The Fishing Reel Patent Archive

The mechanical heart of American angling

19th century fishing reel

Patent drawing showing a circular skeleton fishing reel mounted on a rod section, with a central rotating disk, divided peripheral rings forming a tubular ring for line, and a side handle for winding, alongside detail views of the ring components and mounting plate.FISHING-REEL.William Billinghurst · August 9, 1859Patent drawing showing a hand gripping a fishing rod with a round reel attached (Fig. 1), a separate face view of the reel body (Fig. 2), and an end view of the reel with the cap removed exposing internal gearing and brake mechanism (Fig. 3).IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-LINE REELSAndrew Dougherty · February 9, 1864Patent drawing of a fishing reel showing a circular skeleton spool with radiating ribs inside a banded frame, a crank handle, and a side view of the spool's stamped sheet-metal construction.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-REELS.Anson Hatch · June 19, 1866Patent drawing showing a cutaway side view of a fishing reel with crank handle and internal gears (Fig. 1), and a front view of the reel's back plate exposing a set of interlocking gear wheels labeled H, I, J, K (Fig. 2).IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-REELSCharles W. MacCord · February 10, 1874Patent drawing of a cylindrical fishing reel showing its screw-threaded metal drum, cup-shaped end caps, internal spool and pinion gearing, and side crank handle.FISHING-REEL.George H. Palmer · July 24, 1883Patent drawing of a fishing reel showing a circular geared reel mounted in-line with a rod stock, with a side crank handle, gear wheel, pinion, and spring mechanism labeled with letters A through E.FISHING-REEL.John Dreiser · August 14, 1883Patent drawing showing a wood-handled fishing reel mounted between two rod sections, with side views revealing internal star-shaped and toothed gears, a crank handle, and a cross-sectional diagram labeling the spindle, gears, and slide mechanism.FISHING-REEL.Anton Lang · August 21, 1883Patent drawing showing a fishing reel with a coiled-wire spool mounted on a rod, an internal casing revealing a spring-driven gear and pinion mechanism, and detail views of the brake lever and pinion shaft.FISHING-REEL.Hiram Leroy Joslin · July 7, 1885Technical patent drawing of a fishing-line reel showing a circular hinged frame mounted on a fishing rod, with a detachable spool, crank handle, and labeled parts a, b, c, d, e, k, n, q, r, s across six figures.FISHING-LINE REEL.Clarence V. Roberts · October 13, 1885Patent drawing showing a round fishing reel with click and ratchet mechanism, a side view with foot, and an edge view of the reel mounted on a fishing pole held by a hand.FISHING-REEL.August F. Meisselbach · February 23, 1886Patent drawing of a nineteenth-century multiplying fishing reel showing the side plates, hand crank, internal gear wheel and pinion, bow-spring drag lever with thumb piece, and click-spring mechanism labeled with reference letters across eight figures.FISHING-REEL.Thomas Henry Chubb · September 27, 1887Patent drawing sheets showing a fishing reel's internal spring barrel, planetary gear train, friction brake wheels, and toothed rings, with a side elevation of the assembled reel mounted on a rod handle and hand crank.FISHING-REEL.Elbert Ball Porter · December 6, 1887Patent drawing sheets showing a cylindrical fishing rod handle with a detachable multiplying reel, exploded and sectioned views revealing internal gearing, click wheel, spring drag, and threaded sockets connecting handle segments.COMBINED REEL-HANDLE AND FISHING-REEL.Abraham Coates · March 20, 1888Patent drawing sheet showing seven figures of a fishing reel: end and side views of the reel frame with barrel and spring, cross-sections revealing the internal spring and shaft, a detachable crank handle, and the journal shaft with pocket for the spring hook.FISHING-REEL.Charles K. Bradford · June 19, 1888Patent drawing of an 1888 fish-line reel showing the reel mounted on a fishing rod, an exploded perspective of its spool, shaft, pulley and clutch sleeve, a cross-sectional view along the axis, and the bare frame with pillars and heads.FISH-LINE REELCharles F. Gillet · September 4, 1888Patent drawing of a circular fishing reel mechanism showing internal gears, a pivoted bed-piece, and a spring-loaded clutch assembly labeled with letters A through K across six figures.FISHING-REEL.David Harris · July 1, 1890Patent drawing of a 19th-century fishing reel showing exterior views (Figs. 1-2) with crank and spool, and internal gear mechanism views (Figs. 3-10) illustrating the spur gears, cam-piece, locking pins, and sliding plate used to engage, disengage, and lock the spool.FISHING-REEL.Alphonso F. Boardman · January 26, 1892Patent drawing sheets showing a spring-powered fishing reel with internal planetary gear train, cam-actuated clutch disk, hand crank, brake lever with wire line guard, and exploded views of individual gears and pinions.FISHING-REEL.Elbert Ball Porter · July 12, 1892Patent drawing sheet showing six views of a fishing reel: a full side view with crank handle labeled Fig.1, two side views of internal gearing with cog-wheels and pinions engaged and disengaged labeled Fig.2 and Fig.3, a cross-sectional end view labeled Fig.4, and two small detail views of the eccentric disk and cog-wheel labeled Fig.5 and Fig.6.FISHING-REEL.John Borchardt · August 30, 1892Patent drawing showing a fishing reel mounted on a rod, with a spoked bobbin wheel, a lever-and-spindle brake mechanism, and several small detail views of the friction plates, collar, nut, and spring components.FISHING-REEL.James H. Mount · November 1, 1892Patent drawing sheets showing cross-sections and elevations of a spring-actuated fishing reel with a hollow rod handle housing a coiled spring, gear train, friction brake wheel, and a detachable reel plate with labeled parts A through W and section views Fig.1 through Fig.6.FISHING-REELJoseph Singer · February 14, 1893Patent drawing of a spring-powered fishing reel showing a circular gear train inside a housing with pillars, a folding crank handle, and cross-sectional views revealing internal spur wheels, pinions, and a volute spring mechanism.FISHING-REELElbert B. Porter · May 16, 1893Patent drawing showing a fishing reel in longitudinal section with labeled frame, spool, gearing, crank, and a friction spring inside the crank hub, plus enlarged cross-section views of the spring mechanism.AUTOMATIC FISHING-REEL.Henry S. Stebbins · June 18, 1895Patent drawing sheet showing ten labeled figures of a circular fishing reel with an exposed spring drum, gear train, line spool with tongues and notches, brake lever mechanism, and detachable clamping ring, alongside a signed inventor's certification block.FISHING-REEL.Herman W. Martin · December 17, 1895Patent drawing showing a cylindrical fishing reel with internal gears, a hollow shaft, spring casing, clutch mechanism, and brake assembly, along with cross-sectional views labeled Fig. 1 through Fig. 5.FISHING-REEL.George H. Newell · December 17, 1895Patent drawing of a fishing reel mounted on a rod plate, showing an internal coiled spring, a cam-grooved drum, a swinging line guide arm with an eye, and a separate brake mechanism with a friction roller and ratchet teeth.FISHING-REELElisha Moore · April 19, 1898