Tips & Techniques-Rod Care & Maintenance

Stright from the Sage website!......

To extend the life of any Sage product, we recommend the following Care and Maintenance tips.

Rods

• Take extra care when stringing your rod. Thread a loop of fly line through the guides and tip top and pull the line and leader straight through without bending the rod.
• Avoid placing or transporting your rod against metal or abrasive objects. Small nicks and scratches damage the graphite and lead to broken rods.
• When using weighted or large flies, adjust to an open casting stroke. This allows the fly to pass over the tip or to the side of the rod (a fly hitting the rod can also damage the graphite).
• Avoid severe rod angles when fighting and landing fish. Snagged flies should be broken off by pulling on the line with the rod tip pointed directly at the snag.
• Periodically wax the ferrules (where the rod pieces separate) lightly with paraffin to ensure a firm fit and proper function.
• Take the rod apart when you are done fishing to avoid stuck ferrules.
• Completely air dry your rod and place it in a cloth bag and tube before storing. The rod tubes can trap moisture, which can swell reel seats and ruin the rod finish.
• To protect the tip, it is best to bag your rod with the tip top and cork handle up.
• Occasionally clean your rod with warm water and soap and completely dry.
• To shine, apply furniture polish and don't forget to protect the rod when finished.
• How do I get stuck ferrules loose?
  • It's easiest to use two people to pull the rod sections apart. Alternately, you can use rubber jar openers to get a better grip on the rod sections. Be careful that you get a good grip so you don't slip and damage the guides. Also, make sure you don't twist the rod sections, as this can damage the carbon in the ferrules.

Gear Maintenance-Cleaning Rods

Time to clean up the rods?
I normally clean my rods after I have been away on a fishing trip, in the Fall, and about midway through the season.

The part of the rod that get dirties is the cork, but if you fish the Bow a lot you'll notice the entire blank gets pretty scummy. An no, it's not because the Bow is dirty, it's because there are so many organisms (plant, insect, animal) in the Bow. It's nutrient rich but it means lots of gunk on your stuff.


Notice the dirty corks. Blanks are dirty, especially around the guides.

Things you'll need: Terry cloth towel, Foaming Glass Cleaner (best cleaner, doesn't bother the blank, best for cleaning cork), old toothbrush, about twenty minutes.

1) Spray the entire rod with foaming glass cleaner, let sit for a minute or two.

2)Lightly scrub around guides with old toothbrush.

3) Scrub cork handle with toothbrush. this effectively removes soil from cork.

4) Aggressively buff and dry cork with terry cloth towel. This will restore the cork to clean appearance.

This is what that soiled cork looks like now. No more dirt.

5) Use towel to buff, clean, and dry entire blank. If necessary use toothbrush and glass cleaner to remove stubborn dirt aroung guides.

6) After each section of rod is cleaned and dried. Apply paraffin wax to male ferrule. MAKE SURE TO BUFF OFF EXCESS WAX WITH TOWEL! This helps the ferrules stay tighter when fishing.

Don't have any paraffin? Stop in and get some here at CP, we'll give you some.

7) After all pieces of rod are cleaned put in window sill for several hours. This dries the cork and any glass cleaner that got inside ferrules. Do not put away in rod sock with damp cork!

THE FINISHED PRODUCT........ This is a 2 year old Helios 4 weight that I use a lot. Looked kind of crappy 10 minute before this photo was taken. Looks almost new now.