Maintenance tips?

[RL]

I'm new to saltwater fishing, and need some tips from veteran Ifishers on maintenance of spinners and reels. How do I minimize corosion on spinners and rusting of hooks after using them in tidewater? Should I rinse them in fresh water? Hang them out to dry? Give them a shot of WD-40?
Abu-Garcia owner manual suggests rinsing reel in fresh water and oiling after each use. That sounds a little excessive to me. Help!!

[Firedog]

RL rinse and wipe down. I dont use wd on my reels because it is a solvent and will actually take the oils and grease out of them. A couple shots of oil into the level wind and the gears and you should be fine. As far as spinners go rinse them aslo and wipe them down if you want. they shold be fine.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Don't spare the fresh water.

I was advised to wipe down my rod with WD40. Keeps the guides from rusting.

When the reel feels anything but normal it's time to give it some attention. Fresh grease and oil.

Pilar, Anything to add?

Good luck,

Mr. F.

[RL]

Thanks Firedog and Mr. F. Looks like I have a little maintenance work to do!
On spinners, guess the only solution to rusting hooks is to replace them.

[WeldcraftOwner]

WD40 is not a sovent it is a penetrating lubricant. Big differance, a solvent does remove or displace oils or grease. WD-40 is a fish oil based product that is one of the reasons people recomend it for rods, reels and even lines (yes I do do this). Some old timers will evn tell you a shot of it is a good fish attractant.

Jason S

[Tinman]

Salt water always wins, taking metals apart one molecule at a time. Fight a delaying action with lots of fresh water. If you're really organized, toss all the lures you use during the day in a separate bucket, and rinse them well when you get home. Rods and reels get gently hosed off at the end of the day. But in the end, the sea wins, and metals lose, so you might as well accept it with good cheer.

[Pilar]

Exactly right Tinman. It's just a chemical reaction. Chloride is a very corrosive agent. If a reel gets totally salted, disassemble and clean it. Otherwise just rinse all the gear that got salted with a freshwater fog. Soak dive gear in a 55 gal trashcan full of water.

Spinners and lures and any other tackle I use goes in a bucket or bait box. When I get home then into a bucket of water for a few minutes. Dry it on used newspaper and go through it and trash all of the used mono and dull hooks. The swivels and hardware can go back into the tackle box. Then dry each shiny thing and wipe or spray some WD40 on the hooks. The blades can be shined with Nev-R-Dull or Simichrome. Store lures in plastic bags or a dry tackle box.

The worst is a drowned tackle box. Remove all the gear and save it as described above. The key to beating salt contamination is quick action. Never allow gear, boat motors even clothing to sit with salt on them. When I get home the clothes go in the laundry, the boat motor gets rinsed out and the fishing gear and used tackle gets washed off. No matter how tired.

The damage occurs quickly, within a few hours.