar trade Center Boat/Fishing Show and Outdoorama,
limit our fishing related activities to TV fishing shows, reading fishing
magazines and waiting for spring. Not So!! NOW
is the time to prepare your tackle for Spring, not next March.
After a season of fishing, you should inspect/clean/service/repair all of
your rods, reels and tackle BEFORE you put it away.
You don’t want to hit the water in March and have your drag freeze, a
guide insert crack cut your line or a crawler harness break off when you have a
wall hanger on!!! Start with your rods and reels – Closely inspect the
guide wraps to see if any are loose or have cracked finish leaving exposed
thread and visually inspect the ceramic rings (preferably with a magnifying
glass) for cracks or looseness. Running
a Q-tip through and over the ring surface will show any non- visible cracks by
snagging. One note- braided line will NOT cut/groove the ceramic ring guides on
any quality ceramic ring used today. Braided lines will, however trap sediment
from dirty water in it’s fiber which can act as an abrasive. The guides with
metal rings (not often used today)
can groove so if you have them, keep an eye out for any sign of grooving!
It’s also a good time to hit your grips with some sandpaper or a liquid
cleaner such as Mean Green with a tooth brush to clean them up.
When this is done, give your rods a coat of wax (car paste wax or
furniture polish is good). I
recommend this a couple times a year! This will not only provide it with
protection but also make it very easy to wipe down after use. Be aware that leaving rods standing against a wall is
really NOT a good way to store them. Over a period of time the curve that this
puts on the blank nay actually become set, possibly weakening the rod.
The same applies to the habit of storing/transporting rods with the line
tightened down, creating a bend in the rod, putting unneeded stress on the rod
is NOT a good idea!!. Constant
stress is never good and can weaken a rod. Along the same lines, loosen the drags on your reels before
storing. Many reels have graphite
drags that can easily become “frozen” or compressed if left tightened and
you’ll never realize it until you lose a trophy because the drag was locked
up. Now is also the time to clean
and lube them so that they will be ready to go in the spring when the run
starts! Check your line for nicks/abrasions and trim or replace it
if needed. Great tip from Tom
Dinneweth – Instead of replacing all of his expensive braided line every
year, he simply transfers his line from one spool to another, effectively
reversing his line, not only taking care of any line memory but also placing any
nicked/damaged line on the inside of the spool. It’s also a good time to inspect your lures and sharpen
and or replace hooks any hooks that are “iffy”.
You might even think about replacing the standard hooks with higher
quality, sharper ones! Check your
harnesses for nicks, etc. Now is the time to sharpen the hooks and replace any
older, damaged ones. It doesn’t
do much good to replace your line and then lose the fish of a lifetime because
you’re using a 5-year-old crawler harness!!
Harnesses and stingers can be inexpensively tied up in a few minutes
while you’re watching TV! Don’t
put it off when a little time and minimal expense spent NOW can prevent the loss
of a “wall Hanger” in the spring!! |