The Fishing Reel Patent Archive

The mechanical heart of American angling

Drag mechanism

Cross-sectional line drawing of a fishing reel showing the spool D mounted between two head plates C and B, with gear teeth F, a crank handle G with wooden knob, and labeled parts including center pins E and E2, spindle H, and set-screw a, mounted on a vertical pillar frame A.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-LINE REELS.A. B. Hartill · August 7, 1866Patent drawing showing a fishing reel with a spool mounted in a ring frame, side bar with two sockets for attaching rod sections, and a spring drag mechanism with set-screw and thumb-piece.FISHING-LINE REEL.Erastus Titus, Jr. · September 6, 1887Patent 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 showing a hand gripping a fishing rod with an attached spool reel featuring a spoked flange and a thin metal drag band encircling its edge, alongside cross-sectional and detail views of the spool, post, and spring-loaded braking pin mechanism.FISHING-REELAugust F. Meisselbach and William Meisselbach · February 5, 1889Patent drawing sheet showing seven mechanical views of a fishing reel, including plan and end views, internal gear and cam sections, and isolated parts like the click disk, drag cam, and handle cog-wheel, all labeled with reference letters.FISHING-REEL.Richard E. Fenner · June 7, 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 of a cylindrical fishing reel shown in perspective and in several cutaway cross-sections revealing an internal spiral spring, gear train, clutch plate, click wheel, and crank handle mechanism.FISHING-REEL.Granville E. Medley · March 12, 1895