Why you should winterize your fly-fishing gear

You winterize your boat. You winterize your house. Heck, you even winterize yourself, grabbing a pair of gloves and a hat before heading out to work in the morning.

But I’ll bet you do a less-than-impressive job winterizing your fly-fishing gear at the end of a season. That’s OK. Many of us are the same way.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. And with hundreds of dollars invested in your gear, why not take that next step and make sure it’s all ready to use when winter finally ends and the traditional fly-fishing seasons begin again? (Notice I said “traditional fly-fishing seasons.” Some anglers are so diehard that they fish all winter long.)

Don Corey, proprietor of Annika Rod and Fly Learning Center in Brewer, said there’s a simple reason why many anglers don’t winterize their gear.

“Most of the time people don’t know when the last fishing trip is,” Corey said. “So they keep using the rod putting it back in the tube, thinking they’re going to fish again. And then, after three or four weeks they realize it’s the end of the year, and they don’t do anything.”

Chances are that it’s been more than three or four weeks since you last fly fished. If that’s the case, there are some simple steps you can take to take proper care of the equipment you likely stowed in a closet or the garage.

Water is the enemy

We need water in order to fish, but Corey said water can damage or ruin gear, including fly rods, if anglers don’t dry things off after they’re done fishing. And since fly rods are always used near water, and sometimes used on rainy days, the chances of an angler having stored a rods while it was still damp are pretty high.

Most fly rods are stored in a cloth bag called a “sock,” which is then put into a plastic or metal tube that prevents damage. Corey said storing the rod in a dry environment is important. And the first step ought to involve washing the rod in warm water. Then, allow everything to dry out before re-stowing the rod.

“Sometimes that means leaving it out of the sock, leaving it out of the tube and let the sock dry, let the tube dry, wipe the rod down so that there’s no water on it,” Corey said.

Then Corey advises using light sandpaper or a Scotchgard pad on the cork grip in order to remove any dirt or oils that might have accumulated during a season of fishing.

Corey said he’ll often leave the cap off the rod tube after putting the fly rod in it, then storing it in a closet where the temperature and humidity will remain fairly consistent.

And come spring, he’ll be ready to go.

About that fly line

If you’re a minimalist when it comes to equipment management, you may just store all your reels on a shelf or in a bag, then begin thinking about them when the season’s about to start.

That shouldn’t be the case. And Corey said that you shouldn’t leave your fly line on the reels, all wrapped up in tight little coils, in the first place.

“I encourage people to take the line off the reel and put it in big loose loops, maybe a foot to 18 inches in diameter and hang those lines up in the basement or some dry place” Corey said. “Leave them that way, and they won’t have ‘memory’ when you get ready to finish the next year.”

And what’s a line’s “memory”? Picture it like this: That fly line will tend to remain in the shape it was stored in, especially if it’s stored that way for months. Therefore, fly line that has been left on reels will be full of small little coils, and will not cast well unless it’s stretched out and re-straightened prior to use.

Store it in wide, loose coils, and it’ll be ready to fish immediately.

And while you’re pulling the fly line off your reels, why not clean it?

Corey said each line manufacturer typically sells a cleaning product that’s designed for use with their lines. If you can’t find those, a dishwashing detergent like Dawn will work just fine. Put the loose coils into a bucket of detergent and warm water, then dry it off by pulling it through a soft cloth.

 “You’ll be amazed at how much grime will be on the cloth when you do that,” he said.

Reel world problems

A bit of reel maintenance is also a good idea.

“Especially if you’re [fishing] in salt conditions or places where [the reel has] gone in the water, or it’s gotten dirty. That stuff is not good on the internal pieces of the reel, so take the spool off the reel, put it in a bucket with warm soapy water, wipe it all down, rinse it off well so that there’s no residue left on it,” Corey said. “Then let it dry before you put it back together.”

What about waders?

Waders often come with a handy storage bag, which makes it easy for anglers to simply toss them on a shelf and ignore them.

“They take them off, [the waders are] wet, they put them in the bag they think well I’m going to use them again next weekend,” Corey said.

Then they don’t. The season ends. And there the waders sit. For months.

“It’s a good idea to take those out,” Corey said. “If you think that there might be some dirt on them you can rinse them off and hang them up, upside down, so that the water drains out of the inside and the outside. And then, storing them like that is much better than folding them up and leaving it in the bag, where it will leave creases.”

So there you have it: A few tips for taking care of your fly fishing gear.

And after you get done all this winterizing, it’ll be time to sit down at the tying vise and tie some flies for next year.