How to Maintain Your Fishing Pole - (Tips on how to clean & maintain a fishing pole)
A fishing pole is a valued possession for any fisherman who enjoys this type of coarse fishing. It is more than just the tool of your trade.
Yet, many people that fish don't give their poles enough care and attention and as such this expensive assets longevity isn’t maintained.
Here are some tips on how to clean & maintain your fishing pole.
Checkout out this quick answer on what to do when you return from a fishing trip in order to prolong the life of your fishing pole. Alternatively you can skip straight to some products that help protect your precious asset.
To maintain your fishing pole, carry out the following steps after every session:
1. Wash the pole with warm soapy water with a soft sponge.
2. Blast down the inside of the pole with a garden hose or a shower head.
3. Dry the outside of the pole with a towel.
4. Stand all the sections up on a towel and allow the inside of the sections to dry naturally over night.
5. Apply a small amount of lubricating oil / grease over the joint sections of the pole. Be sure to NOT use furniture polish or maintenance spray for this part.
6. Give the pole one last wipe over with baby wipes to remove any smears.
Please read on for more handy tips on how to maintain your fishing poles alongside some recommended products to help.
Although you can nowadays buy fishing poles for under £500, they are still generally an expensive piece of equipment, with large fishing tackle brands spending a lot of resource in producing the best poles.
Whether you are an experienced angler with a top notch pole or are new to the sport with a beginners pole, its important this potentially fragile piece of equipment is protected and maintained.
Cleaning and lubricating your pole after each trip
To keep your pole in top condition, be sure to give it a gentle clean every time you come back from your fishing trip. Even it looks clean, it is still important to give it a once over. Trapped water can lead to rust and rust can lead to damaged parts. A simple 5 minute clean will really help maintain the poles longevity and performance.
Soapy water should get the worst off using a soft sponge. Rinse it well and if there is still some dirt remaining, try using an old toothbrush to scrape off. DO NOT use a scourer on your pole.
After the outside of the pole is cleaned, you can then move onto the inside of the pole sections. The best way to do this is to simply run a hosepipe down the centres until the dirt is removed and the water runs clear.
Once the pole is cleaned, give the outside a dry with a towel and allow the inside of the pole sections to dry overnight by standing them up on a towel.
Once fully dried, its good practice to lubricate the joints of your pole. It is important not to use furniture polish or WD40 for this job. Instead try to use a lubricating oil or grease over the male section of the joint only.
An example of a good product to use is fishing rod & reel lubricating oil. Yes, this is designed for rods and reels but equally performs the job on a pole as well.
Storing Your Fishing Pole
Once you have finished cleaning your pole, where do you keep it? Does it have its own safe home or is it just propped up against the wall in the garage or shed? Poles in these vulnerable spots are more likely to develop wear, rust, and faults over time.
A decent pole holdall is a must to prevent any damages. Whether its to store your pole or to get it to your swim, the right holdall will no doubt increase your poles longevity.
The following are top pole holdalls to help maintain your fishing pole:
Top Fishing Pole Holdalls To Help Maintain Your Pole
Preston Supera Pole Holdall
This holdall is made from a waterproof, tough fabric and has a large side pocket for items such as umbrellas and bank sticks. The length of the holdall is 195cms and has a full-zip that ensures the holdall can be opened fully.
Finally a reinforced semi-rigid padded shoulder strap with carry handles is a feature that makes this pole holdall a great choice to help maintain your fishing pole.
Leeda Concept GT Pole Holdall
The Concept GT Pole Holdall by Leeda is part of a practical range of luggage designed to cater for all modern day coarse and match fishermans needs. This holdall is ideal for carrying your pole and top kits due to its hardwearing material with a durable base. It comes with a fully adjustable carry strap and two equal zipped compartments.
At a fantastic price point, this pole holdall offers real value for money whilst achieving the ultimate goal of maintaining your fishing pole. Thoroughly recommended!
MAP Duel Top Kit Case
This Kit Case by MAP is designed to hold your top 2’s with pole rigs still attached. This is not only ideal for maintain your fishing pole top sections but is all designed for speed and convenience.
The case is 160cm long and can hold up to ten top 2’s. It features Velcro retaining internal straps and is made from a durable semi-rigid material.
Finally this case boasts two carrying straps, an adjustable padded shoulder strap, a full length double zip and a carry handle for easy transportation.
Guru Fusion Pole Holdall
This Premium pole holdall is made by the reputable Guru and comes in a variety of sizes. There is a six tube version as well as a 10 tube version both measuring 195cm long. Being a premium product you would expect some additional features and this holdall doesn’t disappoint.
