Ever wonder why there are golf ball cleaning devices at the golf course? A clean ball travels further! Same thing holds true if your rods/reels are properly maintained. Your baits will simply cast further with just a little maintenance. I just want to provide a few helpful hints that have treated me well over the years. Obviously the reel should be torn down and cleaned with a "sonic" if you happen to own one. If not, simply cleaning the reel without complete tear down is better than nothing. You will be quite surprised how much [censored] forms in the line guide and other key components of the reel. I have found that I am consistently cleaning my Punch Rig simply based on the muck and grass that I am punching.

I know there has been many discussions as to what type of oil to use. Once again, any reel oil is better than nothing. I will say this however; too much oil is not a good thing and will create unwanted issues. I personally like using a product called "Liquid Bearings" and discovered this years ago when my son use to race slot cars. It is 100% synthetic and comes in a small bottle with a very small end to pinpoint the tight areas without spell or waste. It is terrific and can be purchased on Amazon and sells for $13.99 but it goes a long way. Now on to the rod. Similarly to the reel, [censored] will form on the inside of your guides. This might not sound like a big deal but some of the grasses and muck will form a tight bond to the guides and restrict line flow. A simple Q-Tip with a little mixture of Mr. Clean or other household product and water will clean the debris.

Most rods have cork handles and I know there is the Winn Grip evolution taking place which might prove to be very good. However, most of my rods are G. Loomis sprinkled in with a few Dobyns and possess cork grips. Cork handles are still terrific! Most of my buddies never clean theirs but I do using the same mixture as above. The key here is to use a soft bristle old toothbrush (please don't use your wife's current one as this is not a good thing). The cork handle is actually a series of cork rigs that are actually butted up to each other. You will want to gently scrub "with the grain" so to speak. You will be surprised how much better the cork handle feels when it is decently cleaned.

Finally, I take a generic can of Pledge or spray furniture polish and spray just a little on the entire rod blank and guides. Simply wipe off with any cloth rod and you are done! I know this stuff might sound elementary or cheesy perhaps, but these tips have helped me and my son. He and his teammate won the 2016 Texas High School Championship and he has since qualified for the FLW College Championship twice and the BassMasters College Championship last year on Tenkiller fishing for the Aggie Anglers. I hope you will find this information helpful and Clean Gear = Greater Confidence !! Tight Lines and please get the net for me!

I find that paragraphs give me more confidence.

So the forum is now an English class. Got it

Use rubbing alcohol with a soft cloth on cork handles. Takes about 10 seconds and they are like new when done.

Chokeafrog there are always a couple of anuses on here. I thought it was a very simple and useful post. I guess when you're on here enough a lot of these posts seem elementary to a lot of us, me included. But there are new people joining every day and lots of folks aren't on here constantly so they don't know many of these topics were discussed a month ago or yesterday. It was short, concise, and something a lot of us forget to do.

I'll have to give this a try! I usually just use warm water and the rough side of a sponge but that's pretty abrasive and usually takes off some bits of cork.

Thanks fivebites and Fishinfellow. "fivebites" is a cool username! I might even try the rubbing alcohol that Champion1 suggested but have a little concern that it could dry out or damage the cork if used often enough. Good luck out there!

Magic erasers work very well for cleaning cork handles. I also seal the cork handles before ever using the rod. Preventative maintenance and makes for easier time cleaning them down the road.

Thanks BigVes! What do you seal the cork with?

U40 cork sealer is good stuff. I appreciated the read myself, Choke- never thought to clean the guides.

Good read ChokeAFrog. Thanks for sharing the tips. Congrads. to your son on all the wins. That is an impressive start to a great fishing carrier.

Thanks ChokeAFrog! I use this Kelly�s stuff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008WC64E4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

I�ve also heard that U40 that 5X3Phoenix mentioned is good stuff too

Thanks!

Magic erasers work well but I have started using a little bit of Dawn mixed with water and small brush. I also use the U40 cork seal and it makes cleaning easier and I think provides a better grip, especially when they get wet.

Nah. No need to be defensive, Choke. Kyle31's comment is spot on and helpful if you are interested in people reading your post.
Large, unbroken blocks of copy don't invite reading. I read the comments, not your initial post. There's a reason copy in ads, magazines, newspapers etc is presented in inviting chunks instead of mass copy blocks.