poor quality rod

[redbus9]

in may of this year i purchased a grauvell samoa 50 50lbs class boat rod from mr fish in gzira.cost approx 110 euros,looked a good rod.went to give it a service before putting it away for winter and was horrified to see how much corrosion was on the roller eyes.its only been out 3 times,once with skip and twice with my friend.i had to take all the rollers appart to clean the rust off them,but the top 4 eyes dont come out unless you bend the frame that holds the roller with a pliers and after you have cleaned it you put the roller back in and straiten the cage before you insert the screws.but the worst part is the actuall rollers and cage themselves.i new they werent stainless but they looked hard chromed,far from it,they are actually copper with a VERY VERY THIN coatjng of extremly soft chrome or most probably tin.the coating is so thin and soft that when i was cleaning the rust off with a NYLON dish washing up cloth i was wearing through the coating with just afew rubs and exposing the copper underneath. with the actuall rollers themselves every part had some form of corrosion from sticky inserts in the center of the roller to the actuall rollers them selves,well its all striped and cleaned as best i could and well coated in anti rust spray.By commparison my penn 115L reel which is as new as the rod and been used the same number of times looks as good as when it came out of its box so beware of grauvell boat rods with roller eyes unless you can be certain they are stainless steel.I,ve learned my lesson the hard way.

[Gazzetta]

Just a stupid question, have you washed the rod with fresh water and liquid soap after uses ??
After drying it have you sprayed some kind of anti rust, say WD40 on all the rollers and rod ??

I also have grauvell boat rods, 1 with rollers bought this year and used maybe 4 times and another one without rollers bought 3 years ago, till now no sign of rust on both of them.

Chris 

[Jonathan]

hi redbus9 - I would suggest that you contact Josef - the owner of MR Fish directly about the situation perhaps he can remedy the situation.

I had a problem with a Grauvell Shark reel where after 3 or 4 uses, the knob from which you hold the reel just broke off from the arm. I first took it back to his shop and his employees fixed it against a fee, then when I later brought the issue up with Josef directly, he refunded me fully. I must say that I have found Josef more helpful than the Grauvell company itself. When I wrote an email to Grauvell about the inaudible alarm of their reel (I think that the Grauvell Shark 30L has the poorest sounding alarm in reels of its class - you simply don't hear it if the engine is running), the company did not even bother to acknowledge my email, let alone act upon it.

[The_Gaffer]

Its very important to rince all tackle, rods, reels, lures, ect after use. I have had my penn senator rods and reels for 5 years now, and they still look as good as new. Also, at the end of each season, I spray on a fine film of lubricant on the rods and reels. The lubricant does not damage the line. For lures, I rince them in lukeworm water and some soap. Then spray them with a silicone based film for protection.

[rob1974]

Hi Gaffer,

Can you please name the products you use to clean you fishing hear?  Also, how do you rinse the reels, do you just wipe them with a cloth, or actually dismantle them and clean them through?

THanks

Rob

[Gazzetta]

I use a soft brush to rinse them with water and soap, then with water only to take of the soap, dry them with a towel and then spray some lubricant on the mechanical parts.

Chris 

[The_Gaffer]

Hi Gaffer,

Can you please name the products you use to clean you fishing hear?  Also, how do you rinse the reels, do you just wipe them with a cloth, or actually dismantle them and clean them through?

THanks

Rob

After use, I just set the water hose nozzle to release a fine spray of water, and go over the reels and rods with a fine spray.  Make sure if your reels are lever drag, to push the drag to maximum, else water will enter into the drag housing.  Then I just wipe them dry using a a dry cloth.  At the end of the season, I take the reels apart and give them a general service. Lubricating all places according to manufacturers specifications.  Then, reassemble, and cover with a fine spray of Castrol lubricant.  Same with the rods, especially the rollers. 

[rob1974]

Thanks.  I am still afraid to dismantle the reels myself and do the end of season service.  I have a broken old reel; should try some experiments on it to get the hang of things.

Rob

[placebo]

try mitchell rods ... best in the market for rust free!

[Gazzetta]

try mitchell rods ... best in the market for rust free!

What about SHIMANO ?? Super rods

Chris 

[placebo]

shimano are very good rods, but you must spend some good money to have a good shimano rod.

No matter what rod u are using it is a must that you clean away saltwater after every use, but i have personally found that Mitchell rods have that something extra regarding rust free rings!

Mitchell offers the best quality in rust free for a very small price. I own some Mitchell rods who are around 10years old now and still no sign of rust on the fuji rings. By the way i'm not a keen cleaner of rods after every fishing excursion!

It's a pity that you do not find a lot of new Mitchell models in Malta but personally i have found these rods one of the best for use in Saltwater.

Entry level Shimanos (under 50 euros) are nothing special compared to other brands especially when it comes to rust! Most of these models are made for freshwater use. There was a time when Shimano was very good but nowadays Shimano production moved also to China and it has become one of the ordinary rods when it comes to entry level.

Shimano are very good when it comes to reels but! Although comparing the present Shimanos reels to those models manufactured some 10 - 15 years ago it's nowhere near!

I have some old Shimano reels (Sedona, Spirex and the black old SuperX model) who does not have a sign of corrosion! the new SHimano reels come at a very good price but quality is nowhere near the old models regarding rust free finishes!

[camkev]

I have a mitchell rod for beach casting.It's been 7 years now since i  bought it,it still looks new without any rust on rollers.I also have 2 integra rods that are over 7 years old and they are still very good and not so expensive as mitchell or shimano.

[skip]

It's usually the butt and guides that are the expensive items on a rod. Compare even two shimano rods, one at the lower price end and the other more expensive, you'll see a different butt, probably with metal reel seats and ok a different blank, but it's the guides that cost the money.

As yours is a carbon rod redbus9, could be the guides aren't as great and that Grauvell placed more important on the blank in terms of the overall cost of your rod which I believe was very reasonably priced. Speak to Josef, contact details are on his site.

[redbus9]

yes nick,the rod was a good price but the chrome on the guides could have been so much better.next time i see you ,you will be able to see how thin the chrome or is it tin really is.I have rods in wales that you can clean the chrome with wire wool and it doesnt wear off

[shanook]

i have had my mitchell rod and okuma reel for 10years now and still going strong. Busu can vouch for the rod as he saw me bending it trying to prize it clear when stuck to bottom. I always just wash with fresh water after use and to store for winter its either a clean wash and leave in rod storage holder or else take off line and rewind it on one of those electrical wire wheels and spray the reel with wd 40, or a complete dismantle and spray with silicone spray and wipe.
rob there is nothing to be afraid of, just take note of what u are doing as i take it u are not very technical, so take ur time when doing things. I think skip had posted how to take apart a reel ........check with him.