Fly fishing reel with a line retainer

A fly fishing reel having an integral line retainer is described. A stud and an elastomeric member are mounted on the reel providing a convenient line retainer which will not injure line.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention pertains to the art of fly fishing reels and means 
for improving the convenience of storage of such reels with lines. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Fishing is a sport enjoyed by millions. One type of fishing enjoyed by many 
people is fly fishing. In fly fishing, a lure known as a "fly" is attached 
to a line controlled by a fishing rod and reel. The fly fisherman casts 
the line and fly in a manner which delivers the fly to a selected 
location. Many fly fisherman spend hours perfecting their casting 
technique so that a fly may be delivered with accuracy to a desired 
location on the surface of a body of water and impact upon the body of 
water in a manner closely resembling the impact of a particular insect on 
that body of water. Over the years, fly fishing equipment has become very 
sophisticated. Fly rods are made of bamboo, space age composite materials 
and other similar materials to have specific flex characteristics which 
vary over the length of the rod in accordance with patterns which aid 
casting. Fly lines are often comprised of a length of backing line, a 
taper section, a leader and a tippet. Each section of the line is 
manufactured with special characteristics to aid in casting of the fly and 
line in accordance with the fisherman's desires. Fly fishing line is 
accordingly expensive. Fly reels have also developed into precision 
instruments. They are normally comprised of a frame which is fixed to the 
fly rod and supports a spindle and a spool which comprises a hub and two 
side walls. The spool is releasably retained on the spindle and holds the 
body of line being used. Spools are often equipped with a counterweight 
and handle or other means of being rotated so that following a cast, a fly 
fisherman may retrieve his line and fly in a controlled manner. Additional 
controls are often included on a fly reel to aid in the control of the 
line. These reels are often comprised of parts fabricated of light weight 
materials, such as aluminum alloy, and precisely fitted to provide a 
smooth, well balanced mechanism. 
The spools are often releasable from the frame of the fly reel for a number 
of reasons. These reasons include the ability to change lines easily by 
simply changing spools and ease in cleaning the fly reel. 
When a fly reel is not in use, fisherman have improvised means of retaining 
the line on the reel. These include tying the line to the base and other 
methods. When a spool containing line is removed from the reel or when the 
reel is not in use, retaining of the line becomes more difficult. 
This and other problems are overcome by the present invention wherein a fly 
fishing reel is provided with a line retainer. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fly fishing 
reel having a line retainer disposed thereon. 
Further in accordance with the invention, the line retainer comprises a 
stud having an enlarged head and an elastomeric member positioned against 
said stud head for gripping the line to be retained. 
Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided a fly 
fishing reel comprising a frame and spool with a handle on the spool and a 
line retainer located on the spool in a position diametrically opposed to 
the spool handle. 
Further in accordance with the invention the line retainer has a fixed mass 
which is related to the mass of the handle in approximately inverse 
proportion to the relationship between the distance from the spool axis of 
rotation to the line retainer and the distance from the spool axis to the 
handle. 
Yet further in accordance with the invention the handle and line retainer 
are both located near the periphery of the spool and have approximately 
the same mass. 
Still further in accordance with the invention the line retainer comprises 
a metallic stud having an enlarged head and a central shank portion 
extending inwardly from the large head. The central shank portion is fixed 
to the spool side wall. A resilient member surrounds the central shank and 
the end of a fishing line is retained between the resilient member and the 
inner surface of the head of the stud. 
Yet further in accordance with the invention the inner surface of the head 
of the stud has a conical portion and the outwardly facing surface of the 
resilient member is flat. These two surfaces define a V-shaped groove for 
admitting and retaining the end of the fishing line. 
Still further in accordance with the invention the resilient member 
outwardly facing surface and the inner surface of the head of the stud 
diverge from one another at an angle of about between five and ten 
degrees. 
Yet further in accordance with the invention, a conventional O-ring may be 
used as the resilient member whereby a line receiving groove is defined by 
the enlarged head portion and outwardly facing curve of the O-ring; and, a 
line locking void is defined by the inwardly facing curve of the O-ring, 
the enlarged head portion and the central shank. 
Still further in accordance with the invention the resilient member is an 
elastomeric member having a hardness of about Durometer 35-60 on the Shore 
A hardness scale. 
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a fly fishing 
reel of improved convenience. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fly fishing reel 
having a line retaining means such that line may be easily and securely 
retained on the spool when the spool is detached from the remainder of the 
reel. 
