2014 Tip of the week thread..

[Deitz Dittrich]

I’ll start things off, my tip of the week begins with cleaning and re-spooling.

Cleaning- each spring I do a partial take down of each of my reels. Performance can really increase with very little extra work. With baitcasters, take a small cup and put a shot or two of rubbing alcohol. Grab a bunch of q-tips. I don’t break all the way down(will do as needed every few years). I usually only take the spool out, clean the edge of the spool, clean the inside edge of the reel where the spool could rub or touch. Usually a lot of algae build up here. Then depending on the reel, a VERY small drop of reel oil on each of the bearings on each end of the spool shaft. I also clean with alcohol the hole where the spool goes into the reel. Then if its a Shimano, I’ll shine the inner rub rail with a small piece of steel wool. Then a teeny drip of oil on each of the brakes..

Spinning I do much less.. NEVER EVER take one apart to the gears, you will not be successfull putting it back together. I check to be sure the bail is not bent. Thats about it, If it needs to be cleaned, my biggest tip here is.. SEND IT IN…

Spooling line- line winding machines for spinning reels are sure nice.. baitcasters not as needy. But I like to take a cloth towel and put a few squirts of a line softener on it, and then hold the line to give tension and add the line conditioner. Seems to really help.

Final tip- if new to baitcasters.. walk out a long cast and put a piece of electrical tape across spool(make sure it doesn not touch edges) that way when you backlash, it will only go down to the tape. If you get a backlash, tighten your drag as hard as you can, dig your thumb into the backlash as hard as you can and turn the reel handle. It will suck the backlash from the inside out and make it easier to pick out.

Hope this helps guys!!!!

[bemidjibasser]

+1 on the backlash tip, it works great even with braid.

[bassfshin24]

I was thinking about cleaning my spinning reels just because I'm not sure I have ever done it before. I might justh have to wait on that one haha.

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

I have ruined too many spinning reels. Learned my lesson.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I have watched the professionals at Shimano do them a few times, even they are super careful. And even then, I have seen a spring fly off into space from time to time.. but usually its getting the gears set back right that is the hard part.

[JP Z]

Here's a great Youtube video on cleaning Baitcast reels as well.....heck it's even a Shimano!

[slopmaster]

Good tips Deitz. I did a complete tear down on all my baitcasters tonight and cleaned/oiled/greased them. I do this once ever winter, but thats because I enjoy doing it.

I'm an Abu guy and one thing I will add is they are usually over greased from the factory. I actually take my new reels and tear them down before ever fishing them and remove the excess. To me they perform better this way and don't seem to get so "gunky" inside after putting some time on the water with them.

[RK]

I'm an Abu guy and one thing I will add is they are usually over greased from the factory. I actually take my new reels and tear them down before ever fishing them and remove the excess. To me they perform better this way and don't seem to get so "gunky" inside after putting some time on the water with them.

True of many reels actually - Lews are that way too - but Abu does go extra overboard with the factory lubrication - grease especially.

I go a little more in depth with my reel tear downs - I pull them apart completely and clean all the parts. Bearings, gears, level wind, etc, get de-greased in acetone (amazing how much crud can come out of a bearing) then flushed with water. Frame, etc., gets a scrub down with a 25% Simple Green/water solution (I use a toothbrush and q-tips...lots and lots of q-tips) then rinsed and air dried. I've been threatening to get an ultrasonic cleaner for a while now but just haven't.

When reels get reassembled, I try not to over-lube things. Bearings and spool shaft ends get *one* drop of oil, gears get a little grease on the teeth. Some parts, like the raceways for centrifugal brakes, etc, shouldn't get any lube at all.

You can really go to town tuning reels, and I do make some upgrades now and then to bearings or drag washers, etc., but mostly I just clean things up. I can do a reel in an hour or so, not counting the soak time for parts. Good way to kill a few off season hours here and there. If you look online, there's tons of good info on cleaning and tuning reels.

[slopmaster]

I go a little more in depth with my reel tear downs - I pull them apart completely and clean all the parts. Bearings, gears, level wind, etc, get de-greased in acetone (amazing how much crud can come out of a bearing) then flushed with water. Frame, etc., gets a scrub down with a 25% Simple Green/water solution (I use a toothbrush and q-tips...lots and lots of q-tips) then rinsed and air dried. I've been threatening to get an ultrasonic cleaner for a while now but just haven't.

Cleaner teeth and cleaner reels, win-win right there . I've used my electric tooth brush on my bearings the past two years and it helps.

[RumRiverRat]

I wrote a long rambling dissertation for next weeks tip

[Deitz Dittrich]

I cant wait!!!!

[RuddyDuck]

For those that have BC reels with the port to grease the main gear, how often do you do this? Once in spring or just if it gets a little noisy. I have a Quantum Kinetic that has this port.

Also for spinning reels, would it hurt to take the spool off and put a drop of oil on the main shaft?

