Clean Up And Storage After A Long Range Trip?

[pjstevko]

I'm digging this thread on the other forum and thought I'd pose the same question here....

What's your post trip clean up regiment?

I would love to hear any good tips on clean up, organized storage, removing wind-on's to reuse later? Do you rinse your good lures to get the salt off? Does anyone wax their rods anymore? Do you clean/scrub your boots?

[pjstevko]

Here's my breakdown system....

Reels are removed the evening before arrival at the dock, they are rinsed in warm water on the boat, towel dried, put in their covers and placed in the reel bag. Once home reels are rinsed again with warm/hot water, towel dried, air dried for two days, reel seat nuts and bolts get a light coating of penn reel grease and then placed in the reel bag. The reel covers also get hot water rinsed and air dried.

On the boat the rods have the scales picked off, wiped down with warm water rag and placed in their sleeves. At home they get rinsed with the hose, warm water wipe down with clean rag, dried with a towel, and then run a cotton ball through each eyelet to check for cracks or chips. Rod sleeves get rinsed with hot water and air dried. Once the rod grips and sleeves are dry the rods go in the sleeves.

I run a 2 tackle bag setup on all my trips so it makes things real easy to keep used and unused tackle separate. Before I leave my house for the trip I fill up a small Daiwa jig back with everything I expect to use on the trip (hooks, jigs, sinkers, leaders, irons) and keep the rest of my tackle in the boxes in my bigger tackle bag. The jig bag goes on the tackle station for easy access and the bigger Plano bag gets put out of the way on deck somewhere in case I need to get into it.

Any terminal tackle that gets wet is placed in the jig bag and kept separate from the dry gear. Once home all the gear from the jig bag gets a warm water rinse and laid out on a towel to dry. The jig bag itself gets a warm water rinse too and the plastic zippers get a chap stick treatment. Once all the tackle is dry it gets put back in it proper box or bag and stored on the shelf for next time.

The rod pod is removed from the top of my truck, rinsed out with a hose and then stored in the garage.

Boots are sprayed off with the hose, scrubed down with a brush and hot water and air dried. Once dry I stuff each boot with 2 drier sheets and place in their bin in the garage.

I'm sure I missed a step or two but that's basically my clean up routine....

Keep this thread alive so we can all learn something....

[Keta]

I flush, dry and store my reels and lures as soon as we start heading back to port.  I try to rinse the iron and lures used at the end of each day but it gets skipped often.  When I get home everything gets washed, dried and put away for the next trip, everything includes cloths and footwear.  I then inventory what I used and make a list of what I need to replace.  Sometime in the next month I take the sideplates off the reels, inspect,lube and put them away for the next trip.   

[Cor]

I tend to be very slack because I often use the tackle the following days, but usually rinse the reels in fresh cold water as well as the rod guides to remove the salt.    I also leave lures on my rods and then also rinse those to make the hooks last a bit longer.   This rinsing happens at the place where I fish using the last water in my water bottles, so that I don't have to carry water back up the mountain.

Reels get Level winding gear cleaned and oiled once a week and a more decent service every 2 - 3 weeks.

My situation is obviously very different from yours.

[alantani]

the first thing that i do is check to see if the braid is badly twisted.  if so, i cut off the topshot and run the line back behind the boat until  get to a section that is not twisted.  then i slowly reel it back, running the line between my left thumbnail and index finger to straighten it out.  it's a very tedious process. 

once the braid is straight, i like to use hot water to physically dissolve off any hardened salt that accumulates over the trip.  i also let the hot water slowly drizzle over the line for about 30 seconds to soak in and remove as much salt as possible.  then i dry them carefully with a towel and into the reel case they go. 

usually i have to go through 20 to 30 reels.  i'll have my own set, a set for my brother, and any loaners.  if i have time, and that's a big if, i will drizzle a little oil on any areas where stainless steel comes in contact with aluminum.  dissimilar metals result in corrosion.  corrosion x is still my first choice. 

when i get home, i'll leave the reel cases open for a month.  at some point, i'll peel off the braid, inspect and repack it under pressure, add on new topshots and the check the drags. 

it's alot of work. 

[Bill B]

I do pretty much the same PJ. I'm fortunate to be retired and 2 hours from San Diego so time is not my enemy.  Dismount all the reels on the way back in and a quick fresh water rinse.  All reels are covered and bagged.  Through out the trip I try to separate all used lures and sinkers for a wash when I get home by dropping them in a bucket of fresh water then hang to dry.

Once I get home all the rods are placed in the shower for a good hot water shower and left to drip dry or until the wife complains 😁.  Then outside they go.  The reels are given a warm water rinse in the kitchen sink and left out to dry on the work bench, in the way, so I have to deal with them for a post trip service. 

I haven't had to deal with twists in the braid, but then again I haven't been looking for it. 🤨. All top shots are left on until they are too short to be effective, then changed out. 

I should start waxing the rods to reduce sticky scales but haven't developed that OCD yet.

For one day rock cod trips, reels are left on until I get home, then into the shower for a good rinse, then a service if necessary.  Most of the rock cod reels have bushings so I'm not worried about reaching any bearings.  I will have anywhere from 2-6 rods to deal with depending who I go with.

Bill

[boon]

We fish a lot so our regimen is likely a bit different. When we get home, all rods and reels get liberally washed down with fresh water, nothing else. Terminal tackle all goes in a bucket and gets a 15 minute soak in fresh water as well. Then everything just gets air-dried. Reels get serviced 6-monthly or sooner if they play up, although that is rare.

[MarkT]

I'm hoping to win the lottery so I can just leave everything on the boat and start from scratch each trip!

[Shellbelly]

I mostly fish the "winter months" here in TX.  The rigs get a hose-down and air dry then go back in the 4-runner.  Cast net and "hand tools" get a rinse.  Nets get pretty nasty, guys!  I also soak tackle in freshwater.  I'll discard quite a bit of frayed line since I'm casting over bars and shell. 

Long about May, everything gets a deep clean & service, reel parts rotated, chrome polished and the reels come inside to be shelfies for a little while.  Buy more reels for parts, make leaders, and clean out the tackle bag.  Sharpen hooks, knives and shears.  Replenish lubes and other incidentals.

I believe the things I neglect and replace the most are diagonal cutters, pliers, and nail clippers.  The tool I abuse the most is an electric knife.  I probably have blades for 10 different models I've destroyed.  Amazing because it's probably in the top 5 of the most expensive fishing tools.