The reality of Super Tuning and reel maintenance

[Crankbait]

To super tune or not? I believe to truly get the answer to this question you would have to take two of the same reels super tune one and fish the two equally for a good length of time and see what happens. Myself personally I love a super tuned reel….but I have to agree with some things being said. You’re not really trying to sand or take off metal but more polish. I don’t and wouldn’t recommend starting at 600 grit. That being said I have been astonished by some of the reels that have been brought to me. Friction rings covered with rust! I don’t know that 3000 grit would of gotten that rust off. I do not believe that most reels coming from the factory are polished or as smooth as if you supertuned it. Honestly new reels are coming out with different metals in the friction ring I’m sure for better resistance to rust and wear against the brakes. I don’t try to convince an angler to super tune their reel. I have had anglers ask how I’m out casting them with me throwing 8 year old Pflueger purist and them throwing a Shimano Calais. I explain to them what I have done and to me what super tuning does. I think there are a number of things you can do to your reel straight out the box to increase performance of a reel. I’m sure most people realize that a reel company wants its reel to live past its warranty period! That’s just good business. What they don’t know is what type of angler is buying their reel. It may be the angler who is really into taking care of their reels…..or it may be the tournament angler who fishes than throws the rod in the locker and that’s it. Once that reel gets past the warranty I’m sure the company doesn’t mind working on the reel when it’s past it’s warranty period……because you pay. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that super tuning I believe done right isn’t bad for a reel. Question is what are you trying to get out of your reels? Me when I got into baitcasting reels I was fishing out of a mock Jon boat I loved off shore fishing. I was looking for increased distance so I could cover the ledges and humps and creek channels without having to move so much. After I super tuned my reels I started to look into bearings and upgraded bearings and the care of bearings. Then a learned about proper cleaning and maintenance. So let’s say you get 2 Shimano Calais. One you just spool up and throw on a rod. The 2nd reel you remove the grease, flush your bearings and simply polish (not sand ) the friction points of your reel. I guarantee you will notice a difference in the 2nd reel that was super tuned. No sanding at all. Also most anglers don’t know how a clean bearing can perform……but that’s another conversation. Super tuning has its place and most shops that do it understand this.