The Fishing Reel Patent Archive

The mechanical heart of American angling

Level wind

Patent drawing of a fishing reel mounted on a wooden post, showing a spool of line, a crank handle, and a sliding bar mechanism (Fig. 1), alongside a circular end view revealing the internal gear train (Fig. 2).IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-REELS.Mark S. Palmer · February 28, 1860Patent drawing showing a long cylindrical fishing pole casing containing an internal reel and gear mechanism, with a side crank handle and several cross-sectional views of the gear and clutch assembly labeled Fig. 1 through Fig. 5.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-LINE REELS.William M. Stuart · August 29, 1865Patent drawing of a 19th-century fishing reel showing a front elevation with hand crank and level-wind mechanism, plus two circular sectional views revealing internal gearing including a fan-shaped brake regulator, small pinions, and a spiral-grooved traversing screw for the line guide.IMPROVEMENT IN ANGLING-REELSCharles L. Noe · January 28, 1873Perspective patent drawing of a fishing reel mounted on a rod handle, showing the spooled reel, side frames labeled B, a crank with wooden handle, and a small line-guide pulley labeled G and E mounted on a cross-bar above the spool, with smaller detail figures below showing the pulley and bar mechanism.LINE-REEL FOR FISHING-TACKLE.Charles H. Briggs · September 8, 1885Patent drawing of a cylindrical fishing reel with a crank handle, showing internal spool, double-threaded transverse shaft, and a sliding line guide mechanism, along with several detailed cross-section figures of the gear and dog components.FISHING-REEL.Andrew B. Hendryx · October 26, 1886Patent drawing of a fishing reel showing the winding drum with crank handle, an internal grooved cylinder mechanism for laying line evenly, and separate detail views of the tension yoke, guide bar, and pinion gearing.FISHING-REEL.Joseph Patrick Costigan · January 22, 1889Patent drawing sheet showing five figures of a fishing reel line-guide mechanism, including side and front elevations of small and large reels with a screw-cylinder, follower, guide tube, and crank, plus a detached perspective view of the guide tube with clamp pins.LINE-GUIDE FOR FISHING-REELS.Christian E. Moller and Charles Raettig · April 9, 1889Patent drawing of a fishing rod butt section shown in full side view and in longitudinal cross-section, revealing an internal tubular shaft, spool, gears, sprocket wheels, endless chain, and a side-mounted crank handle, with several smaller detail views of alternate mechanisms.FISHING-ROD.Henry P. Morgan · April 12, 1892Patent drawing of a fishing reel with an automatic line guide, showing internal cog wheels, a pivoting arm, and an adjustable slotted arm mounted on the reel's side plate, alongside plan and sectional views of the gear mechanism.AUTOMATIC REEL-GUIDE.J. Farnum Wellington · March 20, 1894Patent drawing sheet showing a classic bait-casting style fish-line reel in side elevation (Fig. 1) with end plate, crank handle, and internal spool, plus a gear-train cutaway (Fig. 2), a reversely-grooved worm shaft with a traveling guide ring and hinged cap (Figs. 3-9), all labeled with reference letters A through V.FISH-LINE REELNelson H. McGregor · May 29, 1894Patent drawing sheet showing six figures of a fishing reel: a front elevation with crank handle and end plates, an end view revealing internal gears and pinion, a cross-section through the spool and grooved shaft, a detail of the reversely grooved shaft with a sliding guide, a small forked guide ring, and a simple crank handle.FISH-LINE REEL.Nelson H. McGregor · June 26, 1894Patent drawing of a Kruschke fishing reel showing an exploded perspective view with crank handle, internal gears, spool shaft, cam cylinder, and level-wind guide arm, alongside cross-sectional and detail views of the brake and gear mechanisms.FISHING-REEL.Rudolph C. Kruschke · June 8, 1897Patent drawing sheet showing seven figures of a fishing reel with side plates, cross-bars, grooved spindles, a crank handle, gear casing, and a click mechanism, labeled with letters A through Z identifying each part.FISH-LINE REEL.William Shakespeare, Jr. · October 5, 1897Patent 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, 1898Patent drawing sheet showing eight numbered figures of a geared fishing reel, including side and sectional views revealing internal gear wheels, a clutch pinion, a brake lever with shoe, a screw-spindle level-wind guide, and a small pinion detail, with inventor's signature and witness signatures at bottom.FISHING-REEL.George O. Brosnaham, Jr. · December 6, 1898Patent drawing showing a fishing rod section with an oscillating reel frame, pivoting saddle foot, crank handle, and a line-guiding lever with an eye at its tip, illustrated in side, plan, and cross-sectional views.AUTOMATIC LINE WINDING ATTACHMENT FOR REELS.Charles Toepfer · September 21, 1915