Fishing reel
They are typically attached near the handle of a fishing rod, though some specialized reels with pressure sensors for immediate retrieval are equipped on downrigger systems which are mounted directly to an ocean-going sport boat's gunwales or transoms and are used for "deep drop" and trolling.
An incident is disclosed in an excerpt from author Thomas Barker found in his book, The Art of Angling: wherein are discovered many rare secrets, very necessary to be knowne by all that delight in that recreation: ....
During the second half of the 20th century, Japanese and Scandinavian reel makers such as Shimano, Daiwa and ABU Garcia, previously all precision engineering manufacturers for biking equipments and watchmaking, began rising to dominate the world market.
In literary records, the earliest evidence of the fishing reel comes from a 3rd-century AD Chinese work entitled Lives of Famous Immortals,[2][3][4][5] where the term "angling lathe" (釣車) was used.
Song dynasty poets, such as Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) and Yang Wanli (1127–1206), also made reference to "angling lathe" in lyrics involving lakes and fishing boats.
The earliest known graphical depiction of a fishing reel, according to Joseph Needham, comes from a Southern Song (1127–1279) painting done in 1195 by Ma Yuan (c. 1160–1225) called "Angler on a Wintry Lake".
The painting, currently in collection at Tokyo National Museum after the looting of the Old Summer Palace, showing a man sitting on a small sampan boat while casting out his fishing line.
[6] The Sancai Tuhui, a Chinese encyclopedia published in 1609, features the next known picture of a fishing reel and vividly shows the windlass pulley of the device.
A full list of the tackles he sold included artificial flies and 'the best sort of multiplying brass winches both stop and plain.'
[12] Without patent or trademark protection, Snyder's Kentucky Reel was quickly copied by many others, including Meek, Milam, Sage, Hardman and Gayle.
[14][15] The founding of The Orvis Company helped institutionalize fly fishing by supplying angling equipment via the circulation of his tackle catalogs, distributed to a small but devoted customer list.
[17] Orvis first introduced the idea of using light metals with multiple perforated holes to construct the housing, resulting in a lighter reel that also allowed the spooled fly line to dry more quickly than a conventional, solid-sided design.
These large arbor reels provide an improved retrieve ratio and considerably more line and backing capacity, optimizing the design for the long runs of powerful ocean game fish.
To prevent corrosion, saltwater fly reels often use aerospace aluminum frames and spools, electroplated and/or stainless steel components, with sealed and waterproof bearing and drive mechanisms.
Most common is their use for surf fishing (beachcasting), or off the rocks, often with a larger diameter spool (6–7 in or 150–180 mm) and paired with a 12–16 ft or 3.7–4.9 m surfcasting rod.
Most baitcasting reels can also easily be palmed or thumbed to increase the drag, set the hook, or to accurately halt the lure at a given point in the cast.
[17] Featuring multiplying gears ranging from 2:1 to 4:1, these early reels had no drag mechanism, and anglers used their thumb on the spool to provide resistance to runs by a fish.
[17] Most fishing reels are suspended from the bottom side of the rod, since this position doesn't require wrist strength to overcome gravity while enabling the angler to cast and retrieve without changing hands.
[17] Baitcasting reels were originally designed to be cast when positioned atop the rod, then rotated upside-down to operate the crank handle while playing a fish or retrieving line.
These are very large and robust fishing reels, designed and built for heavy saltwater species such as tuna, marlin, sailfish and sharks.
Though modern centrifugal and/or magnetic braking systems help to control backlash, using a bait casting reel still requires practice and a certain amount of finesse on the part of the fisherman for best results.
Since a baitcaster's spool spins along with the fishing line leaving the reel, a simple flick of the thumb can stop a cast early or slow a lure while it is still in the air.
There is typically an internal axle that imparts a slight reciprocating motion to the spool, which allows the line to be wrapped in a more evenly distributed fashion.
[17] They were originally developed to allow the use of artificial flies, or other lures for trout or salmon, that were too light in weight to be easily cast by conventional or baitcasting reels.
Traditionally mounted above the rod, the spincast reel is also fitted with an external nose cone that encloses and protects the fixed spool.
Some designs also have an internal spring clicker that generates warning noises to remind the user whenever the line tension exceeds the drag setting.
Such mechanism serves to cap off the maximum line tension and prevents it from overloading and breaking when landing a strong or vigorously fighting fish.
Star drags work by screw action to increase or decrease the pressure on the washer stack which is usually located on the main driving gear.
The vast majority of line guides are a simple ring or short cylinder with a 2–3 mm (0.08–0.12 in) internal diameter, which slides horizontally along a spiral-groove shaft.
It has a silicon nitride-coated, rounded rectangle frame with a slightly serpentine shaped top profile, which can horizontally rotate 90° to alternate between a wide and a narrow cross-sectional width.
