Fishing Forum

Just curious if anyone out there has any good tips for cleaning reels. It's getting close to soft water time and it's time to clean up the gear and get ready. I clean my reels in the spring when I respool them with new line. My routine includes a good washing, oiling the line roller and new grease on the gears. I don't tear the reel down too far, spool off, handle off and open it up to grease the gears, but I don't tear it down much more than that. Any words of wisdom? With a renewed interest in fishing my trip frequency is up and the gear is getting a lot more use so cleaning and maintenance is going to be more necessary than it was before.
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Canned air and Qtips
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Let's take this request one step further. In addition to tips on cleaning, how about a recommendation for changing grease. I have a couple of spinning reels that get a little stiff in very cold temperatures. What's the best way to remove the old grease, and what grease should be applied to have a smooth running reel for ice fishing?
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Buy an actual ice fishing reel. Problem solved.
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tear the reel all the way apart and clean with alcohol and
use some good quality grease. I have a 40 year old zebco cardinal 4 that I still use alot. I take it apart every year and clean and regrease and it;s still a great reel.
later chuck
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