Maintenance 101 / 1-on-1

Michael Mimmo and his son Michael “Junior” Mimmo getting first-hand maintenance knowledge

This week we had the pleasure of sitting down for a face-to-face maintenance lesson with Mr. Mimmo (age 91 - who we refer to as “Big Mike”) and his son Michael to service Big Mike’s 16-year-old ZX-27. Note: prior to disassembly we did pressure test his reel just to see if water intruded, and it did not leak.

We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mimmo at JSS this month and got to hear about his frequent fishing trips to the New Jersey shore, his fly fishing excursions to Pulaski, as well as many years at Montauk and many other locations. Mr. Mimmo is no stranger at servicing reels as he is well-equipped with an arsenal of reels which he services himself, but with his ZeeBaaS being his pride and joy… he felt it was better to bring it to the pros and have it done.

As we sat and spoke with him, we quickly learned that Mike knows his stuff — he is very technical and he’s a man who asks all the right questions. For someone who was 91, Mr. Mimmo thinks, moves and looks like he’s in his mid-70! We took him through our disassembly, de-greasing and ultrasonic cleaning, then our rebuilding, testing, lubricating, and final testing. During this session we even taught him how to service his own line roller and knob as well. When he left our building, his 16-year-old reel was ready for another 16 years and beyond.

When you sit with a man who processes as many years of experience as Mr. Mimmo has and hear the interesting and unique stories he is sharing with you, you learn more than you thought you would if you only listen to what he is saying. Experience builds knowledge, but time builds wisdom. On this day we exchanged knowledge, but Big Mike shared pure wisdom!

This is just another example of what separates us from the rest of the industry - where else can you sit and learn service first hand? If you’re interested in something like this, give us a call. The more our family knows about their reels, the better!