i dont have an offseason, but i take my main surf reel to the tackle shop for maintenance every few months. after every sesh i use the mist setting on my garden hose on the reel then loosen the drag.

Live in Florida so don’t really have a off season but I always wash and loosen drag after use.

I am risk adverse, so I avoid breaking mine down completely since I have lost small springs and shit before. I have a local shop that cleans them on the cheap.

But I typically do that only for my inshore set-ups as opposed to my bass gear.

Spray down, loosen drag.

For bait casters there are a ton of videos on breaking those down. For me I usually just pop the handle side plate off, clean any nasty looking grease buildup and if needed add a touch more to the gears. I also clean and oil my spool bearings. I only ever remove everything and clean it if my reel is acting up and I can’t identify the issue or it’s my frog reel which gathers more than normal nastiness from the braid.

As for spinning again there are plenty of videos, but I will oil my roller bearings I think they’re called, and take the bell off and clean the shaft. I’ll lightly oil the shaft and then give it a few spins to let the oil work it’s way through. There is a whole set of gears in the lower part of a spinning reel but I’ve heard to only dig into that if you’re reel is really acting bad and completely necessary. Something about the teeth in the gears get wear marks that have to be lined back up perfectly or it won’t act right. I could be wrong but I’ve stayed away for that reason.

You can get reel oil and reel grease, about once a year I take my reels apart and clean them and reapply oil and grease... just look up a schematic for your reel so you can take it apart and put everything back, and some videos on youtube on how to clean... generally for spinning reels you put oil around the handle and grease on the shaft, bearing and gear

Loosen the drag until it comes off and remove the spool, make sure to dry everything well and remove any dirt that might have gotten in. You can also disassemble the reel further to clean out the gears, and throw in some fresh oil. As others mentioned there are YouTube videos on cleaning reels. Make sure you take pictures of where everything goes, or find a parts diagram of your reel for when you out it back together.

I think the general rule is that bearings get oil, gears get grease. Don't put anything on the drag washers if you end up breaking it down that far.

My bait shop does a cleaning and lube job for $10

They're kind of a pain in the ass to take apart and put back together unless you're pretty handy with small stuff. For me it's worth the tenner

Reel cleaning and maintenance is super easy. You can use regular ole olive oil or vegetable oil as lubrication.

I would look for videos on YouTube since it will be easier to watch how than read how.

Best advice i can give is always keep a little tension on the line while reeling. The lack of tension is what causes loose loops and the loose loops are what leads to 10 minutes of sorting your line out.

It's funny. I stopped using closed face reels when I was a kid because they were a pain to take apart and fix/untangle by the side of a creek in the woods.

A few things. Make sure your reel is spooled properly. Too much line will cause problems.

When installing line, make sure it’s going on the spool properly, in the same direction it comes off the commercial spool. There are lots of YouTube videos. Keep some tension on the line when installing it. After it’s on the spool, be aware that monofilament lines tend to have a “memory” of the larger commercial spool. Immerse the spool for a minute or so in hot water. That re-sets the line to the smaller spool on your reel.

As noted, try to keep tension on your line at all times when reeling it in. Finally, buy good-quality line. I’ve been using Stren mono on my carp-fishing reels for several years now and never have any problems.

Respool it with braided line. Cheap mono gets memory BAD and creates all sorts of bird nest issues.

There's a couple factors. The reel specs and line are the main ones. Tension is also pretty important. Drag and lure weight also play a minor role.

1 Go to a tackle shop and have them spool it with the braid of your choice.

2. When you cast and retrieve, try to keep the line tight at all times.

3. In windy conditions aim for a "flat cast," so line doesn't catch the wind.

4. Rinse off reel with fresh water every trip (actually the whole rod) and allow to air dry.

I have been using ardent reel cleaner for a couple of years now. I've been using it for a couple of years ago and haven't had any issues.

Every year I'll add a drop of oil to the bail and handle and that's about it. If I dunk it, I take it in. If it grinds, I'll break it down and clean it

I fish mainly saltwater

I use Real Magic every so often and that seems to help i think.

Line off the bottom of the spool for spinning reels and line off the top of the spool for baitcasters is what I am told..keeping the line nice and tight while reeling

You gotta follow the memory thats already on the line ive been told. But fuck if i could ever get it right.

