Re: oiling up your reels?
I usually just take any cover off I can n put a few drops in.
Why are you removing the cover? There is nothing "inside" a reel that requires oil.
Reel lubrication is one of my pet peeves. 99.9% of all the reels come in to my shop for repair are over oiled to the point that it's infiltrated the drag stack and the drag needs replaced. If oil is not seeping out of every crack, the reel is so caked with grease you can hardly turn the handle.
Gears get grease and most, not all, bearings get oil. Generally speaking, high-speed bearings get oiled and low speed bearings get greased.( i.e. The spool bearings on a casting reel get oiled. The spool bearings on a trolling reel and the bearings in the drive are greased). On a spinning reel, you need to oil the handle and the bail spring screw from time to time. The drives in the inexpensive spinning reels usually wears out before they require maintenance.
Between boat and surf tackle I service 30 some odd personal reels a winter.
The trolling reels get the drive gears cleaned and greased every two years unless there is an issue. The bearings are greased and drag stacks are disassembled, cleaned and inspected every year.
On my conventional surf reels, the spool bearings are oiled daily when in use. The gear grease is changed every other year.
