10. Maintaining Your Fishing Tackle

The prudent angler will take the best possible care of bis fishing gear for two reasons. First, of course, is the dollars-and-cents consideration. A great deal more good tackle is ruined by lack of reasonable care than by use. Properly tended reels, rods, and lines last longer, need to be replaced less frequently. Secondly—an equally important reason—tackle that is maintained as it should be catches fish. There is no greater angling frustration than the loss of a prize strike caused by faulty gear. If proper main­tenance will prevent just one mishap like this each season, it will have amply repaid you for your time and trouble.

CARE OF REELS

Let's begin with your reel, which, of all your investments in tackle, has the largest number of moving parts, takes the greatest beating, requires the most care for top-flight per­formance. A good reel, however, demands very little at­tention in relation to the service it gives. A careful lubrica­tion at frequent intervals and a thorough cleaning at least once a year will keep it in shape for a lifetime.

Most reels can be lubricated quickly, easily, and without special tools. Reel oil and lubriplate or reel grease, obtain­able at your local tackle shop, should be used rather than ordinary household lubricants, which will not stand up well under the deteriorating action of water. Household lubri­cants also offer too much friction for the precision parts of a reel. Lubrication instructions come with most reels, and it is wise to follow these to the letter when you are lubricating.

Remember to put oil on bearings, grease on gears. Two exceptions to this rule are the handle-knob post, which should receive grease although it is a bearing; and the level-wind screw, which should be oiled although it's a gear.

It is very important not to lubricate your reel too heavily. A drop or two of oil and a speck of grease are all that is required. Never grease-pack gear teeth, but rather give them a fine coating of light grease. Too much lubricant will collect dirt and retard the reel's action. It is also important to keep such parts as the metal and leather washers, used in some reels as a drag device, free of lubri­cants.

Some fishermen are hesitant to take their reels apart for a thorough cleaning. Perhaps, if their mechanical ability ends at unscrewing a jar lid, it's wise for them to leave the job to a qualified repairman. Most fishermen, however, are creatures filled with curiosity who delight in exploring the internal workings of a reel. Realizing this, manufac­turers have taken steps to design their reels with simple take-down features. Every angler should learn to disas­semble his reel; sand or other foreign matter can cause serious damage with a single turn of the handle.

Here are some tips for those who have never tried such a disassembly before. And elementary though it may sound, I will begin with some instructions on your choice and use of the screw driver, since that simple tool is prob­ably the chief cause of scarred and damaged reels.

Many reel manufacturers furnish a combination screw driver-wrench of the proper size for their reels. If there is none, take your reel to the hardware store and find a screw driver of the right size. It need cost no more than ten or fifteen cents since the non-rusting screws used on reels are quite soft, require little force.

In loosening a screw, press down fairly firmly with the screw driver, but without unnecessary force; otherwise the tool is apt to jump from the slot, scarring the sides of the screw. Scarred screw heads are the sign of a poor me­chanic. Later, in replacing the screw, press down hard again on the final tightening. But don't turn too hard; you may twist the soft screw in two—a tough problem for even a good mechanic. Just tighten until it's what I'll call, for lack of a better term, good and snug—no more. Check your reel regularly to be sure all screws are properly tight­ened.

A wrench is sometimes necessary, chiefly to remove the crank. Again, it should fit the nut. (The use of pliers on the type of soft nut found on reels is plain destructiveness). Don't use too much force in tightening here, either.

As you take your reel apart, lay each piece down sepa­rately and in the order it came from the reel. This will en­able you to replace each correctly by reassembling in re­verse order. Pay close attention to the sides of each part; they sometimes differ.

Be certain that each is cleaned before putting the reel back together. Stubborn dirt and grease are easily removed with a soft cloth and a cleaning solvent such as gasoline, carbon tetrachloride, or even a very strong soap or a de­tergent. With the latter, rinse the parts afterward in clear water. An old toothbrush makes a good scrubbing tool for such parts as gear teeth, which are difficult to clean. Each moving part should be lubricated as it is fitted back into the reel.

When you are reassembling the reel, each part should fit back into place without force. If you meet resistance, you'll usually find that you are doing something wrong. Keep trying stubborn pieces without forcing them; they will inevitably slip into place if you are patient. At worst, they will prove only a minor, if interesting, puzzle for you to figure out.

If you come across any parts that are worn and need re­placing, order them at once. Try your local dealer, or re­turn the reel to the manufacturer., At either place repair charges are at a minimum for the work involved.

When you are sending a reel back to its manufacturer, follow these simple instructions to insure its safe return:

1. Pack the reel carefully.
2. Address it plainly.
3. Give your return address.
4. Send a detailed letter of explanation along with the parcel.