[Todd S.]

RRR-I'm on the edge of my seat

[RumRiverRat]

RRR-I'm on the edge of my seat

I will try not to dissapoint.

A severe case of cabin fever and the fact that I have worked everyday except 5 so far this year has resulted in a severe case of isomnia.

I need something to focus on or else I would have gone crazy by now.

So fishing has become my focus.

[Juan Grande]

I predict a novella on night fishing from RRR. Either that or early season bass fishing on the river.

[RumRiverRat]

As far as reels are concerned.....

Since I literally spend 80 plus hours a week at work I have time to work on side projects as long as I get done what needs to get done.

In the business it is called "government" work.

I took a spare spool I had for an old CU100b that was getting a little tired. Made a fixture to clamp the spool in a 4th axis rotary indexer on a CNC Mill so I could mill out areas of the spool to make it lighter. I reduced the weight of the spool by almost half.

The theory being a lighter spool will take a lot less force to get spinning and keep spinning, thus resulting in longer casts.

I also am in the process of making a set of titanium gears for another reel the advantage being extreme reduction in weight and extreme upgrade in strength of the gears and eliminating a lot of the slop in the gear by making them fit tighter together.

So you could say I am super tuning my reels in a way only a machinist can.

I have purchased several used Curado Es the last few months and have taken them apart and given them a thorough clean and lube job.

[RK]

I took a spare spool I had for an old CU100b that was getting a little tired. Made a fixture to clamp the spool in a 4th axis rotary indexer on a CNC Mill so I could mill out areas of the spool to make it lighter. I reduced the weight of the spool by almost half.

The theory being a lighter spool will take a lot less force to get spinning and keep spinning, thus resulting in longer casts.

THAT sounds like a sweet upgrade. Very cool. The CU100B is still one of my favorite little reels - that, and the Scorpion 1000s which were basically JDM Curados with magnetic cast control.

Post some pics of that ported spool sometime. Love to see it.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Im interested in how the spool turned out too if you have time to post the picts?

[RumRiverRat]

What I want to talk about is the mental part of fishing. Mental toughness to keep at it even when things are not going well. The power of visualization.

They say there is no substitute for time on the water, I say there is no substitute for the time you spend off the water.

The last 2 years I have kept a detailed log of my time on the water. I keep track of how many fish I catch, the weather conditions, the type of cover I am fishing, the baits I used. I also keep track of what the other fish in the lake are doing, especially the prey that bass target.

A typical day on the water for me starts several days before I actually put the boat in the water. Once I have decided where I am going to fish I then begin by looking at my log. 90% of the time my log dicates where I decided to fish.

I look at my log and compare current weather patterns and time of year. For example last year weed growth was way behind what it was in 2012. This really changed what the fish were doing on one lake I fish a bunch. Taking information from my log from the prior year and what I have observed in recent outings I start to develope a game plan for what I want to accomplish. What I want to accomplish is catching fish and not catching fish bothers me.

When developing my plan it really helps to visualize the body of water I am fishing. Becoming incredibly familiar with a 2 or 3 lakes has really improved my fishing success.

I look at the weather forecast for the day I will be fishing. This allows me to put a list of presentations and areas I want to target based on what worked with similar conditons in prior outings.

I have one lake that I fish a bunch and am intimately familiar with virtually every thing underwater. Sitting here typing this post I am imaging my self dragging a football jig down a tapered rock point on this lake.

Being able to visualize that scenario and then getting on the lake and doing it is a neat experience. Familiarity with a body of water really lets you do this.

When I am on the water fishing I really pay attention to what is happening. Presence of forage is key.

Last year I was on a lake in late June and the bluegills were up shallow in various stages of the spawn. I was working a large weed flat in 3 to 6 feet of water with a crankbait. I was catching fish that to me seemed scattered in amongst clumps of weeds. Really no other pattern had emerged.

I had thoroughly covered this weed flat but just had a feeling that the bass might be up very shallow on the inside weed edge where it meets a stretch of bank that has a lot of overhanging trees that with the high water were submerged more than usual. As I am thinking about this and recalling all the fish I have caught even when the branches are not submerged and fish are just using the shade for cover. I decided to move shallower and throw a Manns 1 minus and work it parallel to the overhanging trees to draw the fish out.

As I moved shallower I was seeing an incredible amount of bluegills and they seemed to not want to be to close to the trees. I starting working the 1 minus and on my second cast I put the bait extremely close to the overhanging trees and was rewarded with an incredible stike from a bass as it rush out from way back in the branches to eat my bait.

As I make several more casts and put a couple more fish in the boat I see bluegills jumping out of the water I assume they are trying to get away from the bass under the trees.

I take all this information in and pick up a rod with a jig. I have a peanut butter and jelly jig tied on. I decide I want a tralier with a lot of motion that presents a more rounded baitfish profile. I decided on a crazy legs chigger craw in green pumpkin green fleck it has more rounded claws and lots of action.