There are short and long pockets to hold additional items such as bank sticks, brollies, landing net handles, and more! In terms of maintaining your fishing pole, this holdall adds some extra protection. There are elasticated straps that hold the tubes securely in place. There are also mesh based pocket to prevent any damp build up harming your pole sections.
The zips are extra tough and oversized allowing for easy access. The straps and carrying handles are well padded and positioned in a clever way so when loaded handling is comfortable. All the materials used are extra strong and reinforced in key areas.
With double stitching throughout and a carbon look finish that is easy to clean, this pole holdall is built to last and will really help maintain your fishing pole.
Pole Accessories to help maintain your fishing pole
So far I have covered how to clean and store your fishing pole. But how do you prevent damages whilst on the bank fishing? Having a number of pole accessories within your arsenal of fishing tackle that have the goal of protecting and maintaining your fishing pole will help no-end.
The majority of these accessories are designed to aid you whilst fishing by enabling you to place sections of your pole down without damaging or to protect your pole whilst playing a fish.
For example a Pole Ripper Bar is perfect for holding unused pole sections when not required, keeping them safe and in top condition.
A Pole Sock ensures your pole remains safe whilst playing a fish and unshipping. This is ideal for keeping your pole close to hand and preventing it from sliding forwards.
A good Pole Roller is a must to help achieve a smooth transition when unshipping. It also prevents the pole from hitting the ground and potentially causing an expensive break.
Skid Bungs are a must for all pole anglers who wish to maintain their fishing poles. They are designed to keeps your fishing pole ends clean and safe from sharp edges and branches when unshipping. Typically they fit sections 5 to the butt sections.
Using Clean Caps can protect the end of your pole sections. They work by preventing incorrect alignment causing accidental damage and cleans out the inner female joint when you unship.
The following list summarises some of these pole accessories to protect and maintain your fishing pole:
Pole accessories to protect & maintain your fishing pole:
Pole Ripper Bar
This Double Ripple Bar by Preston features two threaded ends, making it ideal for fixing a multitude of fishing accessories. Items such as rod rests, V rollers, pole grips and pole socks can all be used with this Ripple Bar. Most importantly though, it’s perfect for holding unused pole sections when not required, keeping them safe and in top condition.
Pole Socks
A Pole Sock ensures your pole remains safe whilst you are playing a fish and unshipping your pole. A sock is perfect for keeping your pole close to hand and preventing it from sliding forwards. This Pole Sock from Guru is a great version that fits rod rests and seat box accessory arms.
Pole Rollers
Pole Rollers are a must for all pole anglers to fish efficiently and safely. This roller by M.A.P is a great choice to help maintain your fishing pole and is reasonably priced.
Pole Protection Skid Bungs
A skid bung is a must for all pole anglers. This Expanda Bung from Garbolino keeps your pole ends clean and safe from sharp edges and branches when shipping back. Fits sections 5 to the butt sections.
Maver Clean Cap System
This simple yet clever little device is designed to protect the end of your pole sections. They work by preventing incorrect alignment causing accidental damage and cleans out the inner female joint when you unship.
Despite being designed by Maver for their own poles, they will fit on all pole model types.
Some Final Tips
Finally, we want to end with some extra tips on how to care for your fishing pole. Cleaning and appropriate storage sometimes isn't enough when it comes to making sure that your pole stays in the best possible condition at all times. It also pays to be careful when handling the pole during your fishing trips. Treating it with respect seems obvious but we have seen countless times where lack of common sense has prevailed and as such breakages have occurred. So apologies for stating the obvious but here goes…
- Avoid any obstacles if possible when transporting your fishing tackle to your swim. Tearing through hedges or climbing over walls all add to the potential for damages.
- Use Pole Rollers and NOT trees or rocks. Again a fairly obvious tip but you will be surprised on the amount of times anglers do not follow this advice and the inevitable happens!
- Use a quality, well padded and well strapped pole holdall to keep your pole stable and secure when storing and transporting
- Take care when playing and landing fish. Less stress will be put on your pole joints if you keep the pole low in the water whilst playing the fish.
- Finally refrain from trying to land the fish with several metres of pole above your head. With accessories available now to help deal with landing bigger fish with a pole, using these will prevent any unfortunate breakages.
Conclusions
Hopefully this article has given you some ideas on how to maintain your fishing pole. Cleaning, storing and using the right accessories with your pole really will contribute to keeping this expensive asset in the best possible condition for years to come.
Thanks for reading.
All of the fishing tackle featured in this article can be found at one of the following online shops...
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