Washing your yakfishing gear

Then I hose the top of the truck down to remove the salt ...

This also very important.  Seawater dripping from my kayaks have turned my '86 4runner into an old rust bucket.  Salt has also eaten into the clearcoat finish of my newer 4runner. 

I hate the effects of salt water on my stuff. 

Hey Z,
you should check out the salt disolving stuff to pretreat your stuff before you hose it off. It's called saltX and it's consentrated, so I mix a batch and keep it in a spray bottle. Hit all the reels, lures, radio, pliers etc. Let soak for a few, then rinse off. I think it makes a big difference. Just fresh water often still leads to some corrosion issues.

I rinse everything too, I don't enjoy it, but it beats smelling it when I walk in the garage.   Mr. Clean lemon scent soap and a rinse with good dose of white vinegar in a tub of water (buy the gallon size of the cheapest you can find on the bottom shelf).   If the boots or socks get smelly, I'll wash them real carefully and then pour straight vinegar in them and not rinse it off, just let it dry.    For the lingering smell on the yak, I found some good stuff called ZAP odor remover at Smart and Final. Fabreze spray is good for the rash guard pits before a good wash.  I kind of wonder whether the fish can smell traces of all that stuff!   If I could store it all in a shed by itself, I'd probably not wash it all so much.

  I've got the big NRS boots that dry so slowly that they start to smell, even if I put them on top of my water heater in the closet, so now I put my ski boot heaters in them and they dry in a day or two.  These heaters look like sticks of dynamite, about 1"x 6" hooked together with electrical wire.  They probably get to about 110 degrees, you can hold them in your hands, so I don't think they'll damage the neoprene.  I think they use a larger version to keep the air circulating in docked boats.

      Sounds like everyone has pretty much the same routine. We stuff all the suits, booties, drive units, etc in coolers full of water. Rinse the reels/rods and other metal objects and place in the side yard shaded areas. Basically our side yard  looks like a "yard sale" for a couple days.

our side yard  looks like a "yard sale" for a couple days.

That's the bonus part! I look at all my much-loved paddling stuff out there on the line, just beyond the fishing mojo tiki man, take a sip from a cold bottle (or can these days) of life support and think "YEAH!"

I guess I enjoy it because looking out at all that drying gear extends the whole kayaking experience. Maybe its just more "madness"....

our side yard  looks like a "yard sale" for a couple days.

That's the bonus part! I look at all my much-loved paddling stuff out there on the line, just beyond the fishing mojo tiki man, take a sip from a cold bottle (or can these days) of life support and think "YEAH!"

I guess I enjoy it because looking out at all that drying gear extends the whole kayaking experience. Maybe its just more "madness"....

I drag it out of the truck in to the driveway, hose it all down (wetsuit, 'yak seat, paddle, leashes, net, etc.) I carefully wash out reels and the rods, hit the reels lightly with WD. I kind of like seeing the stuff waiting for me in the yard when I come from work like Piscean said -But I get it stowed back in the barn after a couple of days, unless I am heading back out!  MaDnEsS indeed. 

John

Immediate washing is overated.  Having been out on multiday trips without any washing whatsoever, it didn't seem to be a problem.

Hah!  I'm normally pretty anal about this and wash immediately upon getting home.  Everything gets a quick dunk in a tub of water.  And I mean everything.  Well, rods don't fit so get a spraydown.

I can get unloaded, washed up, and everything hang drying, in 15 minutes or less.  Shoot, it takes me much longer to pack to go fishing!

-Allen

Me, I always WD-40 my mirage drives, make sure to rinse every inch of my rods & reels, and rinse & hang all lures when fishing the salt. What are some of your rituals?

Pretty much the same myself, except I don't wash the lures.  But I do put my tackle in the sun for a while to air dry if any water got in there, but they are usually always dry inside the hatch of my Hobie.  I especially like when I can hose most of this stuff down before heading home, when there is a hose or wash station at the launch.  I do the WD40 on the mirage drive and the rudder, sometimes the hatch hinges too. 

  For me,  my OB has only been used in fresh water lately, but when I get it home I WD40.  On the few occasions of surf fishing, my chest waders, get a fresh water rinse, boots go into a 5 gal bucket for a soak, the reel gets a soak as well. Spool removed and soaked as well.  Rod gets a wet washcloth rub down then sprayed with reelX.  After a few minutes in the bucket the reel (Spinning) it shake it off real well, then, soak spool with reelX and spray reel crank with WD40.  Basically soak the reel with WD40 then wips it down.
   The washdown/spray lubing, takes maybe 45 min from time I get home to time I'm done.  Then drape waders over deck rail to dry,and set  boots in what sun I have to dry them quickly.

I have a pvc kayak rack that I put on the deck.  The yak goes upside-down on the rack and gets rinsed inside and out.  Poles, milk crate, etc. also get a good rinsing on the deck.  Wetsuit, booties and anything else neoprene gets soaked in a bathtub full of warm water and sink-the-stink (wetsuit soap).  Then everything gets laid out in the shade on the deck.  I would like to say I always get everything done as soon as I get back but, alot of times it's the next day.

Slap the wet suit in A bucket of water and (sink the stink) which you could pick up in any dive shop. Chill drink beer like my man Abking says and worry about it another day. Lifes Good.

Yeah, salt is a beeoohtch.
My routine sounds like all of yours. I'm gonna try the strap trick though.
I'm particular about how I access my lures and tackle while on the salt. I try real hard to not get water into any gear/tackle containers. If it's been used, it doesn't go back into the clean container until later when it's been rinsed and dried. I keep a tiny bucket where I throw all the little things that will need a wash. I just try to keep the work to a minimum cuz there's always enough to clean. Then you have to fillet and deal with that cleanup.
Gotta' make sure to rinse the bed of the truck too. I also rinse my sinkers in their container. I don't wear neoprene, just my breathables and croks. They rinse and dry quickly.
Rods and reels get rinsed, no special treatment. Good gear just keeps on ticking, very durable.
I too like the feeling and look of everything drying hanging on tree branches.
I plan on going through this routine tomorrow.

As soon as I get home, or maybe later, I put my fish in the sink to rest, then hose off my rods and reels in fresh water. I put my little Plano box out in the sun to dry. I think about rinsing my wetsuit and paddling gear, then go inside to clean my fish. Feed the cat a few scraps, and get rid of guts and heads and stuff. Then I have a beer. Then I think about washing my kayak. Then I take a nap for a while, and see what's on TV. Check NCKA website.

Sometime the next day, or maybe later, I wash the kayak and paddling gear. Sometimes there's a lot of sand on the boat, and I prefer to return most of it to the beach it came from to minimize my sand footprint.

That's my routine, which I follow mostly, unless I'm busy.

Hope that helps,

TallPaul

Good call on the vinegar, thanks.

The best part is getting everything packed away and knowing it's ready for redeployment at a moments notice.

Also, put some dielectric grease on your electronic's contacts.