5. Insure the package.

When you are fishing on salt water, be sure to wash the salt from the reel with warm fresh water at the end of each day's fishing. Then wipe the metal parts with a soft, oily cloth to protect their finish. If sand or salt water have got­ten into the grease, it will be necessary to flush out the gear housing with cleaning solution to remove the con­taminated grease. Relubricate with clean oil and grease.

Any reel not specifically designed for salt water requires more care than those that are. Its metal parts should be coated with grease beforehand, and the entire reel should be washed in fresh water, dried, and relubricated within twelve hours after use.

A reel should be protected at all times. There should be a padded receptacle in your tackle box or some type of carrying case or bag. Keep the reel in a dry place if you are storing it for any length of time.

CARE OF RODS

Rods of different materials require different kinds of care. In general, modern glass fiber rods require a minimum of attention. But remember that it is possible to break a glass rod; you should be careful with it even though it will stand a great deal of normal abuse. Careless handling of rods before and after fishing has ruined almost as many as casting has. A friend of mine once leaned his fly rod against the open door of an automobile while he pulled on his wading boots. A sudden gust of wind slammed the door shut against the rod and ruined it. That thoughtlessness cost him more than twenty dollars.

To avoid similar accidents, leave your rod in its case until you are ready to use it. Don't leave it around under­foot where someone might step on a section. The safest place to stand a rod when you stop fishing temporarily is among the branches of a bush or a small tree. There it will be safely out of the way. The tip of the rod should always stand free and clear. Aboard a boat, stand the rod in a po­sition where it can be neither stepped on nor knocked overboard. If given this kind of treatment, glass fiber rods will give a lifetime of service.

After a hard season's fishing, every rod, regardless of material, will need some attention, from a few minor re­pairs to a complete overhaul. With glass fiber rods it isn't necessary to revarnish as was true of bamboo. However, it's a good idea to check these important points to determine if any work on your rod will be necessary:

1. The condition of guides and ferrules.
2. The condition of windings.

APPLYING WINDINGS

1. The operation of the reel seat.
2. The condition of the cork grip.

Carefully inspect—perhaps with a magnifying glass— the insides of each guide for grooves caused by the line. Any grooved guide must be replaced since it will quickly ruin new lines. Mount the new guide with a narrow strip of cellophane tape about 1 foot long, and line it up with the other guides. Then start the winding on the rod, a very short distance from the foot of the guide, and work it up over the guide. (Your local dealer or the rod's manufac­turer will be able to supply the proper guide and winding thread to match if you will give him the exact model num­ber.) The loose end of the thread should be wrapped under at the starting point. As the winding progresses, the turns of the thread should be pushed up close to each other to make a tight, neat wrapping. Half a dozen turns from the end, a bit of doubled thread should be wrapped down. When the full length of the wrapping has been completed, the end of the thread should be put through the doubled part of the wrapped-down thread, and the free ends pulled so that the end of the thread is under the last few turns. Trim the thread flush with the wrapping with a razor blade, and with the back of a knife blade push the wrapping up solid. Then apply several coats of rod varnish to keep it in place and to prevent it from unwinding.

Worn ferrules are not only a source of annoyance, but may also cause the rod to come apart at the wrong mo­ment and result in catastrophe when a good fish is on the end of your line. Toward the end of the fishing season, they are apt to loosen. This is indicated by a slight knock which you will hear when you are casting. It means that the cement holding the ferrule inside the rod has loosened. If a ferrule is still tight in the slide but has loosened on its seat, it may often be reset by application of a small flame to the metal to melt and redistribute the cement. If this doesn't work, the ferrule must be removed from the rod.

Ferrules that don't fit snugly can often be corrected by applying a coat or two of varnish to them. But if the fer­rules are badly worn, it is best to replace them with new ones.

When ferrules are to be replaced, heat the metal and pull the female section by placing the welded end between the vise jaws and pulling smartly on the rod. For a purchase on the male section, turn up the thin serrated ends to right angles. If you are using pliers to remove the ferrules, be extremely careful. A flattened ferrule is ruined. Put a wooden plug tightly inside a female ferrule and grasp the plug with the pliers. For a male ferrule, bore and fit a cork ring around it to protect the ferrule from the plier jaws.

Often ferrules can be parted by placing both sections of the rod behind the knees, with the ferrule joined be­tween them. Then squat down, bringing pressure to bear with your knees, and pull the sections apart. When the fer­rules are free, clean off the old cement by scraping with a chip of soft wood. Wash them inside and out by soaking in carbon tetrachloride. New ferrules of the proper size may be purchased at your local tackle dealer.

It is important that new ferrules fit snugly. If they don't, put a tight wrapping of very fine silk or nylon—try No. 0000 first—to build up the diameter. Then coat the inside of the rod thinly with ferrule cement available from your tackle dealer. Heat the ferrule and press it in gently but firmly. It may have to be heated several times before it is driven into the cap, or shoulder. Some surplus usually squeezes out as you press the ferrule home, but you can re­move it quickly and neatly with a dab of lighter fluid on a piece of rag or facial tissue.

