How To Properly Store Ice Fishing Equipment

Ice fishing equipment lets you fish even in the coldest winter conditions, but during the summer months it will just sit around your home and take up a great deal of space. If you want to declutter your home's closets and garage, you may want to look into putting your ice fishing equipment into a self-storage unit at a place like A Big A Self Storage until the weather turns cold again. However, before doing so, you need to do a couple of things to make sure that your equipment does not become damaged while it is not being used.

General Cleaning

The first thing that you should do before you put your ice fishing equipment into a storage unit is clean it. This does not entail anything extremely difficult: simply wipe down all of your equipment to remove any stuck on dirt, contaminants, and materials that could cause your equipment to dry out or become damaged over an extended period of time. Any sort of general household detergent can help remove stuck on materials. Be sure to let your equipment dry completely before putting it into storage, either by wiping it down with a towel or letting it air dry, as any sort of moisture that remains on your gear can cause mold to begin to grow, which can damage the fabric and other soft materials of your equipment.

Items of Note

Pay special attention to items that actually come into contact with fish. Your gutting knives and equipment needs to be polished and cleaned thoroughly and allowed to dry to prevent rust from beginning to develop. For items and cases designed to actually move fish around, you'll want to scrub them clean with detergent to ensure that they do not take on a fishy smell.

Auger Maintenance

Your auger is perhaps the most important part of your ice fishing equipment: if it doesn't work properly, you won't be able to cut through the ice at all. In order to ensure that your auger stays in good working condition while in storage, you should take it out of storage at least once a month and recharge the batteries. You should also add fuel stabilizer (available at most hardware and automotive stores) to the motor of the auger, and run it for a few minutes so that the stabilized fuel enters the carburetor. Doing this before you put your equipment into storage means that your auger will be able to work like its designed to as soon as you take it out of storage.

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