For the record I do fish both a bearing reel and a bushing reel, and don't worry too much about them taking a hit here or there. This is on purpose as I personally don't fish reels I have to worry about getting battle scars from rocks, and certainly don't want to think about where to lie the reel in a safe place while thinking about the well being of my fish. And honestly if you are landing your fish properly for release you should not be anywhere near a rock to lay a toque or pouch down anyways, and if you are on shore landing a fish you are probably keeping it as it is a hatchery so no laying of the reel is necessary.
What I do think about is how will I keep the reel relatively dry in cold winter conditions, especially if it is one of my bearing reels as the bearing will freeze up and your day will be finished. I do however know that my bushing reel can be dried and cared for in the field after a soaking in order to continue for the rest of the day. This too me is the most important factor when "winter" steelhead fishing a bearing or bushing reel. All the other factors mentioned here are come down to personal preferences and mostly care and conditioning of your equipment.
For example; my bearing reels are supposedly sealed but I know they can get water, grit etc. in them over time. So when I know they will be sitting unused for some time I will soak the bearings in a carb cleaner/ machine oil mixture I mix myself. I leave them in this solution until I go to use that particular reel again. And yes I still have had to replace bearings, its just regular maintenance that is required, no different from a bushing reel with its adjustment screw needing to be adjusted over time.
Most importantly,I like to keep my toque on my head preferably dry.
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Topic: Pins , bushing or bearing (Read 12609 times)