Is it advisable to store my rods, reels, and tackle boxes in the garage during the cold winter months?  It is starting to get really cold in PA (highs now in the upper 30s) now so my fishing season is over. I was wondering is cold has any adverse affects on fishing gear. 

Cold shouldn’t hurt anything. Heat will though 

I try to keep anything I care about much inside, especially during extreme heat or cold. Might hurt, might not, but I’ve got more money invested in rods n reels than I’d care to spend again. So inside they come. 

You think they'll be OK in the cold, but you know they'll be OK in the house. If you have room, bring them inside.

I have a room in the house that's "mine"...it contains my gun safe, reloading equipment, fishing stuff, and anything else I may have that my wife doesn't want laying around the house. 

 

I am not worried about heat/cold, as I don't have a garage, and my boat lives outside with the cover on it from April-Nov.,  and only goes into a friends unheated barn during the winter...so my gear is exposed to the elements regularly, with no ill-effects. I keep my plastics in water proof boxes, and my terminal tackle, jigs/spinner/buzz/chatterbaits, and hard baits in Z-rust boxes and all is good. I basically bring them in the house before the boat goes into the barn just so I can play with my tackle all winter, and service my reels.

All my stuff stays in the garage, but it's insulated and heated. Plus here in TN it doesn't get super cold for long stretches of time. The one thing that I do religiously is back the drag off on all reels, tension knobs too.I read somewhere that it isn't good to store reels with the drag and tension tightened.

It all comes inside, for cleaning of reels and organizing tackle over the winter.

I bring everything in for the winter. It is all stored in my basement for cleaning and repairs. I cleaned everything out of my boat for the winter. I bring rods and reels in after every fishing trip. I don't like leaving them in the garage or in the rod box.

Inside, the "man cave." I've got too much coin invested in tackle to be leaving it in the cold or heat.

I bring my rods in as soon as I pull the plug. That was Sunday. I don’t leave any tackle in my boat over the winter. Don’t leave electronics on ever.  Long winter and plenty of time to go over my rods and reel maintenance. I believe it works, I do not encounter very many issues. Release the drags if you can remember, good advise from volz. All my stuff eventually makes its was indoors for some amount of time. As I go over all my soft bait storage, crankbaits and terminal tackle it pretty much is indoors. I never leave new bulk line outdoors. 

Have a small heater in garage to cut the cold a bit...but then I'm fortunate to at least fish once or twice a week.

Sure, we'd all like to keep our stuff inside, but to answer the question directly, cold will not hurt rods or reels.  Nylon line can get brittle, like all nylon does, from low humidity.  But I've never had a problem with line left in an unheated building.  Probably because when I use it, it's wet

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Dry is much more important than warm.  Of course I fish year round here in Virginia but made the mistake of getting the boat ready the night before and going ahead and putting my rods on deck.  This was my old guide boat.  My hands were cold all day long.  

 

 

I move my stuff inside during the winter.  My wife calls it a man-cave, I call it my sports room.  I use about 3 months of winter to organize and clean before the next fishing season begins.

Thanks for the info guys.  I never would have though about releasing the drag.

I have a corner of the basement that's all mine to store my fishing gear. Rods, reels, baits and tackle are there year round.

 

My canoe is stored outside on a rack above ground and covered by a tarp.

 

My kayak is on a rack in my unheated un-insulated garage.

11 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Dry is much more important than warm.  Of course I fish year round here in Virginia but made the mistake of getting the boat ready the night before and going ahead and putting my rods on deck.  This was my old guide boat.  My hands were cold all day long.  

 

 

Looks simular

I keep my gear in the fridge in the summer and in the stove in the winter. Keep them nice and comfty.

9 hours ago, KDW96 said:

Looks simular

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!!  

My gear stays down in the basement year round. It’s cool down there and out of the sunlight. 

I don’t have much, so 2 rods and a backpack will go in the basement. Hopefully 3 setups and a few more 3600’s full of goodies come out. I plan on telling her they’ve been breeding down there all winter.