Keeping reels working smoothly helps increase casting distance and helps bass fishermen catch more fish.
Guide Joel Richardson uses a “boil-and-oil” tactic to keep his reels operating at peak efficiency.
“If you have a reel that doesn’t cast well, water probably has gotten into the reel, mixed with oil and turned the oil into a mushy paste,” he said.
After removing line, he opens a reel and removes the left and right bearings. He puts them into a pan of water and boils them for several minutes.
“(Boiling) breaks down the oil and drives the gunk out of the bearings,” Richardson said.
After drying the bearings, he soaks them in WD-40, then puts a drop of extra-thin oil — sewing-machine oil works well — on each bearing before reassembling the reel.
“This preserves the bearings, and the reel should cast much easier and longer,” he said.
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