When you buy a baitcaster, sooner or later you will 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 something needs to be done. For me, there are baitcasters in the arsenal that I use no more than ten times a year, and these are not serviced every year. Other baitcasters receive a little attention every two to three months. There are different levels of maintenance. Quite often, I simply do a quick maintenance of the casting bearings.
Quick maintenance of the casting bearings
During a quick maintenance of the casting bearings, I really only take care of the ball bearings that are responsible for the cast. These are the two ball bearings that are in contact with the axle. One of them is always located in the non-handle sideplate. The second ball bearing is located, depending on the manufacturer, either on the spool axle or under the knob for the spool tension. Some call the knob axle squeeze…
For very quick maintenance, there are one or two tiny drops of thin oil on each of the ball bearings. When casting and cranking, the oil creeps into the ball bearings by itself, even when they are closed.
The lighter the casting weight of the baitcaster, the thinner the oil must be to keep the ball bearings extremely smooth. The downside is that such thin oils also disappear faster than thicker oils. It's not hard to notice when the next quick maintenance is due. You notice it immediately when the ball bearings become loud, but otherwise run smoothly. Depending on the frequency of use, a BFS baitcaster needs to be oiled with one to two drops every few weeks. Baitcasters for heavier weights with thick oil for the ball bearings can also easily go a season without new oil.
Thorough maintenance of the casting bearings
During thorough maintenance of the casting bearings, they must be removed. But that's not really an art.
The ball bearings that are not on the axle are usually held in place with a spring clip made of spring steel. To remove the clip, you need a bit of finesse and a tweezers or a fine flat screwdriver.
You have to be extremely careful so that the clip doesn't get lost. The tensioned clip can really fly far. If you're unsure, I recommend doing this operation in a transparent plastic bag, then the clip can't fly far and you still have everything in view. I did it this way the first few times after I once had to search for half an hour.
If the spool is on the reel, I definitely recommend a Pin Remover. This is a special tool for removing such pins. With pure muscle power or pliers, you can damage the spool edge or the axle, and then the damage is often irreparable. This is frustrating, as 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 little 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 a paper towel to dry so they can dry. Once the ball bearings are dry, each one gets between one and two drops of oil.
I place the ball bearings on a chopstick or a Bearing Check Tool and spin the ball bearing a little. The oil then disappears very quickly inside the ball bearing. If I feel there is still too little, I add a third drop.
After that, everything is simply reassembled. The working time is not significantly longer than with the quick maintenance, unless you need to access the ball bearing under the spool tension from the inside, but the waiting time until everything is nicely soaked does require a bit of patience.
Thorough Baitcaster Maintenance
To thoroughly maintain a Baitcaster , you need a few things.
- a cloth and/or paper towel
- cross or flat screwdriver (depending on the model)
- a lock nut wrench for the handle nut
- a pin remover (depending on the model)
- Bearing check tool or chopsticks
- Cotton Swabs
- cheap toothbrush
- one or two small bristle brushes
- Isopropanol
- a grease for lubricating the gears and brake discs
- Oil for the ball 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 the dirt I can reach from the outside. For this, I use the cloth or paper towel as well as cotton swabs. A clean bristle brush or toothbrush can also be a great help. Especially at the reel foot and in the area of the level wind (the shaft that makes the line guide move), lint and other debris accumulate.
Disassembling the baitcaster
The Non-Handle Sideplate has already been removed. I will now remove the ball bearing and place it in the isopropanol bath. It is important not to lose the clip that holds the ball 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 this, 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 the parts - in the exact order in which I removed them - on the paper. I also pay attention to where the bottom and top are, as that can make a big difference.
If you want to be completely sure, take a photo now and then before you take something apart that looks complicated. Then, even if something should happen to your organization on the table, you still have a safety net.
The more difficult part
To remove the handle, you first remove the screw that secures the retainer to the handle nut (the hex nut on the handle). Then you remove the retainer and loosen the handle nut. Now you can simply take off the handle.
Next, you unscrew the star of the drag brake. Underneath, there is usually a spring, a square nut, various washers, and often a clicker. Especially with the washers, it is important that they are positioned correctly, as some are curved. If the curvature later points in the wrong direction, you will have to fiddle with them until the baitcaster works ideally again.
Once the handle and everything below it is removed, the screws holding the handle sideplate can be addressed. Usually, these 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 in the handle sideplate, you will find a roller bearing; if you feel it needs cleaning, you can also place it in the isopropanol bath. All bearings you find can be bathed to remove the old oil.
The interior of the baitcaster
It's also important to keep things organized inside. Please take one or two photos between the work steps if you're not quite sure! When disassembling, make sure all parts are lying with the same side up as they were in the baitcaster. If a part is installed the wrong way around, it can cause a lot of trouble.
As soon as all the parts that can be easily removed, such as the gear, the brake discs, the pinion gear (the small gear tube that interacts with the large gear wheel), and other small parts are removed, it's time to clean.
Partially, the baitcasters are completely dry inside, and partially they 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.
Then apply new grease to all the gears I can find. You don't have to be too stingy, but too much is also not good. If you use too much grease, you'll end up with it everywhere in the baitcaster after a warm day of fishing. If you have degreased the brake discs, it also requires a very sparing greasing, otherwise the brake will stick!
All other moving parts and springs should be oiled sparingly. The ball bearings, after they have been bathed and dried, are also gently treated with a thin or very thin oil. 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 a rather thicker oil or a very thin grease, depending on your preference. Then simply reassemble everything just as you laid it out.
Also, don't forget to grease or oil the cleaned levelwind a little bit. The thumb button also needs a small drop of oil at the points where it moves in the frame.
Now your baitcaster should work like new again! Don't worry, I almost died the first time I disassembled it, but by the third or fourth time, you'll have it under control!
Of course, you could disassemble even more than I described. However, if you go further, you should either really know what you're doing, have a used baitcaster for practice, or leave the valuable equipment to a professional !
Author: Luitgar Summer
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