Also heard soaking the reel in hot water after its strung will reduce the memory.

The best way I've found is to soak the new line, on the factory spool, in hot water for 30 minutes or so. Removes all memory from the line, and it goes on smooth.

The other trick is to have the line coming off the spool in the same direction as your reel spins.

What line are you using? What size reel is it being spooled onto?

Buy braid

Tighten your drag before you rinse your reel. I use a product called optimum no rinse out of a sprayer for rod and reel because I have it around for my car. Cleans up real well.

Give them a good rinse, lube them up if they are still sticking a bit. Other thing to remember is to back off the drag after you rinse them so the drag doesn't bind tighter than you want it their is oxidation. Makes the drag last a lot longer in my experience

Take the reels off and strip the spools off, open the side plates and soak them in clean water. Then use some cleaner to flush out all the old lube and re oil/lube as needed. If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner they can help a lot.

I've always just rinsed them with a hose when I got home unless they took a dunk. Then its a full disassembly with new grease and oil.

Even if they don't take a swim, I use them enough that I do a full clean at the midway and end of the season.

fresh water garden hose rinse after fishing. Don't pressure wash the lube out of the reel but get it a good rinse on everything.

After that, a spray down with Salt-A-Way according to directions. Regular maintenance after the season is over.

Time to get reel.

Nice! Love to see you doing this 💪

Needs to be broken down more more 😁

Love this photo when reel maintenance is one of my favorite parts of fishing hobby

For my freshwater gear I use a quite low viscosity oil like TSI 321.

To answer your question.

Grease on gears - less is more and paint it on with a small paint brush. A thin layer will protect the gear body but for performance a thin layer on the gear teeth does the job too much grease just gets pushed out and sits in clumps attracts dirt and grit and can make the reel actually works worse.

Oil - line roller, bail spring, bearings and the joint where the bail wire pivots.

Bearings - Less is more and a single drop every now and then is more than enough. Just enough to lubricate but not so much as to flood the bearings. You just want a thin coating. For more intense maintenance you need to remove the bearings clean with isopropyl alcohol dry and reapply a couple of drops.

Drags - FELT - a couple of drops of light oil to stop them drying out every now and then. . CARBON- a drag specific grease (I use Cals) wipe off the old grease with a paper towel and use a small amount either rub on with your fingers or a small paint brush. Just enough so you will leave a fingerprint no more.

Good YouTube channels that are worth a look are 2nd chance tackle, tackle advisors and Diawa Australia have a good YouTube channel for reel maintenance.

Saltwater is slightly different.

Edit: I use dish soap and water to clean roller bushings but make sure they are dry before oiling and reassembling. If it need something a little more carburettor cleaner works well and is not too harsh on plastic parts.

Just unwind it in the opposite direction from how it wound on. It may take a little force if it's really dug into itself. This is caused by having slack in the line before you reeled in. After you cast, close the bail by hand (don't crank it shut). Grab your line ahead of the reel and pull it forward to take out all slack, and raise the rod tip to tighten up all the line before doing any cranking.

Also. Just a few suggestions as I dont know if you spooled your own line....

1. Make sure you add a little tension when loading/spooling line onto a reel. It will stop the line digging into the spool when done and can help a little against wind knots.

2. Dont overfill your spool. Overfilling can lead to wind knots which can cause the issue you've experienced here. For safety. spool your line up to just below the lip of the spool.

This and the other suggestions regarding flipping the bail arm closed yourself go hand in hand. A lot of guides about how to spool your line correctly can be found on YT.

When you reel in line from a cast. You have to make sure you don’t have loose line going on the reel fast. If it’s loose it’ll sometimes flick over top of the spool and go underneath then when you reel in after that it will tuck under the spool and go on the inside. Easy fix would be just taking the line off of the inside and put your reel back together and you’ll be good to go. Bad thing is a lot of the time it’s knotty on the inside because it loops and wraps. Might have to cut. Mostly just be careful and if you see the line is loose grab near the first eye and keep tension while you reel until it has tension on its own. Good luck

Update: not sure how to update the original post. I got all the line out and now it’s working properly again. Thank you all for the advice and look forward to using the tips you guys provided to make it a better experience!

This is all part of the fishing experience.