Reel maintenance

[Doctor J]

Dumb question from a rookie. If I am going to spend $300 plus on a reel, how much maintenance do you guys perform on them? I am used to fishing walleyes with a spinning reel, and I don't do anything for them. When they burn up or wear out I dump em. That's for a $40-60 reel. To buy a Trinidad or other nice reel, how much work do you do to care for them?

Thanks

[goblueM]

i think many get them cleaned every year (15-20 bucks) and others don't bother at all... just like a lot of car maintenance. should you? probably. will you be ok if you do not perform routine maintenance? for a while... but only to a point

[wahoo]

i have 4 trinidads. 16, 20, 40, and 50. all used in saltwater. all 3-6 years old. since in saltwater i clean them with freshwater and salt x. very little maintenance. i have friend who repairs reels and wraps rods for a living.

he replaces drags and greases them about once per year depending on how hard i work them. i have had no mechanical breakdowns and believe they are used somewhat harder than they would be used in freshwater given tuna, yellowtail, and wahoo are my primary targets and when casting throw 4-8 ounce irons.

You can get the drags upgraded, but I am not an expert on the replacement drags and material used. But, here again, nothing I have caught in freshwater runs like a tuna or wahoo given a tuna of only 30-40 lbs will run and fight for 10 -15 minutes or more on light (25 lb) line. a wahoo of 40 lbs will take 100 yards so fast (on 50lb test) you cannot keep up with it and no drag failures ever.

also, the shimano factory will R and R your reels very inexpensively. If no major problems $15-$20 per reel. They have done my Calcuttas, trinidads, TLDs, and Tiagras. Many times providing an upgrade for the cost of a part--sometimes no cost. But, since my friend does them for nothing, i usually stick with him.

Frankly, Calcuttas do the job for heavy freshwater for Musky or NP--for me. But, the drag on a trinidad can certainly be tightened down far more than a calcutta.

you could also look at AVET reels which are around the same price and have very easy maintenance and are light weight. Just rinse them out in a bucket of water. My 2 cents.

tight lines,

Wahoo

[Esox_Magnum]

I'm in the I don't bother class, 100 days a year, got a couple going on year 6 and never been touched.

[rugbymn]

Shimano and Abu both had reps at the musky expo this year that clean and maintain your reels for free. After watching them do it, it's not to tough to do on your own.

[10,000 Casts]

There is a full overhaul like the shimano guys at the show did and there is what I do and I do it twice a year, take the sideplate off, take the spool out and use greace on any moving parts. Beyond that, I would never be able to get them back together. I would reccomend if you fish a ton to send them in to shimano every few years, the drag gets really dry and they will dissasemble the reel completely and lube up every gear and bearing and other moving parts, they will also replace any part that is worn or broken.. Very good customer service.

Esox, it must be the Iowa water! maybe it has a lubing effect that the MN water doesn't have..