Using freshwater reels in salt 2025
the reel ess reply :
My sister just bought a place at the beach that has a boat launch on the Garden City beach (SC) inlet. I've never fished much saltwater. When I did, I just hosed them off with freshwater. My question is about whether my reels are ok with regular saltwater use. I have a few Lews LFS Tournament MB BC reels that I believe are sealed bearing and noncorrosive. But how about Pflueger Trion spinning reels?
Also, what do most of you use for redfish and trout? Thanks.
Rowsdower reply :
You will be fine as long as you don't go dunking your gear. A simple light rinse with fresh water afterwards (don't go pressure washing them! 
) will suffice. I fish for redfish and specks more than anything and never have issues with my gear and the salt
Hammer 4 reply :
I use to fish fresh and salt 4 to 5 times a week with my shimano casting and spinning reels, some were high end, some low end. All I did was rinse them thoroughly asap after using them for saltwater. Normally I would re oil and grease them once a month if needed, usually it was just having to oil them. This went on for about 2 years until I had to stop fishing, but never had any problems.
Glenn reply :
As long as your reels don't have any parts made from magnesium, you should be fine with rinsing them. If they have magnesium parts, don't even think about using them in saltwater.
fvogel67 reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 3:47 AM, Glenn said:As long as your reels don't have any parts made from magnesium, you should be fine with rinsing them. If they have magnesium parts, don't even think about using them in saltwater.
The Pflueger Supreme has a magnesium body and is rated for salt use.
craww reply :
DONT rinse them...Wipe them down or at least be very, very careful. It's been a minute since I've had my trion apart; but I dont believe the drag is exactly sealed...Water with salt/sand can run right down the main shaft & deposit itself into the AR Clutch, frame bearing, and then pinion/Main gear in that order. You can also ruin the line roller bearing that way; getting salt/sand into it and also not allowing it to dry properly.
Is it guaranteed to happen? No. But I've replaced enough AR Clutches and Frame bearings in Pure Fishing spinners to where I wouldn't do it..
Glenn reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 4:07 AM, fvogel67 said:The Pflueger Supreme has a magnesium body and is rated for salt use.
The Okuma Helios Air has a magnesium body and sideplates, and they say don't use it in salt water because it can corrode.
TnRiver46 reply :
I just buy a cheap combo at Publix when I go to the beach. Use for the week and discard when you go home haha. But seriously I have used several of my rods and reels down there (which are far from high end) and never had any trouble.
Catt reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 4:07 AM, fvogel67 said:The Pflueger Supreme has a magnesium body and is rated for salt use.
When magnesium corrodes its intergranular corrosion & the only way to stop it is by removing metal.
MickD reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 4:07 AM, fvogel67 said:The Pflueger Supreme has a magnesium body and is rated for salt use.
The NEW Supreme, right?
WRB reply :
It's a galvanic reaction to dissimilar metals like magnesium and the stainless or nickle plated brass screws and lock washers. If the coating on the magnesium is scratched and comes in contact with salt fog, not necessarily salt water just moisture it starts corrosion.
Rinsing with fresh water and spraying with WD-40 is standard practice with anodic coated aluminum reels. Magnesium is a more sacrificial metal and I wouldn't recommend using it in salt water.
Tom
fvogel67 reply :
Pfluegers very own website has them rated for salt.
fvogel67 reply :
TackleTour review from 3/27/16.
Maxximus Redneckus reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 4:07 AM, fvogel67 said:The Pflueger Supreme has a magnesium body and is rated for salt use.
Mag is only as good as its plating 1 tiny nick or scratch and saltwater will literally eat it up from inside
fvogel67 reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 8:34 AM, Maxximus Redneckus said:Mag is only as good as its plating 1 tiny nick or scratch and saltwater will literally eat it up from inside
Pflueger rates it for salt.
Case closed
craww reply :
Shimano has produced magnesium framed reels for inshore & surf fishing for decades. Folks love their Mg Stella's. Their well known tech said at one point he'd seen 2 MG reels w/corrosion issues in something like 4 years. Those who remember snook on here may recall he liked his Mg Floogers; & he fished them often.
If the manufacturer is willing to stand behind the product and say its ok, it is (within reason). Not every mg reel is considered salt safe by their respective companies.
WRB reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 8:48 AM, fvogel67 said:Pflueger rates it for salt.
Case closed
Case opened; Will they replace the reel if It corrodes? Use it you own it.
