Basic Tacklebox info

Spring Cleaning the Old Tacklebox and Gear

It's spring, by the calendar anyway. I seriously doubt that old man winter is going to call it quits. March will be March, day by day not making up its mind weather to be spring or winter. What's my point? It's quickly coming up on nice days when you should be outside scraping the bottom of the boat. Eek!

Now is the time to pull the tackle box out for an inventory and check over rods and reels for service work. Lets start with the tackle box. Do you really need haul all that stuff in your tackle box out on the boat every time you go? Probably not.

The basic tackle box should have the items that are a must need for each fishing trip:

Those are the basics, you should also add other things that you feel are important, like gloves, bug sprays etc.

     You probably have weakfish jigging tackle mixed up with the striper eeling stuff. Get some neat multi-compartment Plano tackle boxes and sort the items by fish category into their own smaller boxes. This organization lets you keep an eye on the items you are using up and makes for easy access for that hot lure or rig of the day.

     So dump the tackle box out on the floor, cut apart all those tangled rigs, throw some of that old junk out. Polish up your metal jigs and plastic plugs with a brillo pad and put some new sharp hooks on them. Make sure that you thoroughly rinse any soap residue off the lures - the fish don't like it.

     On to the fishing poles... The most important things to look for are signs of wear on the guides and reel seats. If the guides are metal, carefully check each one for a wear groove in the guide. On a spinning rod, the groove will be on the furthest most part of the guide away from the rod blank. On a conventional rod it will be the opposite, on the closest part of the guide to the rod blank. In most cases, the tip will be the first to develop a groove so check it for wear carefully and at least a few times a year and definitely after you have an unexplained line break. On guides/tips of a ceramic type, look for chipped edges or missing ceramic rings. If the tip is hit, the ceramic rings tend to pop out and it looks ok until you look at it a little more carefully.
     We usually repair tips while you wait; it only takes a few minutes. If the store is very busy, we may ask you to leave the rod and pick it up later in the day. If guide repair is needed, we provide that service too. The rewrapping of guides is not done on the premises and usually requires a minimum 5 day turn around time. If too many guides need replacing, it is usually more cost effective to purchase a new rod. If the clear coat epoxy is worn and the threads are exposed, a new coat of flex coat epoxy can be applied to preserve the existing threads.
     Reel seat damage is bad news. Check the reel seat for cracks where the "foot" of the reel tucks under reel seat collar. If it is cracked, electrical tape can be wrapped around the reel and the reel seat for a temporary solution to prevent the reel falling off the rod. Reel seat replacement requires a complete rod overhaul, since the reel seat is put on the rod blank from the tip of the rod. This means all the guides and fore grip must be removed or replaced. This is costly to do and is advised only if the rod has some sentimental value. A new rod can be purchased for less money than it costs to do a complete overhaul on an old one.

     Reel service is harder to determine just when is right! Rule of thumb is once a year for clean and lube, check drags type of service on reels that really get use. The once in awhile reel may need service every two to three years. Reels that get in sandy conditions from beach fishing or from riding in the back of the pick-up truck will need service more often. Very few people have the patience and the parts inventory to do repair service and the repair prices have crept up over the years. A decision should be made when purchasing a new reel whether to buy an inexpensive reel and expect to replace it after a few years or buy an expensive more durable long term reel and have it serviced. Change the line, and buy good stuff! Again, changing the line and what type of line to put on a reel is usually determined by the reels use. If it is your everyday reel, put a good quality line on it. In the long run, it will make your fishing experience a more pleasurable one. The better line is more expensive, because you are buying a thinner diameter line, a more castable line, and a less likely to curl/tangle line. It's worth it.