Getting prepared for the next fishing season

Explore these tips and suggestions for checking and cleaning fishing gear.

Your rods need to be checked from the butt of the handles to the last eyelet on the tips. For those rods that have cork handles, the best way to spruce them up is to use a light piece of sandpaper and gently sand the dirt and grime away. For those rods that have other types of handles or grips, an old toothbrush and warm soapy water is the trick to getting them clean and looking like new. Your rods can be cleaned with the same technique. Upon completion of that step, I have found that furniture polish with lemon applied lightly also cleans and leaves a like-new shine to your rods.

Check your reel seats to make sure that they are secure. If they are loose or somewhat sloppy, use a little glue and a toothpick to help fill the void between the rod and the reel seat. The eyelet on a rod really makes the difference between catching fish and not catching fish. If an eyelet on your rod is cracked due to wear and tear, it’s more likely to fray your fishing line as it passes through the eye, eventually causing the line to break. A lot of big fish have been lost due to line breakage. To ensure that the eyes on your rods are not damaged, use a Q-Tip swab. Insert the Q-Tip into the eye and move it around the entire eye a couple of times. If an eye is cracked, cotton from the swab will be caught in the crack. If this is the case, it’s time to replace that particular eyelet.

Use these tips to get you through the winter and stay engaged in the great sport of fishing!

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