I floated and fished the Deschutes 3 weekends ago with a friend. At the end of our trip, when I was securing the boat and gear, I noticed he had disassembled and tubed both my rods, and I assumed all was well... Until last night, when I unscrewed the tube on my prized and home-built Sage 486 LL to discover that the sock and rod was wet! --- and had been for 3 weeks! The mold smell was strong and the cork is swollen and discolored (greenish), the realseat is tarnished, and the epoxy on the guides looks suspect (cloudy in color and my thumbnail can scratch it)... CAN ANYONE HELP me get my rod back to normal? Should I clean it with something? Bleach? Hairdryer? Put it in the sun? Please help if you can, thanks, any suggestions are better than none.

Put the rod in the sun and make sure it stays there until all moisture is gone. Your epoxy finish may return to normal. The cork may need to be cleaned. All may not be lost, but it's always important not to put rods away wet. If you must, upcap and remove them from the tube just as soon as you get home. Of course, I doubt I need to tell you that now.

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Anything that gets wet, and is put away damp will become an experiment in corrosion resistant, and mildew-rot resistant. And it will become a growth medium for every cellular organism that is living on that thing (your fishing rod), living on your hands, and that was living in that water.

The soil and banks around fresh water are teeming with micro-organisms just waiting for the right conditions to appear that will allow them to start multiplying geometrically within a few hours. The right humidity (damp), food source (almost anything) and temperature (warm) are the main triggers for a population explosion.

Scrub brush with dishwashing soap.
Sand cork and re-polish with fine sandpaper.
Anti-fungal / disinfectant sprays / Lysol spray.
Usually mold-impregnated cloth is a permanent biohazard if bleach can’t be used during laundering and if Lysol spray doesn’t fully work. Better to replace if it in doubt.

Mold is usually black, and slimy or powdery.
Algae is usually green and slimy / moist.

The algae will eventually die when dry, and can be dried out by direct sunlight. But the algae still should be scrubbed off FIRST, before it dries out, if possible. The mold is a spore-forming fungus organism. Spores are notorious for there ability to survive heat and anything but rigorous sterilization techniques. Spores “bloom" once the dampness reaches its threshold, and there is the least bit of warmth & darkness - like inside a rod tube. That's why you gotta really get it clean and spray with Lysol. And put it away bone DRY. If it still smells like mold even after cleaning & Lysol, watch out - Once it gets humid enough, it may come back with a vengeance. -Cliff Hall+++