Titainium is a noble highly corrosion resistant metal right up there with gold, magnesium is very low on the galvanic table right next to zinc, can't defy physics.
Tom
fvogel67 reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 9:57 AM, WRB said:Case opened; Will they replace the reel if It corrodes? Use it you own it.
Titainium is a noble highly corrosion resistant metal right up there with gold, magnesium is very low on the galvanic table right next to zinc, can't defy physics.
Tom
Well then, I guess Pflueger is wrong and your right. Congratulations ????
WRB reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 11:57 AM, fvogel67 said:Well then, I guess Pflueger is wrong and your right. Congratulations ????
Tackle Tour was sceptical regarding magnesium being salt water compatible claims for good reasons, marketing has been known to stretch the facts. Pflueger is brand name, where do you go to resovle false claims? If the reel is warranted and garenteed not to corrode then it's up to Pflueger to evaluate the the manufacturing flaw that caused the problem and 99.9% the cause is user damage.
Agree with your findings, just not naive enough to believe Pflueger's claim.
Peace,
Tom
johnD. reply :
I'd leave the bass rods at home (you may end up trashing one on a 40" bull red)..Pick up some daiwa bg's on star stellar lite rods. The bg's have nylon line roller bushings (low maintenance). If your reels get dunked take them apart that day and clean them , flush bearings , etc , other wise, regular routine maintenance schedules are fine.
Star Stellar Lite 7'6 medium with a 2500 BG , loaded with 10# or 15# braid will do anything inshore.
Star Paraflex 9' surf with a BG 4000 or 4500 (30# braid) will do most anything in the surf. (I'd recommend the 4500 for chunking bait , the 4000 for throwing plugs , jigs and what not). surftalk is a good resource for landbased saltwater fishing.
Chris at Tech reply :
First, let me answer the easy question. Check the "other species" forum for my previous posts on my inshore fishing adventures in Hilton Head and Panama City Beach where I include some info on what I typically use. Long story short -- spoons, soft jerkbaits, hard twitch baits, popping corks, paddle tail swimbaits, artificial shrimp and spooks. *IF* pinfish are an issue (I've never had much of an issue in SC, but they're brutal in FL), then the Z-man plastics are absolute lifesavers. To me, the beauty of trout and red fishing is how simple you can make it compared to bass fishing. Local tackle shops are great for recommending colors, locations as well as recommended tides to fish.
As far as freshwater reels in salt...I've been doing this for years with my Stradics and I never had an issue up until this last time I went to PCB in Sept. In the past, I'd ALWAYS tighten down the drag as much as possible and hit reel with the garden hose and be done with it. For some reason, that didn't work this last time, as I felt the reels being sticky on the retrieve. I sent my reels off to Reel Ex, where Dan told me I needed new bearings and that my care regimen was all wrong. His advice was to hit the reels with a few squirts of Windex, wipe them down and be done with it. So to be honest, I'm a bit confused on what care should be taken. I guess for now I'll follow Dan's advise, since he is an expert. Your mileage may vary.
johnD. reply :
On 12/2/2019 at 12:21 AM, Chris at Tech said:First, let me answer the easy question. Check the "other species" forum for my previous posts on my inshore fishing adventures in Hilton Head and Panama City Beach where I include some info on what I typically use. Long story short -- spoons, soft jerkbaits, hard twitch baits, popping corks, paddle tail swimbaits, artificial shrimp and spooks. *IF* pinfish are an issue (I've never had much of an issue in SC, but they're brutal in FL), then the Z-man plastics are absolute lifesavers. To me, the beauty of trout and red fishing is how simple you can make it compared to bass fishing. Local tackle shops are great for recommending colors, locations as well as recommended tides to fish.
As far as freshwater reels in salt...I've been doing this for years with my Stradics and I never had an issue up until this last time I went to PCB in Sept. In the past, I'd ALWAYS tighten down the drag as much as possible and hit reel with the garden hose and be done with it. For some reason, that didn't work this last time, as I felt the reels being sticky on the retrieve. I sent my reels off to Reel Ex, where Dan told me I needed new bearings and that my care regimen was all wrong. His advice was to hit the reels with a few squirts of Windex, wipe them down and be done with it. So to be honest, I'm a bit confused on what care should be taken. I guess for now I'll follow Dan's advise, since he is an expert. Your mileage may vary.
