Cleaning tackle

[binka]

I can easily spend a whole day trying to get fish scales off my zander rods & reels....especially roach scales which are the very devils to 1] spot and 2] remove.

I can sympathise with that.

I might leave mine after this winter and go for the full on mother of pearl effect

 

[S-Kippy]

Bloody things ! No matter how many I get off there seems to be just as many an hour later. You cant see the little swines when they are wet and once dry its as if they've been arc welded on ! Sardine scales by comparison are a doddle.....roach scales on a rod are like limpets on a rock !

 

[fishplate42]

I can't stand dirty gear. I do not regards dirty gear or luggage as being a badge of honer. I wash and/or clean all my gear after every outing. Everything that has been in the water gets washed, dried and put away. If I have taken the box out, the drawers are emptied and the inevitable dusting of groundbait is emptied out.

Okay, stop reading here if you have had enough...

I even wash and dry all my bait boxes and bowl, riddle buckets and all my nets. Rods, poles and handles get dismantled washed and dried and put away. This is after all pole sections have been wiped clean on the bank.

People often remark "Look at 'im with all that new gear" It is not, it is just clean.

I know, I know - I'm a nut-case.

Ralph

 

[mikench]

You and me both Ralph! A few fellow anglers comment about my new gear ( which it is really) and how clean it is and I will tell them why.

I like my tubs to be spotless! sad isn't it!

 

[Keith M]

My bait boxes get cleaned after every trip but things like unhooking mats and nets etc. only get cleaned whenever it gets really dirty; if it hasn't got dirty then it doesn't get cleaned.

My reels may occasionally get covered in groundbait and if a reel does then I clean it off as soon as possible and I may occasionally re-oil it if needed, but if it doesn't get mucky then it just gets put away and used again without a clean.

I occasionally get a fishing bag mucky especially in really wet weather but if it does I give it a dry and clean, otherwise it will be used again just as it is, without a clean.

My rods hardly ever get to the state where they need cleaning and apart from a really good clean once a year (together with the rest of my tackle) they hardly ever see a cloth (unless they have mud or groundbait on them of course).

I certainly don't lose any sleep because I have not given everything a thorough clean regardless to whether it is dirty or not. Lol.

The only exceptions are my centrepin reels which get cleaned and oiled every time they are used.

Keith

 

[Tee-Cee]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but for the life of me I cannot work out how roach scales end up 'stuck' to a rod..................................I catch my share of roach week after week and after unhooking they just go back and I then wash/wipe my hands BEFORE I touch my rod again, so how do scales end up on rods?? I just cannot recall scales coming adrift during any session I've had...

This is not a sarcastic comment, I just want to understand how it happens..................

 

[sam vimes]

I just want to understand how it happens..................

I suspect them being dead and impaled on treble hooks might be a factor.

 

[binka]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but for the life of me I cannot work out how roach scales end up 'stuck' to a rod..................................I catch my share of roach week after week and after unhooking they just go back and I then wash/wipe my hands BEFORE I touch my rod again, so how do scales end up on rods?? I just cannot recall scales coming adrift during any session I've had...

This is not a sarcastic comment, I just want to understand how it happens..................

It's the result of handling deadbaits Tony, especially half baits and sections when you're grazing hooks along them and trying to get a decent hold.

The scales inevitably come adrift, especially where they've been cut.

It definitely doesn't apply to the general handling of live fish.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Yes of course, you guys use dead roach for zander and the like......Not something I've ever done but I can see how scales would come adrift..

Moving on.................

 

[rayner]

I normally think about tackle cleaning once a year.
It soon goes out of my head with little effort. I have a propensity to be bone idle.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

I like to give it all a good spring clean in March... when the rivers are shut and lakes are too cold.... so rods will get a good wipe down, reels a clean and maybe a squirt of something if I'm feeling particularly flash. I will also make a point of cleaning out all of the various bit boxes I use of the stuff that just got bunged in them as I packed up in a hurry.

I might then also take stock of any of the end-tackle essentials I'm running low on and examine all of the reels I use to see if any of them need a re-spool.

Plus i'll have a general overhaul of everything else - luggage, mats, nets etc - to see if any running repairs or even replacements might be needed.

This might actually take the form of three or four mini sessions in the garage... frankly, much better than going fishing at that time of year!

 

[bracket]

I tend to be a minimalist. I do the essentials, like keeping the reels fully functional and rod rings clean and slick. The rest is then a matter of maintenance by neglect. In addition I can't be poncing around with towels, sponges, wipes or any of that nonsense. The finest cleansing medium I find to be is the backside of a pair of levis. Don't make me too attractive but guarantees plenty of space at the bar. Pete

 

[S-Kippy]

I suspect them being dead and impaled on treble hooks might be a factor.

Treble hooks ? Not on my shift. Nasty bloody things which I wouldn't use even if I was allowed to.

 

[flossy]

With the price ,I've paid for rods and reel,s they get cleaned and wiped down after every use .What does it take 10 minutes ,of your time too keep it all in good nick.

 

[sam vimes]

Treble hooks ? Not on my shift. Nasty bloody things which I wouldn't use even if I was allowed to.

I understand that, but if, as I was originally intending to, I'd said "impaled on hooks", it may still have been misunderstood.

 

[Keith M]

With the price ,I've paid for rods and reel,s they get cleaned and wiped down after every use .What does it take 10 minutes ,of your time too keep it all in good nick.

When I get home in the dark on a freezing cold and damp night; absolutely knackered; I usually just put my gear into the shed after removing my bait boxes, flasks etc.

The need to get under the shower and then get some warm food in my gullet takes a much greater precidence for me, and on these occasions cleaning my tackle is usually the last thing I want to do and is left for doing in the next day or two

Keith

 

[S-Kippy]

I understand that, but if, as I was originally intending to, I'd said "impaled on hooks", it may still have been misunderstood.

I know.......just a little freebie tossed in the margins.