Show off your Tackle and Storage Area?

[MuskieBait]

It should be fine.

Do realize that the cold weather could lower the viscosity of your grease and oil. Grease and oil could get thick enough to inhibit motion in your reel (anti-reverse, bearings, even some gears). If you happen to play with the reel, or just checking things out, and notices that your reel is not turning smoothly, DO NOT force it! Some reels have plastic parts that could snap, or screws that are screwed into the plastic housing that can strip with excessive force.

Warm up the reel before you turn the handle.

I suffered complete reel failure once while icefishing when the grease in the reel froze solid. I cranked on the reel too hard and the screw holding the little lever that controls the anti-reverse switch was stripped from the reel body. There was no way to fix the screw since plastic was completely stripped off the body and the hole was now much wider than the screw. Aside from that, I've also had reel drag seized since the oil in the felt washer froze.

If you don't intend to use your fishing rods and reels until spring, you shouldn't need to worry to much. And to be honest, the gear in the garage is not exposed to the full coldness, so it is somewhat protected.

Although theoretically rods can also get brittle in the cold, I've yet to have a rod snapped in the winter due to temperature. Guides, especially ceramic such as aluminum oxide, could also get brittle and crack easier in the cold. That's why many icefishing rods use stainless steel guides.