Last fall I bought 2 Diawa Samuri reels from Sportsmans. I have been very impressed with them. They are extremely smooth and work well, especially for only $22.00 a whack. We took a trip in Feb. to Blue lake. When we returned home I washed them off with warm water, set them out to dry on a towel for a day or two, Then I put them away. Sunday I went to use the reels and they were both locked up. I took them apart, cleaned and oiled them, and put them back together. No luck. Fortunately sportsmans was kind enough to allow me to exchange them for another reel. I also have a mitchell 300x reel that we fished with and it is fine. Anyone else have problems with they're gear after a trip to the brackish water of Blue Lake?
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[cool][#0000ff]Even mildly salty water will attack the aluminum and other reactive metals in "lower end" reels. They were probably trashed before you were able to rinse them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glad you were able to trade up.[/#0000ff]
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My Mitchell Copperheads that I've fished with used to get "sticky" after they got any water in them and my Shimano Sahara is starting to get that way.... I think its time to just suck it up and get some new gear, especially since I'm just hard on mine. Anyway, the point is, like the dude said, salt or brackish water will gum up your reels but mine have been dunked in fresh water only so I'm thinkin that it doesn't matter what you dip them in, sooner or later, it will start to work its way into your gears and that. On mine, I haven't ever really regreased them or even oiled them much... they just keep on truckin. Thats pretty nice of the Sportsmans guys to let you trade up and ditch the cheapo reels you got. Seems like you pretty much get what you pay for in reels.... you can buy the reels that are 10 bucks from Wally World and replace them every season or so or you can spend some good money to get a mid to high range reel and have it last for a lot of years.... I usually replace my reels about every four years but I probably don't dry them or oil them like I'm supposed to. I'm kind of afraid to break them down because I think I"ll lose a spring or seal or something small like that. I guess where I fish Blue Lake a few times every year, I should probably keep the Dude's advice in mind.... Now Pat, how harmful would it be if I rinsed my reel in warm "fresh" tapwater when I got home from a "salty" environment and then dried it out? Would that do more harm than good and also, should I break it down to dry or just leave it together?
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[cool][#0000ff]Man, I'm the wrong guy to ask about taking baitcasters apart. Seems like every time I try it, I mess something up. Okay to open them enough to give an occasional shot of lube, but be careful on doing a complete disassembly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually, if the parts are well lubed before a trip, you have less risk of water damage. As you suggest, better quality reels are generally greased up pretty good out of the box. Cheaper models may only have a little lube on the main moving parts. Not enough to protect the reels very long.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I can disassemble and tune up almost any spinning reel ever made, and get it back together with no leftover parts. But, because so many of the baitcasters have diabolical pop-out springs and pressure installed parts, I have a pathological fear of opening them up. I just keep lubing and using until they quit.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I used to fish the salt a lot, it was standard procedure to rinse all the gear off in either fresh water or even distilled water. Most serious salt chuckers are meticulous about cleaning and lubing their reels often. It ain't a coincidence that they are usually the ones that can cast farther and catch more fish...and that they are never the ones that lose big fish to frozen up reels.[/#0000ff]
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Blue lake has lots of salt in the water so if you fish it much it can get to the reels quick....
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Pat, would you know how to take a Copperhead apart and fix the "anti-reverse" so that the reel stops backspinning? For some reason that lever doesn't work on one of my old reels. I can flip the lever back and forth and it doesn't feel like it catches anymore and the reel will still spin both ways. Its still a pretty smooth reel and would be worth it to me to fix as a back up reel or for tearing up carp fishing or something. It might just be the "second pole" situation I need.
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[cool][#0000ff]I'd be happy to take a look at it. Every model has it's own style of antireverse. Some of them are simple. Others more complicated. Sometimes the catch pins just get lodged open, by hardened grease and debris.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Often the problem is either a broken pressure spring, or maybe it popped loose. I have made a lot of my own springs over the years from the wire I use for making spinners and wire rigs. Some of them work better and hold up longer than the originals.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you have two of those reels, we can take a look at the one that is working right and then use it as a guide to fixing the other. But, not always necessary. The principles are pretty much the same. Only about two or three major variations.[/#0000ff]
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How's it goin' riley? Last year up at X I let my loving wife use one of my poles, she was at the front of the boat fishing. She was saying something so I looked up to see what and she was looking in the water, then at the pole, then at me. "This is not going to be good" is what I said. I can laugh now but she somehow lost the handle to my copperhead spinning reel. That was the least expensive AND the best spinning reel I've ever owned. POOOF! gone.
If you need some parts I think I still have it. If you can't fix yours, I'm looking for a handle[cool]. Does Mitchell still make those reels?
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Rat,
I have an abu garcia ambassidor baitcaster and in the instructions it says to rinse thoroughly under fresh water after using in dirty or salt water conditions.
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Hey John,... I think Mitchell does make them but I've only seen them at Walmart. 20 bucks for the CP20 and 40 I believe for the bigger size. Mine was the CP40. The handle will work, but you know the plastic thumbpad?? Well that has long since cracked and fallen off so its just the metal bar on the handle... there's no cushion there anymore but it still reels great. Pat, that would be awesome if you could take a look at the reel... there is another guy that our new member told me about that is a reel mechanic I guess.... So, if we can't get it fixed, I can ask that guy or if you take one look at it and raise your eyebrow and then ask me, "Are you sure you want to revive this monster?" then I'll just let John have it for parts. [
] I agree with you John, it was certainly my best reel I'd ever owned until I got my Shimano gear... now I'm pretty much sold on Shimano equipment. Bigcat, thanks for the heads up on the Abu reels. I've kinda modified my passion for ocean tackle on Utah lake cats so I may just wind up with that Abu 5600 (NO CLICKER TUBEDUDE), on a higher quality E-glass rod. Thats good to know that I can rinse them and it won't totally break them down.
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[cool][#0000ff]PM me when you have an opening on your dance card and I will get you the GPS info on my venue.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'll be glad to check it out. I have worked on bunches of my own Mitchell reels over the years and have pretty good familiarity with their different anti-reverse setups. In fact, I have a bunch of different parts from them I have cannibalized from dead reels over the years. (BUT NO CLICKERS)[/#0000ff]
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