I was just curious what everyone does in the winter time to take care of their reels? I strip all the line off, loosen drag all the way, and every other year I completely take them apart and clean all the parts. I have had some reels for almost 15 years and they are still doing a good job. Has anyone ever rebuilt a reel useing the Hot Sauce from Quantum? How does it work? What does everyone else do?
I strip down all of my reels, clean everything, and try to put them back together properly (I always seem to have a few EXTRA parts ???). I soak the bearings in lighter fluid, and add new oil. I used Hot Sauce for the first time last year, and I feel like I did gain some casting distance with my baitcasters. I will use it again this year. I'm thinking about purchasing new bearings as well this year. Anyone upgrade their reels to ceramic bearings? Is it worth the extra money? Thanks!
You can get many different upgrades for Garcia! These guys have a ton of stuff: http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/
I just keep catching fish , it's not till the ice forms that I break down the reels and check them all out, fishing on the river it very seldom freezes but the ramps do and that's what stops me from fishing. The Quantum hot sauce is a great oil but I really like Blakemore's Reel magic.......Doc
well I know I should do more maintenance with me reels, but I don't. But you guys have answered my ????about the hot sauce. I have been wanting to get some of this to try it out. Also have thought about the reel magic Doc mentioned. I think most of the reason I don't open them up to do the lubing is that I am afriad to have the extras left over. I may try it over the winter though. If I have no reels for fishing next year, you can bet it is because I have a pile of leftover parts!
For those using casting reels this site has a decent tutorial on cleaning them. I always end up with extra parts or spend 2 days trying to get it back together so it works again http://www.catfishin.net/reelcleaning/index.html