I position my boat close to the trees and methodically pitch the jig into them trying to get it as far back as possible. When I would put the jig in the right spot the bass would absolutely thump it. It was incredible how many fish I caught from under these trees on a couple hundred yard stretch of bank.

The constant presence of bluegill led me to the conclusion that the bass were sitting under the trees waiting to ambush them if they got too close.

That day is seared into my memory. A perfect example of putting clues together and capitalizing on them. Sitting here typing this post I can see myself in the bow of my boat on that day. Visualization at its finest.

The other mental part of fishing is mental toughness. Being able to focus when things are not going well and having the mindset that I will figure out a way to get bit.

In February of 2012 my sister commited suicide, in May of 2012 my Father In Law died of a massive heart attack. 2012 was an incredibly tough year for me. Fishing was and still is the way I cope. I fished with a drive and vengeance that pushed me to not give up when I was on the water.

I fished 126 days targetting bass in 2012, I caught a bass in every month fishing open water during an open season.

2012 was an incredible year of fishing for me. Many days it felt like I had help from my sister and Father in Law. Like they knew it made me happy to be fishing and they knew it made me happy to catch a lot of fish.

I had days that were very challenging and a real mental grind. I just decided to do what ever it took to try and get bit. I left it all out on the water. Somedays I zeroed, other days my mental toughness was rewarded.

2013 was a different year for me I had a bunch of really tough grind it out days on the water. But having the mental toughness to focus on the task at hand and do everything I can to get bit paid off.

The last Saturday in April of 2012 Juan Grande and I fished Pool 2. The weather was supposed to be windy, cloudy with rain and drizzle in the morning and then it was supposed to clear up and the wind was supposed to calm down.

My game plan was to put in at 494 and fish stuff upstream towards downtown and then when the wind calmed and the weather improved make the run to Grey Cloud.

Fish an area for Pike while waiting for the weather change. It became apparent that it was not going to happen. Decided to make the run even though the wind was from the south and blowing up river against the current creating the standing wave effect. It was a rough, wet 13 mile ride.

Get into Grey Cloud Slough and suffering from minor hypothermia we both start fishing. We struggled as was everyone else that was fishing. Eventually after trying everything I could think of I picked up a spinning rod, tied on a tube and pitched it to the bank and slowly worked it back to the boat. I eventually caught a small Smallmouth. Juan Grande starts fishing a tube and eventually puts a Largemouth in the boat. It was the first bass he had caught in April in MN when actually targeting them. He was ready to give up and call it a day long before he caught that fish, but he knew I would not give up that easily.

I know this seems sorta like the ramblings of a madman. I admit it is a little bit.

The "Tips" hidden in this long dissertation are Keep a Log, Be Observant, Visualize What and How you are going to fish and dig down deep within yourself to have the mental toughness to keep at it when things get tough. Failure is sometimes the greatest teacher.

[bassfshin24]

Great stuff Rum! I do have a hard time keeping mentally tough when I'm having a bad day. It's one of the reasons I haven't fished a ton of tourneys. I get so frustrated in a tourney if I'm doing bad that I kinda take myself out of the game. I don't like feeling frustrated when I fish. When that happens I really need to take a step back and just remind myself why I am out there.

Fishing is definitely a stress reliever for me as well. I do a lot of thinking while I'm on the water. Nothing more relaxing then being on the water on a calm morning when the sun is just coming up. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 22 years old and fishing was me and his thing so being out on the water in his boat (my triton) is nothing more then perfect to me.

[Todd S.]

RRR-good read, I was pleasantly surprised, I thought for sure it was going to be a dissertation about a black money frog!

[RumRiverRat]

RRR-good read, I was pleasantly surprised, I thought for sure it was going to be a dissertation about a black money frog!

I can write one if you want.

[Markula]

Some people put far too much thought into catching a bass.

If you know the fundamentals, and know the conditions(open eyes,see weather!), catching fish will not be difficult. MN lakes simply have too many bass.

Mental fortitude? Come on!! When did spending a day on the water become mentally challenging?? If you're not enjoying yourself, just leave.

[RuddyDuck]

Some good tips in there.

I've learned when the fishing is tough, sometimes I need to take a quick 5 minute break, have a snack and rethink things. Kinda get out of a rut that isn't working. This helps me to fish a little harder, switch things up a bit and maybe actually catch a few fish! If that doesn't work, then I go with the old, A bad day of fishing, beats a good day at work or doing chores at home!

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Some people put far too much thought into catching a bass.

If you know the fundamentals, and know the conditions(open eyes,see weather!), catching fish will not be difficult. MN lakes simply have too many bass.

Mental fortitude? Come on!! When did spending a day on the water become mentally challenging?? If you're not enjoying yourself, just leave.

So we will be seeing you on top of the leaderboards all next season on the bass tour, right?