While the first frost of the fall doesn’t necessarily signal the end of the openwater fishing season, it provides a hint of what’s to come and a signal that it’s time to start preparing for autumn’s hunting seasons. With the cold autumn rain that wiped out my Sunday hunting plans, I repurposed those hours with the annual inspection and storage of my openwater fishing rods and reels for the cold weather season, save for a couple I keep ready for some fishing on the power plant lake north of my home on those warmer winter days that allow for it. For the rest, however the offered time ahead of pheasant season and the firearms deer opener a few weeks later gave me a great opportunity to get things set for storage.

Closing line up

Foremost ahead of storage is my annual inspection of my various reels. I like to remove the spool on each spinning reel and check underneath for any accumulation of dirt and debris that comes with my spring and summer adventures. Cleaning along the axle and around the gears with a soft toothbrush helps get any gunk off, and adding a drop of reel oil before replacing the spool ensures things will be in good shape when the combo is ready to hit the water in spring. For baitcasters, it’s a similar process, accessing those areas I’m comfortable opening, cleaning and adding some grease to keep things turning smoothly.

From there, I inspect the line on each reel. If it’s a panfish rod, I’m typically OK with leaving the four pound monofilament on it for the off-season, however it’s key to remove any tension and disconnecting the season’s last jig and securing the remaining line to the spool with a square of painter’s tape or a small rubber band keeps it in place while not establishing too much memory that will cause kinks and coils next spring on the first cast. For those bigger rods spooled with superline for jigging walleyes or casting for bass, I typically cut off the last 10 or 20 yards that have become frayed over the final stretch of summer and inspect the wraps below to make sure the remaining strands are of good quality before they hit storage. Without the memory of mono, these lines can be used again next season, but I still make sure they’re secured to the spool to prevent tangling. If the line level looks a bit low, I’ll make a note on the tape as to line size and type for a purchase next spring, or if there’s an end-of-season sale.

Hot rods

The final portion of the weekend’s three step process, going from reel to line to rod is a quick look over of the blank and eyelets on each combo. I can recall one spring losing two huge smallmouth bass on the initial outing of the season from a broken line before I realized that there was the tiniest chip in the top eyelet of a favorite rod that turned the rod tip into a razorblade of sorts, severing the line on a strong hookset for the first fish, and then losing the second during a powerful run. It was a lesson that stuck with me, and made careful inspection of each eyelet, its supporting frame, and the rod in general a part of my end-of-season care for each fishing combo I own. Take the time as you wrap up each one to look eyelets over for nicks or damage and check the rod blank for cracks or wear around the reel seat and either repair what you can or mark the rod for replacement accordingly.

While the ups and downs of fall weather may wash out a hunt from time to time, there are plenty of opportunities to take care of the things that will assist in a strong start to the next season. Use those down days, or a quiet night at home to look over those reliable fishing combos that have put in a season’s worth of work and get them ready for next spring’s action … in our outdoors.