Basic Care of Your Surf Fishing Rod, Reel and Tackle

Surfcasters have to deal with much more intensive cleaning and maintenance of their surf fishing gear than freshwater anglers. In fact, knowing how to properly clean and maintain your surf fishing rod, reel and other equipment is one of the most important aspects of surf fishing.

The truth is that, without proper cleaning and maintenance, surf fishing lures and reels just wouldn’t last all that long. This short post will give you some insight into basic care and maintenance of most of your gear.

Surf Fishing Rod Care

All in all, care of a surf fishing rod is the least intensive element of saltwater gear maintenance. Still, there are some things you should do to keep the rod in good shape.

When you get in from a session on the beach, give your surf fishing rod a rinse down with freshwater. This will remove any salt deposits that are stuck on the rod. Pay particularly attention to the rod’s eyelets and guides.

These are often made from a corrosion-resistant steel alloy, but no steel alloy is rust proof and given time and neglect, they will rust. It’s not particularly expensive or even difficult to replace an eyelet insert, but it’s still worth the minimal time and effort needed to keep them clean.

The other place to pay particular attention on your surf fishing rod is the reel seat. The mechanism is often made of threaded plastic and if sand gets in there, it can be badly damaged. So shake or rinse the reel seat out after every trip.

Surf Reel Care

All in all, the majority of your surf fishing gear maintenance is going to be dedicated to your reel. Even a high quality reel is a fairly complex mechanical device with gears and bearings that can be badly damaged by saltwater.

After every trip on the water, tighten the drag all the way, rinse your reel off with a light mist or wipe it down with a clean, damp cloth. Make no exception to this or the gears, bearings, fasteners, and springs will rust and fail.

What you don’t want to do is spray the reel with a jet from a hose. While this might seem like a good idea, high-pressure spray can actually force salt deposits further and deeper inside the reel. This you will want to avoid.

Once you’ve wiped the reel off, lubricate it with reel oil or grease; a few good spots to lubricate are the bearings inside the handle knob and crank arm and the line roller, as well as the shaft under the spool.

At least once per year, take the reel apart and thoroughly clean and grease the internals. At a bare minimum, remove the sideplate and clean and grease the main gear to remove any sand or debris that got inside, to protect it against corrosion, and to ensure smooth operation.

Surf Fishing Lure (and Tool) Care

Any rigs, hooks, surf fishing lures, or tools, such as pliers or fish grippers, that you used while you were surf fishing must be rinsed off and allowed to dry in a well-ventilated area before stowing them.

Failure to wash off your surf fishing lures and tools will result in rusted hooks, corroded hardware, and potentially damaged lure finishes, especially for metals and jigs. As for tools, they will rust and can seize if you don’t properly rinse them off and then dry and oil them when you get back.

Waders, Boots, Cart, Glasses, and Other Surf Fishing Gear

Lastly, turn your attention to your other surf fishing gear.

If you wear waders or rubber boots, rinse these off so that no sand or muck remains on them. Then hang them upside down to ensure they dry off completely. Do not store them in the sun, or in a place that is chronically humid.

If you have a surf cart, or a sand stake, you will want to rinse these off and then treat any exposed steel with either a machine oil, or a moisture displacer like WD-40, so as to drive out moisture and prevent corrosion. If you have a cart, oil the wheels and bearings, too.

As for your sunglasses, wipe off the lenses after each trip on the beach, and make sure you treat each joint with a drop of oil - if you don’t the screws securing the glasses’ arms will rust and the glasses could seize.

If you have any other surf fishing gear with you, the general rule of thumb is to make sure you rinse or otherwise clean it off once you get home, then dry it, and treat it appropriately to prevent corrosion, if necessary.

Proper care and maintenance of your surf fishing rod, reel, tackle and other gear will ensure it will perform reliably and last longer, too. Therefore, make sure you observe the advice detailed in this article to protect your investment in your sport.