Baitcaster Maintenance

When you buy a baitcaster, sooner or later you face the question of how to keep the beloved piece in good shape. Depending on how often you fish and how many baitcasters you have in your arsenal, the maintenance intervals can vary greatly.

At least once a year it makes sense to take a close look at a baitcaster to see if anything should be done. I have baitcasters in my arsenal that I use no more than ten times a year; these are not maintained every year. Other baitcasters get a little attention every two to three months. There are different levels to this. Quite often I just do a quick maintenance of the casting bearings.

Quick maintenance of the casting bearings

For a quick maintenance of the casting bearings, I really only take care of the bearings responsible for the cast. These are the two bearings that are in contact with the shaft. One of them is always located in the non-handle sideplate. The second bearing sits either on the spool shaft or under the knob for the spool tension, depending on the manufacturer. Some call the knob the shaft squeeze...

For the very quick maintenance, there are one or two tiny drops of thin oil on each of the bearings. When casting and reeling, the oil creeps into the bearings on its own, even if they are sealed.

The lighter the casting weight of the baitcaster is, the thinner the oil must be to keep the bearings extremely smooth. The downside is that such thin oils also disappear faster than more viscous oils. It's no trick to notice when the next quick maintenance is due. You'll notice immediately when the bearings get noisy, but otherwise run cleanly. Depending on how often you use it, a BFS baitcaster needs to be re-oiled with one or two drops every few weeks. Baitcasters for heavier weights with thicker oil for the bearings can easily go a whole season without new oil.

Thorough maintenance of the cast bearings

For thorough maintenance of the cast bearings, they must be removed. But that’s not really a big deal either.

Bearings that are not on the axle are usually held in place with a spring steel clip. To remove the clip, you need a bit of finesse and a tweezers or a fine flathead screwdriver.

You have to be extremely careful not to lose the clip. The tensioned clip can really fly far. If you’re unsure, I recommend doing this operation inside a clear plastic bag so the clip can’t fly far and you can still see everything. I did it this way the first few times after once having to search for half an hour.

If the bearing is on the spool, I definitely recommend a Pin Remover. This is a special tool for removing such pins. Using pure muscle power or pliers can damage the spool edge or the axle, and then the damage is often irreparable. That’s frustrating because a new spool is usually extremely expensive.

The pin usually has a thicker and a thinner end. Pressure must be applied to the thinner end of the pin, as the thicker end does not fit through the hole in the axle. A bit of force is okay, but violence should not be necessary!

When the ball bearings are removed, they go into a bath of Isopropanol. You only need enough to cover the ball bearings. To thoroughly remove the oil, I shake the jar with the Isopropanol and the ball bearings from time to time. After a few hours, I lay the ball bearings out on kitchen paper to dry so they can dry. Once the ball bearings are dry, each gets between one and two drops of oil.

I put the ball bearings on a China chopstick or a Bearing Check Tool and turn the ball bearing a bit. The oil then quickly disappears inside the ball bearing. If I feel there is still too little, I add a third drop.

Afterwards, everything is simply reassembled. The working time is not significantly longer than with quick maintenance—unless you have to access the ball bearing under the Spool Tension from the inside—but the waiting time until everything is nicely soaked does require some patience.

Thorough baitcaster maintenance

To thoroughly maintain a baitcaster you need a few items.

• a cloth and/or kitchen paper
• Phillips or flathead screwdriver (depending on the model)
• a Lock Nut wrench for the handle nut
• a pin remover (depending on the model)
• Bearing Checktool or chopsticks from China
• cotton swabs
• cheap toothbrush
• one or two small bristle brushes
• Isopropanol
• a grease for lubricating the gear and the brake discs
• Oil for the bearings and other smooth-running parts

Basic cleaning

First, I clean the baitcaster from the outside. I remove the non-handle sideplate, take the spool out of the baitcaster, and remove all dirt I can reach from the outside. For this, I use a cloth or paper towels as well as cotton swabs. A clean bristle brush or a toothbrush can also be a great help. Especially at the reel foot and around the level wind (the shaft that moves the line guide), lint and other debris tend to accumulate.

Disassembling the baitcaster

The non-handle sideplate is already removed. I now remove the bearing and place it in the isopropanol bath. It is important not to lose the clip that holds the bearing in place during removal or maintenance. So far everything is easy, but the rest won’t be much harder. I have two left hands and can do it, so you can too!

Order helps

Now it’s time for the handle sideplate. Since it gets a bit more complicated here, I prepare a paper mat and place all parts - in the exact order I removed them - on the paper. I also pay attention to which side is up and which is down, as that can make a big difference.

If you want to be absolutely sure, take a photo now and then before disassembling something that looks complicated. That way, even if something happens to your order on the table, you still have a lifeline.

The harder part

To loosen the handle, first remove the screw that secures the retainer to the handle nut (the hex nut on the handle). Then remove the retainer and loosen the handle nut. Now you can easily take off the handle.

Next, unscrew the star of the drag brake. Underneath, there is usually a spring, a square nut, various washers, and often a clicker. It is especially important that the washers are positioned correctly, as some are curved. If the curve faces the wrong way later, you will have to fiddle with them until the Baitcaster works perfectly again.

Once the handle and everything beneath it is removed, the screws holding the Handle Sideplate come next. Usually, there are three small screws. Once the screws are loosened, the Handle Sideplate can be easily lifted off.

By the way, under the Spool Tension Knob on the Handle Sideplate, you will find a roller bearing. If you feel it needs cleaning, put it in the isopropanol bath as well. All bearings you find can be bathed to remove the old oil.

The inside of the Baitcaster

It is also important to keep things organized inside. Please take one or two photos between steps if you're not completely sure! When disassembling, make sure all parts lie with the same side up as they were in the Baitcaster. If a part is installed upside down, it will cause big trouble.
As soon as all parts that can be easily removed, such as the gearbox, the brake discs, the pinion gear (the small gear tube that interacts with the large gear wheel), and other small parts are taken out, it's time to clean.

Some Baitcasters are completely dry inside, while others are extremely caked with grease. First, I remove all the old grease I can find. I only degrease the brake discs if they have already caused problems or look dirty; otherwise, I leave them alone.

Next, apply new grease to all the gears I can find. You don’t have to be stingy, but too much isn’t good either. If you use too much grease, you’ll end up with it everywhere inside the Baitcaster after a warm day of fishing. If you have degreased the brake discs, they also need a very sparingly applied grease, otherwise the brake will stick!

All other moving parts and springs are oiled sparingly. The ball bearings are also carefully treated with a thin or very thin oil after they have been thoroughly cleaned and dried. Just put one or two drops on the bearing and— as described in the first part—turn the ball bearing. The oil will then creep into place by itself.

For the needle Bearing, you can use either a rather thick oil or a very thin grease, depending on your preference. Then simply reassemble everything exactly as you laid it out.

Don’t forget to lightly grease or oil the cleaned Levelwind. The thumb bar also benefits from a small drop of oil at the points where it moves within the frame.

Now your Baitcaster should work like new again! Don’t worry, I almost died the first time I disassembled one, but by the third or fourth time, you’ll have it under control!

Of course, you could disassemble even more than I have described. But if you go further, you should either really know what you're doing, have a worn-out Baitcaster to practice on, or leave the valuable device to a professional !

Author: Luitgar Summer

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