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a line 
retaining means on a fly fishing reel which does not require the knotting 
of the end of the line to retain the end of the line in fixed position for 
storage. 
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a line 
retaining mechanism on a fly fishing reel which will not injure the line, 
tippet or leader when in use. 
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a line 
retainer on a fly fishing reel allowing the quick retaining of the end of 
a fly line leader or tippet so that the spool may be quickly and 
conveniently removed without fear of losing or damaging the line. 
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become 
apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the 
invention taken together with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of 
illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the 
purpose of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows a side view of a fly fishing 
reel A in accordance with the present invention. A mounting base 12 having 
an arcuate surface 14 on its underside is used to mount the fishing reel 
on a fishing rod (not shown) in a conventional manner. As seen in FIGS. 2 
and 4, the mounting base 12 is fixed to a frame 16. 
Frame 16 is conventional in construction and comprises a generally circular 
side panel 18 upon which the remaining elements of the reel are mounted. A 
spindle 20 is fixed to the center of the side panel 18, a mounting base 
support flange 22 extends perpendicularly to the side panel 18 from its 
lower edge and a line guide 24 extends perpendicularly to the side panel 
18 from its top edge. A spool 30 is rotatably and removably mounted on the 
frame spindle 20. The spool 30 is comprised of an inner side wall 32, an 
outer side wall 34 and a hub 36. A length of fishing line 38 is normally 
wound upon the hub 36 and maintained in lateral position by the two side 
walls 32 and 34. 
The spindle 20 is provided with a truncated conical outer extremity 40, an 
annular groove 42 and a cylindrical main body portion 44. As can be seen 
in FIG. 4, the spool 30 is mounted on the frame 16 by sliding it onto the 
spindle 20. A spring loaded locking lever 46 is mounted on the exterior of 
the outer side wall 34 and protected in a housing 48. As the spool 30 is 
slid into the frame 16, the spindle outer extremity 40 pushes the spring 
loaded locking lever 46 outwardly from the axis of the hub until the spool 
is fully seated, at which point the locking lever 46 will be disposed over 
the annular groove 42 and spring inwardly, locking the spool 30 in place. 
The spool may be easily removed by manually pushing the locking lever 46 
to the disengaged position and removing the spool. 
A handle 52 is mounted on the outer side wall 34 of the spool 30. The 
handle 52 is comprised of a post 53 extending from the side wall 34, a 
machine screw 54 received in the outboard end of the post 53 and a sleeve 
56 surrounding the post 53. The machine screw 54 has an enlarged head and 
retains the sleeve on the post 53 and allows easy rotation of the sleeve 
56 about the post 53. 
All of the elements thus far described are conventional in fly fishing 
reels. Additionally, a drag or spool break (not shown) is normally mounted 
upon the side panel 18 of the frame 16 to interact with a disk or gear on 
the inner side wall 32 of the spool 30. This drag mechanism is adjustable 
and controls the ease of rotation of the spool 30 on the frame 16. 
Many of the above described elements are fabricated from aluminum alloy and 
carefully manufactured to produce a light weight reel with a smooth 
action. 
In accordance with the present invention, a line retainer 60 is fixed to 
the outer side wall 34 of the spool 30. As can best be seen in FIG. 1, the 
line retainer is mounted in a position diametrically opposed to the handle 
52. The distance from the axis of the spool 30 to the line retainer 60 is 
the same as the distance from the axis of the spool to the handle 52. An 
enlarged cross sectional view of the line retainer is seen in FIG. 3. The 
line retainer is comprised of a stud 62 having an enlarged head portion 
64, a cylindrical intermediate shank portion 66, and a reduced diameter 
mounting portion 68. The reduced diameter mounting portion 68 is received 
in a matching aperture in the spool outer side wall 34 and the end of the 
mounting portion 68 is expanded in a riveting operation permanently 
mounting the stud 62 to the outer side wall 34. 
