Reel grease and oil is something many anglers overlook, and those same anglers go through fishing reels at a rapid rate compared to anglers who are diligent with maintaining their fishing reel and fishing gear.
Let’s take a look at some of the best reel grease and oil on the market, so you can decide what works best for you.
Top picks: Best Grease for Fishing Reels + Oils
Yamalube is our pick for the best grease for fishing reels. Not only is it great for reels, but it’s also great for other marine components found on a boat, like engines, steering components, and trolling motor components.
The fact that its aerosol allows for easy and fast application of the interflon fin grease to the reel internal components and the properties it exhibits is a win across the board from the solid coating when dry and the transparent and no staining properties.
This kit comes with both oil and grease in two small and convenient bottles, so it’s easy to store in the glove compartment of your boat, your tackle bag or box, or anywhere else.
It’s also manufactured by a highly trusted name in the fishing world, so you know it’s a quality product through and through.
The 5 Best Grease and Oils for Reels
Let’s take a look at some of the best oil and grease for fishing reels on the market. All of these will work great for both freshwater and saltwater fishing reels, and some can even work for other marine applications as well.
The Penn reel oil and lube pack is used by professional anglers around the world.
Penn reel oil and lube uses only the highest quality materials to produce its reel maintenance products, and this ensures that it will provide your reel with the best in corrosion resistance and in preventing rust.
The reel oil and lube offered in the Penn pack will give your reel an incredibly smooth operation while giving substantial longevity to the life of the components of the reel.
- Lube angler pack features both reel oil and grease
- Corrosion protection
- Greatly increases reel lifespan
The Daiwa reel oiler is great for keeping in your boat, tackle box or even your pocket for quick and easy reel oil application.
This reel oiler is perfect for quickly lubricating areas like worm gears on baitcaster reels and the reel shaft insert and gear area on spinning reels due to its needle-like applicator.
The reel oiler also features a handy clip on the body for convenient pocket carry, as well as a crystal clear see-through pen to see when you are running low on lubricant.
- Needle applicator
- convenient pen design
- pocket clip
Interflon fin super is a high-end aerosol lubricant that is amazing at lubricating a wide range of mechanical components, which includes fishing reels.
Interflon fin super lubricant will last 10x longer than many other lubricants on the market, and it does an excellent job at repelling foreign contaminants such as moisture, dirt, and dust.
One of the best aspects of this lubricant is that it drys to a solid non-sticky film, and is completely transparent with no staining, is dielectric, and is completely odorless.
- Incredibly long lifespan
- It dries to a solid film
- It does not stain/is transparent
Yamalube is a marine-specific grease and is designed to have high levels of water resistance. This prominent focus on water resistance makes it great for any marine lubrication application, including fishing reels.
Yamalube adheres to all frictional surfaces within a fishing reel, and with its water-resistant properties, it’s a great option for lubrication for your boat engine and both freshwater fishing reels or saltwater fishing reel, as Yamalube is great in saltwater applications as well.
- Works in saltwater environments
- Highly water-resistant
- Excellent adhesion
- Liberty Oil comes in a 1-fluid-oz bottle with a stainless steel needle tip dispenser. Because it is premium quality 100% clear non-staning oil it easily outperforms all other oils on the market.
- The bottles are new using LDPE, which is a very soft plastic that is easy to squeeze. You will also receive a 1.5inch 18-gauge stainless steel needle tip that is of pharmaceutical grade with patented Luer lock cap to insure that you have no leaks from your bottle and cap.
- Oil is blended from the finest high viscosity index solvent refined hydro-finished 100% pure paraffin base stocks available.
- Comes with a 30 day no questions asked return policy. If you are not 100% happy with your purchase I will refund your money.
- Comes with a medical grade 1 1/2 inch long stainless steel needle tip applicator for precision oiling with no mess.
What to Look for in Fishing Oil and Grease for Reels
Lubricating Properties
You will want to ensure that your reel oil has great lubrication properties, and this boils down to the viscosity of the material.
Viscosity is essentially the measurement of how “thick” the lubricant is, and you want to find a lubricant that has enough viscosity to adhere to the moving parts of your fishing reels and is still thin enough to flow over and around the parts to provide smooth operation.
Grease is different from oils in that it is thick and is meant to coat parts and last a long time. This reduces wear and tear on your fishing reels, gears, and other metal components over time.
Corrosion Resistance
Corrosion is one of the biggest enemies of any fishing reel, especially when fishing in saltwater conditions.
Many reels feature metal components made from brass and stainless steel, but there are always standard steel components in reels that are susceptible to corrosion.
Using grease and reel oil and making sure you regularly perform reel maintenance is important to fight against corrosion and can mean the difference between burning a reel out in 2 or 3 seasons of heavy use or lasting two or three times as long.
Water Resistance
Water resistance is important for the same section we discussed above to prevent rust from taking hold, along with corrosion. Water entering your reel in the form of condensation, rain, or submerging a reel in the water, is how it enters your reel.
Not only does water rust out and corrode metal parts, but it also washes away and hinders the full potential of your reel oil or grease.
This is why it is important to strip down completely and clean your reel while applying fresh lubricant, especially if your reels see heavy use throughout the season.
Thermal Stability
While having a major effect on components for most fishing applications, some forms of fishing can have fishing reels components seeing high levels of stress, which in turn can great high heat in the form of friction.
This is often the case when fishing large gamefish in saltwater fishing, and for freshwater fishing, strong fish like catfish, sturgeon, or other species where high forces can be placed on the gear and drag systems of a fishing reel.
If you are fishing for a large and hard fishing species, choosing reel oil or grease for your fishing reels should have you looking into the thermal capability of the product.
Oil vs. Grease
Some components should be applied with reel butter or grease, while others should have reel oil applied.
Gears should be greased as it tends to stay in place better, and gears see tons of movement and force that can easily displace reel oil due to the thinner viscosity of reel lube. Grease also tends to hold particulate matter compared to reel oil, so being inside the housing means it will come in contact with far less dirt and dust.
Reel oil is great for areas like reel handle bearings and the exposed worm gears of bait casting reels. Due to the thinner viscosity, reel oil will spread and evenly coat these parts of the fishing reels and prevent wear and tear along with smooth operation.
How to Grease a Fishing Reel
To properly grease a fishing reel, you are going to need to take the reel apart. There are many very small parts that are in a fishing reel, and to many, this can be a daunting task, or worse, the loss of parts and the loss of the entire reel.
If you are uncomfortable with the thought of taking apart the fishing reel, there are many tackle shops that can do this for you.
The application of grease is simple, and you can apply it to the gears and other reel components with a small brush or finger. Be sure to remove any grease that was in the reel before adding new grease. Stripping the reel of grease should be done before any new application.
When Should I Apply Fishing Reel Grease?
A good general rule of thumb is to apply grease to your reel every six months or twice a season. Many anglers will grease their reels in the late winter or early spring and then apply again in the fall. Sometimes due to heavy fishing, you may need to also apply new grease in the summer.
Final Thoughts on the Best Grease or Oil for Fishing Reels
Applying grease and oil to your freshwater or saltwater fishing reel is paramount to the functionality and life span of your reel. Grease and oil are something that should be kept with you in your boat or tacklebox if possible as well.
Proper reel maintenance will result in saving a ton of money as many of the reels we use cost hundreds of dollars. It will also greatly improve casting distance and smooth retrieves, along with preventing corrosion and rust and wearing out of components like gears.
