Jay's Newspaper Column - Topic: Reel Maintenance and Disasters

Spring Dust Off
3/5/09


If the weather forecast is any indication, lots of fishermen are going to be thinking about dusting off the fishing gear and hitting the water in the near future. It’s easy to assume that everything is in working condition and just go ahead and make that first big spring foray to the stream or the lake. Then, when you break off the inaugural fish because in reality, everything is not in working order
and your fishing line is all chafed and cracked and sun baked. And covered with spider webs, dust and evidence of rodent infestation and molded to the spool because you parked the rod and reel next to a heat register for the entire winter or put those rods in the garage where “they belong” according to your wife. Yes, you did it.


You probably assumed that like a good little fisherman you’d take the time in the spring to clean everything, lubricate the gears and put fresh line on your reels, maybe even replace a bail spring or two. Then you casually relegated your gear into the place where it won’t get in the way and totally forgot about it. If you didn’t, then you’re more organized than I am. You’d think that as a fishing guide I’d be on top of this. You’d think that I’d be coddling my gear, treating as if it was special equipment that required lots of special attention. The fact is it’s a heckuva lot easier to stick it in the corner and deal with it later.


Twelve months a year some of my gear is potentially being used and therefore in working order. Most hardcore fishermen always have something in rotation that works or if they’re really lucky, an endless fund for brand new gear. I wish I was lucky like that. I figure that due to economic conditions I keep hearing about I’d best take the time to see if anything can be fixed easily so I wouldn’t have to invest a bunch of dwindling change on new rods and reels. The other day I took the time to collect old reels and extra stuff lying around in drawers and tackle bags. Reels that hadn’t felt the exhilaration of a fish burning the drag for years and at some point were put away to be dealt with later. What I found surprised me.


I have a shoe box full of old reels that can be fixed for virtually pennies. Occasionally you can find the parts required for fixing these old gems from the manufacturer but in reality the reel repair guy is the best option. Most of the good ones have been doing it for so long that they have drawers full of obscure parts for reels that have been “obsolete” for decades. Not surprisingly there is a big market for those old reels and their parts. If nothing else you can eBay them for some extra cash. And speaking of eBay, it’s a fairly good place to find reel parts as well.


If you do an internet search you’ll find lots of reel repair services. The big box outdoor stores offer reel repair services as well. Locally there are some guys that do it on the side. If I miss somebody locally please let me know. Personally, I use Moe’s Reel Repair and Cleaning out of Cassopolis, Michigan. You can reach Moe at 269-445-2782 or email him at moedar@netzero.net


If all else fails take the reel and throw it in a dumpster and buy a new one. Don’t put it in a drawer or on a shelf expecting that some day you’ll take the time to fix it. Be sure and buy a good one too. There is nothing worse than equipment failure when it counts. Trust me I see it all the time when my fishing clients bring el cheapo gear they insist on using.


Back when I only had one good fly rod for steelhead, the reel that accompanied it was total junk. I was snookered by some guy at a shop in Colorado when I bought it. He told me it was a great deal on a quality reel and seeing as I was barely able to get to where I was going on what gas money I had scraped up, it seemed like the right thing to do. I hated that reel because it always failed me and despite my plan to replace it I kept hoping that it would miraculously reinvent itself into a quality piece of equipment. I would cuss and spit and throw it in the mud but alas, the next time I was on the river guess what reel would be tightly clamped to my 8 weight fly rod?


Then one fine spring day as I was working the steelhead over I noted that the reel was working perfectly. I noticed it because after 8 or 9 fish, I hadn’t paid any attention to it. The reel was out of my mind where it was supposed to be! Shortly thereafter I hooked one of the largest steelhead I have ever seen anywhere. It was big buck, 40 inches long and well over 20 pounds. He had launched into the air several times his immensity startling me. I dug my heels in and stuck the rod butt into my solar plexus to take this big boy to task. He was a stallion of a fish and I was already thinking that I’d have to race him to a taxidermist somewhere.


It was then that he took off on what we fishermen describe as a “blistering run”. At about 100 feet or so downriver he breached again, throwing water into the air in an impressive explosion. As he came down his flanks hit the water and the resulting slap could be heard for miles. And then he took off again at which point my reel blew a gear and the line belched off the spool into a giant ball of mint green Orvis fly line in what is known as a “free spool”. When everything finally seized up the rod almost jerked from my hands and for one last moment I thought of running after the fish. It was too late. The line was stretched to the max and finally gave way in a firecracker snap. The fish jumped his way down the river; my fly firmly entrenched in his jaw and about 4 feet of monofilament dragging behind. This act is often referred to as “giving you the bird”.


Surprisingly I didn’t cry all that much after that. After taking the reel off the rod I drove straight home. When I pulled up to the cabin I picked the reel up off the passenger seat and walked straight to the wood pile. I casually put the reel on a big round of oak and dropped the butt end of a maul on it with a swing that nearly snapped the handle. That reel would never fail me again


Okay, I made that last part about the maul up. But that’s what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, I needed some starter money for a new reel and I ended up selling it to some guy for thirty bucks. Hey, I told him that it wasn’t a good steelhead reel.