Often the ferrule trouble lies in the other direction; dirt and corrosion cause the ferrules to stick too tightly. Smooth them down with fine emery paper or crocus cloth, then give them a few turns on a buffing wheel. Take care not to let them become so heated on the buffing wheel that the cement is loosened.

Should a jointed rod become stuck, it should never be twisted; often an application of mild heat from a cigarette lighter on the ferrules is sufficient to free them. Never oil ferrules; rubbing the male ferrule in the hair will provide all the lubrication necessary.

A reel seat with worn threads is a nuisance, and reel seats with a sliding ring often fail to hold the reel securely. It is wise in either case to replace the old seat with a new one. Your local tackle shop will be able to do the job for you.

You can make a cork grip look like new by scrubbing it with any good kitchen cleansing powder, or cleaning it with a pad of steel wool dipped in acetone or common lacquer thinner. Then go over the grip lightly with fine sandpaper. In doing this on a spinning rod, be careful not to remove so much cork as to loosen the reel rings. If the grip is badly worn, your local tackle dealer can replace it, or it can be returned to the factory, as can broken rod sections.

Rods used in salt-water fishing require a little more at­tention than those employed in fresh water. Salt has a nasty habit of corroding reel seats and turning guides green; it may even eat into the color preservative on the rod windings, discoloring them. To prevent this, wash the rod in fresh water to remove all traces of salt and other grime. Then apply a light coating of oil or grease to all metal parts.
CARE OF LINES

Caring for synthetic lines is not much of a problem. They should be checked to see that there are no worn or frayed spots that might give way at a crucial moment. (See Chapter 2 for other details on line care.)

If you are going to replace a spinning line, it's pure waste to pull all the old line off the spool. Instead, peel off 60 to 70 yards and leave the rest of the old line on for back­ing. Put on enough new line to fill the spool, and you will be equipped to deal with any fishing situation you are likely to meet.

Fly lines usually require a little more care. They should be removed from the reels, washed in clear water, and stored either on a storage spool of large diameter (the round plastic box that most lines come in these days is good for this job) or in loose coils. It is essential that all parts of the stored line be exposed to the air. The storage location should not be excessively hot or humid. If your fly line turns sticky during storage, it is probably ruined and should be discarded. However, in mild cases of stickiness, soaking the line in lime water may restore it.

A fly line left on a reel or coiled up for a long time may have a tendency to take the shape of the coil, causing it to come off curled when you are stripping or retrieving. To straighten the line, unwind it and give it several light tugs.

No line, especially a fly line, should ever be stepped upon, nor should it be tightly kinked. Once the smooth coating of a fly line becomes cracked, little can be done to re­pair the damage. Under no condition should fly dressing be applied to the new floating lines since it may crack the line surface.

CARE OF TERMINAL TACKLE

During the fishing season your terminal gear takes a beat­ing—not just from the fish for it is often snagged or knocked about in your tackle box. Hooks should be sharp­ened on a honing stone with a special groove (available at your tackle store) to keep them sharp and effective. As I have said, dull hooks annually cost anglers more bragging-size catches than they realize. One winter evening's work can spare you many a disappointing experience. Carry a whetstone in your tackle box to cope with on-the-spot emer­gencies.

Hooks and other steel articles will escape rusting if stored during the winter in a very dry spot. Still, as an extra precaution, it is wise and takes little time to wipe all metal pieces with a greasy rag before putting them away. To sim­plify the task, use a brush to apply the grease, which should be warmed for easy application.

Check the hooks closely. Long-nosed pliers are helpful in straightening those which have been bent out of shape. Badly rusted hooks should be replaced with new trebles, obtainable in sport shops for a nickel. You may wish to re­place the originals with weedless models which cost slightly higher than the open treble hooks. Whether they are new or old, be certain that all points are needle sharp. This may mean the difference between hooking and landing a lunker bass or missing the strike entirely.

Spinners and spoons of brass or copper dull quickly in use, which lowers their attractiveness to fish. The simplest and fastest way to polish them is with a little wad of fine steel wool. For highest polish, always rub back and forth in one direction. Spinners and spoons corrode badly in storage, no matter where they are kept. To prevent this, apply a coat of lacquer—clear nail polish will do—on the polished surfaces. A thin coat is best since a heavy coat will peel. If the lacquer is thick, dilute it with thinner. Nickel, chrome, stainless steel and other corrosion-proof materials can be brought back to their original brightness with a metal polish, jeweler's rouge, or jeweler's polishing cloth.

