Does the saltwater mess your reels up real bad or is it not that big of a deal? And what would you do or use to keep them in good shape?

clean and oil them - religiously!!

Its not that big of a deal if you take proper care off them. You have to clean them and oil them. After every use in Saltwater I always wash my reels down with freshwater as soon as I get home or early if I can.

oh ok ya I usually rinse them off but never oil them...do you just squirt the oil in the reel handle and thats it?

they sell special stuff like Reel Magic which does a really good job, but you can get by with just plain oil, or even WD40, the problem with WD40 is that it drys up inside your reel if you leave it sit to long. A good freshwater rinse before you go out takes care of this problem but its still not completely recommended since the smell sticks to your line a little bit. So basically always freshwater rinse, if you can use a product like reel magic, if not, use oil, in a emergency use WD40. I personally always use WD40 cause I get it free at work and reel magic costs like $7 a bottle. Like I said its not recommended, although a couple years back it was the recommended way.

Also I have heard you should rinse, them, then soak them for 30 minutes, then oil. Not sure how much the soak helps but I figure it cant hurt and I try to do it when I can.

Ok -I use shimano spinning reels Stratics - top of the line and I have not bought one in over 5 years because I don't need any.

Fresh tap or garden hose water, depending on where you live, has a lot of contaminates to reels - calcium, Chlorine, ... etc. etc.


If you don't back that up or "out" with WD-40 or Reel Oil then you will have build up in your reel.

I use the long red stem that comes with WD-40 and "Blow" out any SaltH20 mist or liquid on the reel with WFD-40 1st, then stand your rod n' reel up so it can drain through all the gear parts.

After you've cleaned fish, cleaned boat, cleaned yourself, grabbed a bite to eat, kissed and Blessed the kids and wife after a safe return home, ...THEN go pour Abu Garcia reel Oil in all the proper places - again stand rod n' reel upright and your set to go fishing again whether it's the next day or the next year.

Like most anglers, I rinse my reels as soon as possible after a saltwater fishing trip. Before I rinse my multiplier reels, I always tighten the star drag to its maximum to prevent any rust or other contaminants reaching the surface of my drag washers. As soon as it is dry, I loosen them completely to prevent a "memory" on my star drag washers and loosing drag capability.

Also, I open my reels, clean and oil all the gears and the ARB bearings and I then store it in reel covers away from sunlight to prevent UV damage to my monofilament.

Like everyone has said, you need to rinse after each use. My routine is pretty simply, get back to the dock and rinse with the garden hose, now I use the mist setting because if you power blast you can end up forcing sand and salt into some areas you do not want it. At the end of the trip I like to rinse throughly with warm fresh water, the warm helps to disolve the salt better I think. Then I remove the spools and put a few drops of oil inside the reel on the bearings, worm bar, and gear housing. Also, once a year I have them professional cleaned. Have had the same Curado 201SF for five years and I think it casts better today than new. Hope that helps.

Make sure your drag is locked down before you start rinsing your reel. Also NEVER SOAK YOUR REEL IN WATER. All that will do is allow water to get into places that it wouldn't normally. After cleaning spray your line and entire reel body down with Reel Magic. It will help alot.

Thanks for all the tips

Some good tips here.

Thanks for posting up for these guys gentlemen.

IMO probably the best and most often overlooked advice of all. Rinse w/ fine mist of fresh water and reel oil(my Shimano has an oil port). I would never soak a reel, just does'nt make sense to me, no offense.
I've got a Shimano Cruxis bait caster and a Shimano Sienna spin caster, i.e. CHEAP! 2 seasons on the Cruxis, 4 on the Sienna with no problems.

Tighten the drag down before rinsing. Do not use water under pressure, do not soak. Just exterior free-flow rinse off.
Pressure will just force the salt, sand, misc. grime and such into the reel.

Remember ALWAYS back off the drag when the reel has dried.

Have reels serviced on a regular basis.

A large portion of the reels I work on have been used in salt, stashed in a corner of a garage, ignored until next year. Then, guess what? Another one for me to work on. Fine by me.

i soak all my reels with warm water. i have anything from abu garcia 5000-6500 (6 over 20 yrs) to $300 pro gear and avets, never had any problem. i will soak them with star drag tight for about an hour then let it air dry with star drag loose and on free spool, final step will be lubing the reel..just my 2 cents!!

I have 4 of my grandpas old penns that he soaked. He owned them for 25 yrs and now I have had them for 5 and I care for them the same way he did. I have a few Abu Garcias and a few shimanos. I have owned them all for 5-10 years and I soak them (with the drag tight), oil them and they work just like new. All together that's about 14 reels that I have soaked every time I come back from the coast (10-12 times a year) and they are all great.

Just my .03 cents. Happy fishing.