I fish saltwater twice a week , most weeks. All I ever do is spray my combos down with windex , let it sit for a couple minutes ,then hose them off with a light mist from the water hose. Sometimes I blow them dry with a the compressor sometimes I don't.. Never a problem. But I do service the line roller bearings with penn grease about every three months. I fish Spinfishers , BG's , and Stradics and treat them all the same.
fvogel67 reply :
On 12/1/2019 at 11:06 PM, WRB said:Tackle Tour was sceptical regarding magnesium being salt water compatible claims for good reasons, marketing has been known to stretch the facts. Pflueger is brand name, where do you go to resovle false claims? If the reel is warranted and garenteed not to corrode then it's up to Pflueger to evaluate the the manufacturing flaw that caused the problem and 99.9% the cause is user damage.
Agree with your findings, just not naive enough to believe Pflueger's claim.
Peace,
Tom
I’ll buy You a Supreme and You can hang it on one of those SC7 rods You claim St Croix makes. Fish it in salt and give us a report. Peace
FishTank reply :
When I use to fish saltwater, I would rinse them off with fresh water immediately after use and oil what was needed.
As far as Magnesium goes..... Never in saltwater especially if it is a cheaply coated reel..... Science stuff below.
Chlorides, bromides, iodides and sulfates normally accelerate the corrosion of magnesium in aqueous solutions. Practically all heavy metal salts are likely to cause corrosion since magnesium normally displaces heavy metals from solution due to its high chemical activity, except iron phosphate solution.
06494G_Chapter_Sample.pdfFetching info...
fvogel67 reply :
On 12/2/2019 at 4:36 AM, FishTank said:When I use to fish saltwater, I would rinse them off with fresh water immediately after use and oil what was needed.
As far as Magnesium goes..... Never in saltwater especially if it is a cheaply coated reel..... Science stuff below.
Chlorides, bromides, iodides and sulfates normally accelerate the corrosion of magnesium in aqueous solutions. Practically all heavy metal salts are likely to cause corrosion since magnesium normally displaces heavy metals from solution due to its high chemical activity, except iron phosphate solution.
06494G_Chapter_Sample.pdf 376.31 kB · 1 download
My job is in the Chemical Industry,I’ve forgotten more about chemicals than you or any other poster will ever know about them.
That being said,Use the Supreme in salt and if it corrodes send it back.
Pretty simple They say it’s salt rated. Use it in salt if you want
WRB reply :
My limited 50 years experience solving corrosion issue for the Navy Ships for both SO2 sulfuric acid exhaust fumes and HN03 nitric acid exhaust fumes from turbine fuels with 5% salt for ( sea water) and galvanic corrosion from dissimilar metals was awarded several contracts with NAVSEA to introduce conductive composites to resolve corrosion and EMI problems for above deck surface ships.
Anyone familiar with galvanic metal index wouldn't recommend magnesium for a salt water application.
My mistake with SC7 was a typo, if you feel you want to forever hold that against me that's your issue.
Tom
PS, you might be surprised by the skills sets and education of BR members.
FishTank reply :
On 12/2/2019 at 5:05 AM, fvogel67 said:My job is in the Chemical Industry,I’ve forgotten more about chemicals than you or any other poster will ever know about them.
That being said,Use the Supreme in salt and if it corrodes send it back.
Pretty simple They say it’s salt rated. Use it in salt if you want
I think you're missing the point here.....
And just for the record I do have a background in chemistry but I work in printing. I just haven't used it since I stopped auditing inks and chemicals from Flint and Sun Chemicals about 20 years ago.
I think there are 3 words you need to look at in the above posts.....
1. Parts (not the frame).... Magnesium parts will corrode in saltwater no matter what the manufacture says about the reel.
2. Coating.... Some reels are coated better than others, shielding its frame. Once the coating wears out, it exposes the frame to corrosion. Magnesium corrodes the fastest.
3. Rinsing.... Everyone says to rinse the reel after use. This was common practice in saltwater fishing. Most people would rinse the reel, spray it with WD40, wipe it clean and some use products like Corrosion-X to prevent corrosion. Or if you're like me, I use to put it in a bucket of fresh water and let soak till I got back to the dock, hang to dry, and lube before using.
Also, the only reasons Pflueger list the Supreme as saltwater approved is if the user rinses the reel after each use, also the drag housing is sealed, and they claim their stainless steal bearings are corrosion resistant. All this depends on the user properly maintain their reel and using commonsense. Pflueger's claim can be said about a number of reels.
Glenn reply :
....and scene....
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