A resilient annular member 70 is disposed around the intermediate shank 
portion of the stud 62 between the spool outer side wall 34 and the stud 
head portion 64. The annular member 70 is fabricated from a elastomeric 
i.e., rubber-like material which is relatively soft having a hardness of 
about Durometer 35-60 on the Shore A hardness scale. The annular member 
resembles a washer in that it has inner flat surface 72 and an outer flat 
surface 74 which are parallel to one another, an inner cylindrical surface 
and an outer cylindrical surface. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the inner flat 
surface 72 of the annular member lays against the surface of the spool 
outer side wall 34. The outer flat surface 74 faces the inwardly facing 
surface 76 of the stud head portion 64. The inwardly facing surface 76 of 
the stud head portion is comprised of a conical or outwardly flared outer 
portion 78 extending from the outside edge of the head portion 64 inwardly 
and a flat inner portion 80 extending, as shown, normal to the stud axis 
from the inner edge of the conical portion to the periphery of the stud 
intermediate shank portion 66. The flat portion 80 is parallel to the 
outwardly facing surface of the spool outer side wall 34. As can best be 
seen in FIG. 3, the resilient annular member 70 is fixed in place between 
the flat portion 80 on the one side and the spool outer side wall 34 on 
the other side in an annular region surrounding the intermediate shank 
portion 66 of the stud 62. 
A V-shaped groove is provided around the periphery of the line retainer 60 
defined by the outer flat surface 74 of the resilient member 70 and the 
conical portion 78 of the stud head portion 64. The conical portion 78 
diverges from the flat surface 74 at an angle of from five to ten degrees. 
This angle is sufficient to provide an opening at the outer end of the 
groove sufficiently large to admit a fishing line 38 or leader and a 
wedging action between the head portion 64 and the resilient member 70 to 
retain the line when it is pulled into the line retainer 60. 
The riveting means of fixing the stud 62 to the side wall 34 can be 
replaced by a number of other means. The reduced diameter mounting portion 
68 can be threaded with self-tapping threads or with threads matching 
threads cut into an aperture in the side wall 34. The stud can then be 
threaded in place and locked with thread lock or the like. This method 
allows the removal of the stud for the replacement of the resilient member 
70 should the fishing reel owner ever so desire. Alternatively, a flat 
headed or counter sunk nut or other similar device can be mated with a 
threaded stud to releasably hold the stud in place. 
The line retainer stud 62 is fabricated from brass or another dense 
material and appropriately plated. Its size and composition is selected to 
balance the weight of the handle 52 and it is mounted diametrically 
opposite the handle. In the preferred embodiment, the weights of the line 
retainer 60 and the handle 52 are approximately equal and the retainer is 
mounted the same distance from the spool axis as the handle 52. If the 
weights of the two assemblies are not the same, the distance from the axis 
of rotation of the spool 30 can be adjusted so that dynamic balance is 
achieved. 
The line retainer 60 performs two functions. It is available for the 
fisherman's use in fixing the end of the fly line 38 on the spool 30 in 
place and also acts as a counterweight to the handle 52. A well balanced 
spool is provided and a more convenient fishing reel and line storage 
spool provided for the fisherman. 
An alternate line retainer 160 is shown in FIG. 5. The alternate line 
retainer 160 is comprised of a stud 162 having an enlarged head portion 
164, a cylindrical intermediate shank portion 166 and a reduced diameter 
mounting portion 168. The reduced diameter mounting portion 168 is 
identical to the corresponding element seen in FIG. 3 and the stud 168 is 
mounted on the spool 30 in a manner identical to that described with 
reference to FIG. 3. 
A resilient annular member 170 is disposed around the intermediate shank 
portion 166 between the spool outer side wall 34 and the stud head portion 
164. The annular member is an elastomeric torus having a circular 
cross-section and is commonly referred to as an O-ring. 
The inwardly facing surface 176 of the stud head portion 164 can be 
slightly conical, flat or, as is shown, comprised of an outer conical 
portion 178 and an inner flat portion 180. The curvature of the annular 
member 170 and the inwardly facing surface 176 form a V-shaped groove 
around the stud 62 into which the line 38 to be retained may be easily 
introduced. The line is then pulled, forcing it into the enclosed void 184 
between the annular member 170, the stud intermediate shank portion 166 
and the enlarged head portion 164 in which it is retained until removed. 
The void 184 provides a positive lock on the line. 
Another alternate embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. The line retainer 260 of 
this embodiment is identical to the line retainer 160 seen in FIG. 5 
except the stud 262 is provided with a washer-like integral base portion 
282. The groove accommodating the resilient annular member 170 is thereby 
elevated above the spool outer side wall 34 and easier to reach. In all 
other respects, this embodiment operates identically to the embodiment of 
FIG. 5. 
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. 
It will be appreciated that modifications or alterations could be made 
without deviating from the present invention. Such modifications and 
alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of 
this specification. It is intended that all such modifications and 
alterations be included insofar as they come within the scope of the 
following claims or the equivalents thereof.