So I get a phone call from a customer who tells me that one of his mates has pulled up his 8000SW Stella previously lost in 25m of water at one of his favourite GPS marks out wide. I guess that actually hooking it is more than astounding; it is impossible! Anyway, this reel was deep sixed 2 months prior, and of course he wanted to know what to do with it. I gather the guy who pulled it up phoned and was told to get it into freshwater ASAP (maybe someone listens to me after all!):

After the owner got it back he sent me the following photos of the damage:

I noticed the green verdigris on the bail arm, so my next suggestion was to soak the affected parts in white vinegar for a while, which apparently worked a treat. As can be seen from the breakdown, it came through the ordeal pretty well.

I couldn’t remove the tailcap without damaging it, so I left it in place until I had the replacement in my hands (just in case!). It was hard to believe that this reel had been under 3+ bar of pressure on the seafloor for two months! It had salty freshwater in it still, but it shows that if you can keep the air away from it the corrosion can be minimized. The parts covered with grease were untouched by corrosion; this is why I paint the inside of ALL inner reel surfaces with grease! Anyhoo… we ended up with a new rotor, new tail cap and associated parts, replaced most of the bearings (surprisingly a couple washed out ok, must have been packed with grease), new body seal (it had stretched somewhat, don’t know why) but the rest of it was good. Even the line roller still came apart and just needed new bearings. Check out the body and sidecover, they are perfect!

So how did it turn out?

Unfortunately the time it spent on the bottom affected the paint over the anodizing when run through the ultrasonic cleaner, but it spins, works and feels like a used Stella. It’s fully functional and the owner wanted it restored as a unique reel with one helluva story!

The only thing that looks pretty ordinary is the spool, which has corrosion pinholes in about 4-5 places. I have suggested that he tape over the holes on the outside and fill the pinholes with some metal epoxy or similar. Replacement was going to run over $350, so he decided he preferred the worn look!

I am sure there is plenty of life left in this reel, and it has an amazing story behind it!