TackleTour

Is there anything made to put on the body of a reel to protect it from scratches? Makes me sick to get scratches on a new reel but fishing the local rivers which are all rock it is impossible not to set the reel down on it for re baiting.
Recently made the mistake of setting my rod down while trying to unhook a salmon and he took it for a little ride now it looks like its 20 years old......
Perhaps some brand of clear tape?

SW reels are notorious for getting banged up on the SoCal longrange sport boats, they'd hit other reels or the walls when in the boat's rod holders. To prevent this from happening to my higher end reels, and rods too, I used 3M Clearbra on them. The same stuff used on cars. It's fairly easy to apply, just cut to the right size, add a bit of soapy water and stick it on. You can get it at auto parts stores or on the auction site like I did.

Here's a pic of a couple of reels with Clearbra on them.

Winstondry wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:47 am

SW reels are notorious for getting banged up on the SoCal longrange sport boats, they'd hit other reels or the walls when in the boat's rod holders. To prevent this from happening to my higher end reels, and rods too, I used 3M Clearbra on them. The same stuff used on cars. It's fairly easy to apply, just cut to the right size, add a bit of soapy water and stick it on. You can get it at auto parts stores or on the auction site like I did.

Here's a pic of a couple of reels with Clearbra on them.

Thank you! I knew it was simple. Just spent $2.99 on a sample which should last a lifetime

That's an interesting solution. I don't know how well it would work for the majority of my reels, though.

I always keep my cover in my back pocket and put it back on the reel if I have to retie or put it down for any reason and then as soon as I'm finished with that combo before I pick up another one. They stay covered in transit as well as on the rack or shelf and any other time I'm not actively fishing or servicing them. You just have to be borderline OCD about it.

poisonokie wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 22, 2019 4:49 pm

That's an interesting solution. I don't know how well it would work for the majority of my reels, though.

I always keep my cover in my back pocket and put it back on the reel if I have to retie or put it down for any reason and then as soon as I'm finished with that combo before I pick up another one. They stay covered in transit as well as on the rack or shelf and any other time I'm not actively fishing or servicing them. You just have to be borderline OCD about it.

Ditto.

I am quite careful and always keep them covered but bobber and egg fishing for salmon and having to rebait every few casts makes it impractical to cover reel every time..... If only i had a third arm!

1nutinthewater wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:12 pm

I am quite careful and always keep them covered but bobber and egg fishing for salmon and having to rebait every few casts makes it impractical to cover reel every time..... If only i had a third arm!

Lol, maybe a fourth just to balance it out. Like Goro from Mortal Kombat fishing two rods at once.

1nutinthewater wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:12 pm

I am quite careful and always keep them covered but bobber and egg fishing for salmon and having to rebait every few casts makes it impractical to cover reel every time..... If only i had a third arm!

I have heard of a third “leg” but never an arm.

I am going to sit in the corner in timeout for a while...

My reels are covered all the time. Pretty much pick one up fish it and when I am done the cover goes back on. It takes me about 5-10 seconds to remove a cover or put on. It is just second nature now. I have a few reels I bought new about 5-10 years ago. They have caught dozens of fish. You couldn’t find a mark on them if you looked.

I'm super conscious about putting covers on my reels when not in use, even if I'm just stopping for a quick break to have a drink in my boat, I put the cover on before resting the rod/reel next to me. In my old bass club, whenever I sold any of my reels, they went quick as everyone knew how I treated my stuff with kid gloves.

The Clearbra solution was perfect for my saltwater reels, even in my center console, the horizontal rod racks would allow the rods to rock just enough to bang the reel up against the walls of the gunnel. The worse was when you were out on a multi day but not quite long range trip. You might wake up one morning on the way back in and the deckhands had taken all the rods out of the holders and piled them all in a corner or in a giant plastic garbage can to wash and scrub down the boat before landing . I quickly learned to tear down my gear and store my reels in my room the night before running back to the landing.

Fishing4Fun wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:23 am

1nutinthewater wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:12 pm

I am quite careful and always keep them covered but bobber and egg fishing for salmon and having to rebait every few casts makes it impractical to cover reel every time..... If only i had a third arm!

I have heard of a third “leg” but never an arm.

I am going to sit in the corner in timeout for a while...

My reels are covered all the time. Pretty much pick one up fish it and when I am done the cover goes back on. It takes me about 5-10 seconds to remove a cover or put on. It is just second nature now. I have a few reels I bought new about 5-10 years ago. They have caught dozens of fish. You couldn’t find a mark on them if you looked.

Me too. Some are 20yrs old, youd think I just pulled them out the box.

Check out "wanees.jp" on Instagram. Some interesting designs on protective decals that are made for reels. There was some chatter on them awhile back in another thread on here. I don't believe they ship to the U.S., at least they didn't back when I began following their IG page.

Ahh well, here is an example. I just looked up the page.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3_8tqBJCCM/

I keep covers on my reels whenever they are not in my hand or in a rod holder. When bank-beating if I need to set my rod down I sacrifice my hat, it gets thrown on the ground, and then my reel gets set on it.

Standing on a rock in the river with a 15#+ fish on then trying to wade back to shore to find some where to land it while digging out a reel cover attempting to maintain footing and not fall in sounds challenging but i will try!
Nobody said fishing is easy........

They used to call me Tripod in college

As for the reels, I just try my best to set the butt end down and lead the rod against myself while changing lures..