You'll often hear that plugs are finished to attract fisher­men rather than fish. Perhaps so. But cracked or broken finishes expose the body underneath to rusting or rotting. It's a simple matter to touch up chipped spots and to ex­periment with new finishes. (You might hit on a killer com­bination.) If you give your plug a new paint job, use enamel or lacquer. Lacquer painted over enamel will cause the undercoat to shrivel and peel.

Before repainting, replace any rusty screws. If the threads are stripped on the screws, or the holes are worn too large in the plastic or wood bodies of plugs to make a good con­nection with the screws, replace them with a screw a size larger. Check the double or treble hooks on the lures, too, and straighten them if they have become bent out of shape.

Flies take a fierce beating during the course of a fishing season. Three or four trout can maul a fly pretty badly. All but the most severely damaged can be restored to good condition by holding them over a steaming kettle. The mat­ted materials will fluff up instantly, and the fly will appear almost as good as new. Examine the thread wrapping near the eye. Far too many flies are lost each year because the wrapping has unraveled, allowing the entire fly to come apart. Many of these worn flies can be saved by a drop of clear nail polish, lacquer, or varnish placed on the vital thread.

To waterproof your dry flies, give them a treatment of fly dope (available at most tackle shops) or make your own by dissolving 1 ounce of paraffin in ¼ pint of carbon tetra-chloride. Hold the fly by the eye with tweezers and im­merse it in the fluid for a couple of seconds. Rap the tweezers sharply on the container to eliminate excess dope, and hang the fly up until thoroughly dry.

When storing flies, be sure to place them face down in their box; otherwise, the weight of the fly will bend the tail and hackles. Feathers are considered a delicacy by house moths. It is best to store flies with an army of pro­tective moth balls, and to check occasionally during the winter months to see that there is no need of replenishing the supply.

At the end of the fishing season, check your leaders. If you are using the gut type throw them away. While nylon leaders need no particular attention, they sometimes be­come brittle after heavy usage. There seems to be no treat­ment to prevent this—and if there were, few would bother with it. New ones are quite inexpensive.

While not terminal tackle in the true sense, your land­ing net is the last step in landing your fish. A net that is used heavily may be in bad shape by the end of the season. Wash it with strong laundry soap to remove any slime or odor. Then replace broken sections of the netting with new material. There is no reason to be especially professional about this—just make the repair with simple square knots. Now soak the netting in hot linseed oil for waterproofing that will last another year. Varnish the handle if necessary.

Clean creels thoroughly with a soda and water solution, and after they are completely dry, give them a coat or two of spar varnish. If your creel has a few breaks in its cane, repair it by weaving the break closed with well-soaked raffia. Leather creel straps last a great deal longer if given a treatment of neat's-foot oil.

Before we leave the subject of tackle, a word should be said about the tackle box. The average tackle box is a catchall for hooks, plugs, swivels, and sinkers, as well as chipped paint, sand, rust and rot. Keep the essentials, but get rid of the rest—fast. Scour the insides thoroughly. When it is dry, sand it inside and out. If your tackle box is not already waterproof, make it so by attaching strips of water­proof adhesive tape along the inside seams. Follow this with two complete coats of spar varnish or paint. Remember that dark colors absorb heat and light colors reflect it, so use aluminum paint. If the box is already in good shape, a single coat of spar varnish won't hurt.

CARE OF FOUL-WEATHER GEAR, WADERS, AND BOOTS

Even if you fish only occasionally during the season, it is difficult to avoid rain and bad weather. And it's too late to repair holes and rips in your clothing when it begins to pour. So check all foul-weather gear while the checking is good. Wash rubber jackets and raincoats with mild soap and water. Allow them to dry. After that, hold them up in front of a bright light and examine them carefully for punctures. Repair them with light inner tube patches or with material furnished by the manufacturer for that pur­pose.

Waders and boots require slightly different handling. With soap and water remove any oil or grease that may be on the waders. These are natural enemies of rubber. Rinse and dry them thoroughly. Then, keeping the outside dry, fill them with water and check to see if moisture oozes through anywhere. If holes are evident, repair them with inner tube patches—or better still with patches of the same material. When they are dry, stuff them loosely with old newspapers. Hang them feet-up or lay them on a flat surface for storage. Some fishermen roll the waders up and wrap them heavily with brown paper. To preserve them still better, wrap the paper package with something air­tight, such as a plastic bag. Stored in a cool spot when not in use, waders and boots will last the average salt-water angler for many years, and won't be inclined to leak when he uses them.

Most of the new, light plastic gear needs little care. Re­pair kits are usually furnished with each garment. I've found that I could get longest life from these, too, by stor­ing them just as I do my rubber and fabric ones.

When storing your fishing tackle and gear for extended periods of time, be sure to keep them in a completely dry location. Don't just toss them in the corner of a damp basement or garage.

By observing all the precautions given in this chapter, you will be certain that your fishing tackle is in good con­dition at all times—ready to catch that really big fish next season.