BigBendFishing.Net

I grew up a freshwater fisherman (trout, bass, etc) and over the past five years I have branched out into saltwater. Most of my salt water experience has been in Cape San Blas and along the Carolina coast. I usually combine kayak fishing and surf fishing on my trips.

My main problem is that after almost every trip my spinning reels get ruined. I even lightly rinse with fresh water after every use. Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Or to repair after it does happen?

Also, can anyone recommend any reels or reel/pole combos that hold up well to salt water use? I'm looking for a decent surf combo and lighter tackle combo to use from the yak.

Any advise would be great. Thanks

My Penn equipment has served me well. I just wash it with fresh water and place it in a shady area to dry. If I know a trip is coming up in a week or so I will take a look and give a little extra care if required. Bait casting I prefer Ambassador. Most on the board prefer Shimano. I have some Shimano equipment and find it very satisfactory. However next time I will buy more Ambassador. I have taken casual care of the equipment and it has taken very good care of me. Can not ask for more.

I also wash all of my reels and other equiptment down in fresh water after a trip and let them dry in the shade.....Before I put them up though I spray them good with Reel Magic...

I have two Penn 440's that are probably 15 years old that I used up until about a month ago...Before Reel Magic I used WD-40 on them and they sure held up good...

Washing your lures and terminal tackle also after a trip and spraying it down with a corrosion preventative will sure keep the rust down too.

I'm also pretty new at this saltwater gig - at least compared to just about everyone else on this board. I've been doing the freshwater thing most of my life and just started saltwater this past spring. So far - the same equipment has served me well (excepting lures).

I've been using my five or six year old Shimano Sedona 2000F with no problems in saltwater. I picked up a backup reel, a Rapala Rap i20 combo, at Target (don't laugh ) that has also worked just fine. I've been very pleased with both rigs - running between 10-14 lb test mono and braid. I wipe down the reels and rods with an oiled cloth and keep them lubed after every trip. No problems.

If I had the money - I'd get a Penn though. There's just something classic and die-hard about those reels....

Lot of Shimano Stradics running around on the board. Love mine. Do a search on tackle and reels and you'll probably find alot of info.

Don't lightly wash the reels off, blow them off with a good stream of water....I used to soak them in a bucket of water, used too.....Now, I just hose mine off real well after each trip...Try to keep the reels out of the dirt (aka bottom of the boat), dirt is the major killer a reel, salt water takes a little longer cause problems...

Buy the best reel you can afford...On average I would say $100 for a reel and a rod will can cost any where from $20 to $2000....Pawn shops and Ebay are good places to find deals on good equipment...

I was a diehard Ambassador man, until I laid my hands on Shimano Curado SF, comparable to a brick and a chicken feather

If your mainly into Spinning reels look at the Penn, Shimano, Diawia, Okuma, Fin Nor, etc...

Buy the best you can, but remember you can spend $50 twice or $100 once....Good luck...

"comparable to a brick and a chicken feather".....That's the best analogy I've heard yet.

How important is it to have stainless steel ball bearings?

Thanks for the info.......guess I'll be making a trip to BassPro to drop around $300 for a couple Penn combos

Can't wait to get grenaded by a rouge red on my next trip! Those things love chug bugs!

tight lines.............