Fishing historians have spent a long time trying to discover the history of the fishing reel. In 1651, literature reported a ‘wind’ at the bottom of the rod. This is most commonly recognised as the earliest known reference to the fishing reel. Until the 1800’s the fishing reel was only used to wind up excess fishing line. In the late 1800’s there was a swift progression of the multiplying fishing reel, which then allowed fishing reels to evolve into casting reels. Multiplying reels were invented in England, the fishing reels of George Snyder of Kentucky, became the most renowned of the 19^th century multiplying fishing reels. Snyders antique fishing reels were made in the 1820’s and became the base of “Kentucky Reels,” made by Meek, Sage, Hardman, Milam and Gayle. A lot of these reel makers were jewellers and had a lot of experience building gears and lathe work. Due to mass production many copies of these handmade reels were produced. In the late 1800’s there were advancements in antique fishing reels used for big game fishing. Keen anglers from around the globe discovered the big game fish in Florida. Reels were produced as the demand for big game fishing grew.

The industrial revolution drastically affected the manufacturing of fishing reels, new companies opened to produce fishing reels of different qualities. In the early 1900’s the growth of reel production grew rapidly and saw the birth of some of the more common makers such as Shakespeare, Montague, Pflueger and Hendrix. These companies produced quite inexpensive yet high quality antique fishing reels.

The depression in the 1930’s saw the halt of a lot of reel making companies. But the end of WWII in 1945 brought a large number of newly established companies to the fishing reel business. A lot of these companies only managed to last a few years but their reels are now extremely collectable.

When buying antique  or vintage fishing reels, be sure to ask yourself where you will be using your fishing reel and what kind of budget you have. If you want to fish in a river or stream then you will need a completely different reel to fish in the sea. If you are an inexperienced angler than buying something cheaper to practice with would be sensible. Then once you have a little experience under your belt then you can start to use antique fishing reels that are more advanced.