Take 'Em With You to the Shower

Bet you'll never guess what I'm talking about. And, I'll even go so far as to say you probably won't believe me after I tell you. I didn't believe it, either, when I first read the article, but I was convinced by the time I had read it a couple of times.

So what am I suggesting that you take to the shower? The answer is: your fishing rods.

Suffice it to say that I, too, clean up my bevy of fishin' rods after every trip. However, I've never yet, nor do I ever plan to haul them into the shower with me for an old-fashioned soap-up, scrub-down, and rinse-off evolution. If I did, I fully would expect my wife to call the fellas with the straightjackets to come and get me.

While I generally just wipe down my rods with a damp cloth, followed by loosening all the controls and covering all the reels, then standing them in a carousel, I can see the value of adopting a regimen similar to the one used by pro angler Aaron Martens. Here is what he does to take care of his "sticks."

Clean the guides. They get a lot of use and abuse. Over time, stuff builds up on them that can damage your line. In some lakes and rivers, it's minerals, and in others, it's grass and other kinds of vegetation. No matter, it all needs to be removed. "I clean mine with a Q-tip and Reel Magic, WD-40, or, in extreme cases, Dawn dish soap," he says. "Soak the Q-tip real well and then rub all around the guides, both inside and outside, until they're perfectly clean. In some cases, you may want to use a soft-plastic brush, but never use a wire one. The latter will really wipe out rod guides," he continues. "If it's hot out, and stuff is drying on my guides while I'm fishing, I clean them real quickly with water and my shirt, just to get through the day. It only takes a couple of seconds, but it can make all the difference in the world."

Clean the handles and reel-mounting hardware. For this, Martens uses a white towel, soaked with rubbing alcohol. He rubs everything real hard. "When done, you'll be able to handle the rod without it sticking to your hand, which could cause you to lose a fish," he says. Martens cleans even new rod handles the same way, 'cause he thinks there's a lot of dirt on them, too. Besides removing all the nasty cork dust, the alcohol disinfects the handle.

Make them look good. To make the finish last longer and look better, Martens wipes off the blank a couple times each year with Pledge. "It repels water and makes them shine," he says. "You also can use a carnauba-based wax, but I personally think that's a little extreme."

Store them properly. Rods you're not using should be stored in sleeves, which protect them and keep them from getting all tangled up. If possible, always store your rods vertical. That keeps the blanks straight. If you have to lay them down, never do it with a bend in the blank 'cause, over time, that bend will set in the rod, and it'll be ruined. Never store rods in a hot place, like your car or truck. Heat can weaken them. And finally, never lay your rod over something hard, like the boat gunwale or something in your vehicle, where it can bounce up and down on the same spot. That also will weaken the blank and cause it to break under pressure--like when you're fighting a big fish.

Rods don't last forever. "Replace your rods every so often, even if they look good," says Martens. "They weaken over time, and after several years, they go soft and won't hold up like when they were new." The way to test this is to take an old rod and compare it to an identical new one. "You'll see and feel the difference immediately," assures Martens.