When To Buy a New Reel or Repair Old Reel?

A question many people ask me is, “Is it worth it to replace my old reel with a new one or to have it repaired?”  One item I’ll point out is that regularly scheduled reel service is different from a true reel repair.  All reels should be regularly serviced, but not all reels should be repaired.  There are many reasons to keep an older fishing reel; nostalgia or a family connection to the reel, the reel still performs great when it’s clean and the replacement cost of a quality reel can be high.   In my blog, How to Choose a Quality Baitcast Reel, I explain the components you want to look for when choosing and buying a quality reel.  The reels I’ve recommended in that article are built by major manufacturers and cost anywhere from $80 to upwards of $300.  If you’re buying one of these reels I would recommend having them serviced regularly and making necessary repairs versus replacing them.  

The buy a new reel or repair old reel question starts to get more complicated when a reel hasn’t been serviced regularly, might have some type of damage, isn’t a quality reel in the first place or isn’t in all that great a condition.  There are three questions I ask a customer when they bring this up to me:  1) Does the reel have nostalgic value?  Was this Grandpa’s reel that he gave you when you were a kid?  2) What type of damage does the reel have?  Most reels can be salvaged with some elbow grease and new parts.  The older reels might have hard to find components but for the most part you can always fix a reel.  3) What is the original cost vs. replacement cost?  Was this an expensive reel or was it a lower-end reel that can be easily replaced.  Those are the questions you’ll want to consider when/if this situation comes up (which it frequently does).  

With the advent of Amazon, eBay and online shopping, there are many more fishing reels to choose from, all at different price points.  To buy a new reel or repair old reel becomes less of a question especially when reel prices plunge below the $50 level.  Because of this I’m seeing more customers who have purchased off-brand or quite possibly inferior reels ask if they are worth repairing.  Again, I’d first suggest reading my blog, How to Choose a Quality Baitcast Reel, to find a quality reel.  However, many of us are curious about these reels and because they might be lower in cost we take a chance and buy one of them.  It wouldn’t be fair to make a blanket statement saying they are all inferior.  I can say that most of these reels haven’t been subjected to the rigorous testing that the major manufacturers put their reels through.  But the question still remains; are these reels worth repairing or replacing?  Well, like any reel they are still needing regular servicing.  Any reel will fail without it.  But if your reel was less than $50 USD I would suggest replacing it with a quality reel.  Most repairs, along with a regular servicing, will cost more than $50.  So save your money for a higher quality reel, have it serviced regularly and you’re going to be much happier in the long-run.

So what items would be considered ‘Fixable’ vs. ‘Not Fixable’?  

Reels can be finicky, especially baitcast reels, and in most cases can be easily fixed.  Baitcast reels are notorious for having small parts either fail or get out of alignment.  It’s a big problem when you’re out on the water and a reel stops working.  But many times it will be a small fix to get it back up and running.  I’ll give some specific problems that occur with reels so when you come across these you’ll have a better idea as to what is going wrong.

Troubleshooting Baitcast Reels

• The handle is spinning without engaging the spool.  This is normally an easy fix.  It has to do with either the anti-revers bearing going bad or in most cases a collar on the handle shaft has popped out of the gear.  
• The release button engages but doesn’t pop back up when you turn the handle.  Another easy fix where an internal part has come off it’s track or is out of alignment.
• Getting constant backlashes.  This is an easy fix and the reel needs servicing.  This can be a frozen bearing or there’s debris built up in the reel.  
• Losing casting distance.  Another easy fix that should go away after having the reel serviced.
• The handle is bent, which actually happens a lot.  A good reel repair service like Fischer Angling will be able to true up a handle with a little work.  If the handle is damaged so badly that it can’t be fixed it’s an easy part to have replaced.  Many times I like to upgrade a reel with a better aftermarket handle and this is a good time to do that.  The cost is much less than an entire quality reel.
• The reel becomes frozen or locks up.  This could be a serious issue or just something that will clear itself up after a good servicing.  When I see locked up reels there are several things that have happened.  A bearing could be rusted and frozen, internal gears are blocked with debris or even a small internal part has broken.  Small internal parts are normally not costly and much less that replacing a quality reel.
• Side panel won’t come off.  This is due to debris, normally salt, built up in the side panel.  Most people are a little nervous prying on their reel with a screwdriver or small dental tool.  However, we’ve seen this many times and know how to do it properly.  Eventually the side panel will come off.
• The body of the reel is starting to deteriorate.  This is a sign of a chemical reaction happening with the reel body most likely when coming into contact with salt water.  Cleaning a reel after each use and proper servicing will help keep this from happening.  It’s also a sign that a freshwater reel is being used in saltwater.   Unfortunately when it gets too bad there’s not much that can be done without replacing the entire reel.  Please take a look at my blog, How to Maintain and Store Your Fishing Reels Between Trips, on how to properly clean and store your reels.

Troubleshooting Spinning Reels

Spinning reels are less likely to experience problems than a baitcast reel.  There are a couple reasons for this.  A spinning reel has less moving parts and is an overall simpler design.  However, without proper servicing a spinning reel can experience as many problems as with a baitcast reel.  

• The bail isn’t opening.  The bail is a vulnerable component on a spinning reel because it’s doing a lot of work and is in contact with any debris or salt that the line brings in.  A reason for a bail not opening would be that the bail friction points have built up debris.  It’s typically salt buildup that will cause the bail to freeze and many times completely rust and break.  This is not a complicated fix and will be less than what a quality reel would cost.  
• Having difficulty cranking the line in.  Because a spinning reel has a fixed spool the bail and internal parts are working to wrap line onto the spool.  So you won’t have many issues with the spool.  But spinning reels have internal parts that can get wet or have debris build up.  If you have problems cranking a reel there’s normally debris on one of the gears.  Regular servicing should take care of this however there are times when internal parts freeze and need to be replaced.  Again, these are not complicated fixes and will be less than what a quality reel would cost.
• Handle not turning at all.  This is a fairly regular thing that happens with a spinning reel.  There could be many causes to this failure like an anti-reverse bearing freezing, a gear might not have enough lubrication, or even the bail is stuck open.  Further investigation would need to happen to solve an issue like this.  And again, it’s probably something that a good service would take care of. 

Conclusion

As we’ve discussed in this article there are many factors at play with the question of whether ro buy a new reel or repair old reel.  Most reel problems can be fixed, but in some cases the time and money to fix these problems makes it just not worth it.  Purchasing a quality reel and having it serviced regularly should eliminate 90% of the problems you’ll have with a reel.  When you do have a problem, asking yourself the questions above will help in your decision to buy a new reel or repair old reel.  Please remember that Fischer Angling is dedicated to helping you through any of these issues to quickly get you back on the water.  Thanks again and keep those lines tight!