Prepping Rods for Open Water!

Just something I do. May/may not be beneficial to you individually, for a clean start to the 2015 season (if the ice ever leaves!).

First off, I wet sponge with dish detergent and wipe down the entire length of my rods. Then I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the cork section, making sure all the grit and grime is gone and the cork is looking show-room new (takes only seconds). I double rinse the entire rod in the shower stall to make sure all traces of detergent and eraser has vanished. Then I let it dry - a good 3 - 4 hours.

Next step is to roll a piece of paper towel into a paint brush and use this to spread a light coating of U-40 Cork Sealant (Netcraft) evenly over the entire handle section. Now, if you've previously applied a coating when the cork was new (as I always do), or in a prior season, then this coat has to be VERY light (or it will run and create hard drips). Barely wet the cork, as the initial application is about all that's needed to fully penetrate and toughen the cork. I rotate the handle while doing this and dab any areas that dry especially fast, as these may have not absorbed sufficient U-40 on the initial coating. I keep rotating the handle until I'm convinced that it's dry (just a few minutes). At the same time, watch for any accumulation of drops that may start to harden - easily removed with a clean paper towel. Then I let the rod dry again, for several hours to as much as a day. The handle is now fully prepped for the season ahead.

Finally I coat the rod blank section with ArmorAll. Wipe excess off with a clean cloth and you're good to go. I may re-coat the ArmorAll a time or two throughout the season, as use dictates. This product goes a long way in preventing scratches and keeping off the grit which is common place with fishing. The slick coating may even promote longer casts.

There ya have it Folks....Cresty's rod prep. All my rods have been exposed to this treatment. Now I've got to tackle my tackle bags! Hope you all have a great season this year and pray for ice out! :)

Hopes of a great season back to you.

its about that time! Getting pretty excited myself! I usually just wipe the rods down with some simple green and rag, then lube the reels up and respool if needed.

Its funny you mention cleaning the cork - I always tell my kids you can spot a good panfisherman by the patina on his cork grips - if they're dirty the person has caught a large amount of fish lol! You should see the look on peoples' faces when we walk by and my 8 or 9 year old says, "dad that one is clean, they must not do the greatest!" or, "wow that one is filthy, they know how to do it"

Never thought of prepping my rods like that.
Too me, rod prep is stripping all the line off the reel, remove spool and oil, reattach spool, put on new line, tie on my first round of terminal tackle. Next rod, repeat.
Then I clean out my tackle boxes/bags and organize my tackle again. By end of season gear ends up where it lands.
Next is the boat.

Great ideas! Never thought of going into this much detailed cleaning. Thanks for the tips.

Good info

Everyone getting ready for spring. Is this what you would call fishermen spring cleaning:Rofl

One thing I forgot to mention is that I insert a Q-Tip in each eye and rotate it. Checking for cracked or damaged inserts. All this is done mainly as a confidence booster. When you know your equipment is in top notch condition and ready to go, you can focus more on the "catching" aspect of fishing. :)

Good info Cresty. The idea of checking the guides is spot on. Also check the rim of the spool with the qtip looking for not only nicks and such but build up of the stuff our line picks up off the water and sticks where it shouldn't be. Doesn't happen often but it will hinder the cast. I have a story of a trip a friend and I made that went south on his 4th cast and we had one rod each. He was gracious and handled the canoe so I could fish but he had a better reel and took better care of things after that. I found a guide on one of my BnM's that I had forgotten to change after the insert had cracked and fallen out, the steel frame scraping the line on every cast and fish. A little now saves a lot later.

With ya crest!!! Cleaned the rods this weekend and had to replace one rod tip as the insert was cracked, a womans knee high stocking works even better than the q-tip! All line has been stripped off and spools checked. Have 3 of my reels done and re-greased. Got a bunch more to go - even my new shimano will get fresh grease and oil!! Got some shimano's I bought in 1982-83 season that still look new and work great!!

Gotta take care of it or you dont' have any fun!!!