Spinning reel for fly-fishing

An improved spinning-reel particularly adapted to long fly-fishing casts with a shooting-head attached to trailing monofilament. The reel comprises a cylindrical solid shaft, with spool on one end, passing concentrically through and rotatably mounted in a hollow shaft, with bail on one end, rotatably mounted in a gear casing; so enabling the spool to rotate inside a stationary bail, and the bail to rotate about a non-rotating spool. The solid and hollow shafts are each driven by a reciprocally mounted gear thereon that may be axially engaged, by an externally controlled common drive selector, with either its pawl or the single, centrally located, crank-drive gear; so that one gear, at a fixed distance from the other, may be driven while the other is retained by its pawl. A rotating spool inside a stationary bail provides twist-free winding, storage and unwinding of a relatively massive, stiff, large-diameter shooting-head. A rotating bail about a non-rotating spool, for conventional retrieval of monofilament with line-twist, enables the monofilament's subsequent axial release with cancelling line-twist and the minimal tension so essential for long casts.

The present invention relates to fly-fishing with a shooting-head and a 
trailing monofilament, and more particularly to a fishing reel with a bail 
and spool either of which may be engaged with a crank and thus be rotated 
in its predetermined direction, opposite to that established for the 
other, while the other is prevented from doing so. This reel combines the 
easy retrieve and axial release of a conventional spinning reel, for said 
trailing monofilament, with the retrieval, storage and release of a 
conventional fly-reel without axial line-twist for said shooting-head. 
Fishing large waters for big fish with casts exceeding 100 feet is a 
significant and growing segment of fly-fishing. Conventional 
shooting-heads, with a light-weight trailing monofilament tied to the butt 
end and a leader attaching a fly to the forward end, are most frequently 
used to cast such distances. A typical shooting-head weighs 300 grains 
(0.7 ounce) and is 30 feet long. It comprises a tapered section, 
increasing in diameter from the forward end to a maximum diameter 
approximately seven feet removed, integrally joined with the remaining 23 
feet of the same maximum diameter. 
With the full 30 feet of the shooting-head beyond the fly-rod tip, maximum 
casting distances are realized by releasing the shooting-head, as a 
ballistic missile on a desired trajectory with a trailing monofilament, at 
the instant the shooting-head has attained a maximum linear velocity. 
Maximum trajectories also require that any tensile forces in the trailing 
and attached monofilament be kept to a minimum. 
While wading, long fly-fishing casts are conventionally made by releasing 
those coils of monofilament that have previously been stripped from the 
fly-reel, suspended from the fly-caster's mouth and partially submerged in 
water. Replacing that appreciable resistance to flight of the submerged 
monofilament with the minimal impedance offered by the axial release of 
said monofilament directly from a fixed arbor of a spinning-reel has 
resulted in a casting-distance increase of up to 50 percent. After fishing 
out any cast, the trailing monofilament is wound onto the spool of a 
conventional spinning-reel with an axial line-twist of approximately 360 
degrees per revolution of the bail about a non-rotating spool. Although 
acceptable for conventional limp, small-diameter monofilament, such 
line-twist magnitude will cause unacceptable, residual, coiled 
deformations in a conventional stiff, large-diameter shooting-head. Such 
deformations significantly increase air-resistance during the forward 
flight of said shooting-head, resulting in a lesser casting distance, and 
prevent laying the shooting-head straight on the water, which is so 
essential to distance casting. 
Reference is made to a document submitted to and filed by the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office on July 16, 1981. It was assigned Disclosure Document 
No. 101,521. This document has three sections; only that section titled 
Spinning-Reel for Fly-Fishing pertains to this application. 
Reference is taken to U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,802, dated Nov. 3, 1981, titled 
Line Routing and Storing Device, which enabled replacement of the 
significant resistance to flight of submerged monofilament with minimal 
impedance offered by the axial release of said monofilament directly from 
a fixed arbor. The present invention has the following advantages over 
said Line Routing and Storing Device: 
1. A single reel replaces the combination of conventional fly-reel and said 
Line Routing and Storing Device. 
2. Line retrieval is easier and faster. 
3. Wading depth is limited only by fishing-wader height rather than by the 
waist-belt mount of said Line Routing and Storing Device. 
4. Line routing is eliminated by storage of line on reel. 
5. Stripping stored monofilament from fixed arbor and winding same onto 
fly-reel, preparatory to playing a hooked fish off reel, is eliminated by 
storage of line on reel of present invention. 
The embodiment of the present reel illustrated in this specification has 
provisions for conventional level-winding and adjustable drag when one of 
said bail and spool is operably engaged by said crank.

In the following descriptions, the sense of clockwise and counterclockwise 
rotation will be given as seen in either of two directions. One direction 
is perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2, looking from crank toward 
gear-case. The other direction is along spool axis, looking from exposed 
end of spool toward gear-case. 
Referring to FIG. 2, foot 41 is conventionally mounted in fly-rod reel-seat 
with exposed end of spool 42 facing stripping-guide of said rod to which 
line 43 is directed from bail 44. For right-hand retrieve, crank 45 
appears as shown in FIG. 1. 
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, conventional clockwise rotation of crank 
45 in this embodiment drives attached crankshaft 46 and drive-gear 47 
clockwise causing spool-gear 48, when engaged, to rotate spool 42 
clockwise and bail-gear 49, when engaged, to rotate skirt 50 and bail 44 
counterclockwise. Said rotation of drive-gear 47 also causes reciprocation 
of slide-arm 51, attached spool-shaft 52 and spool 42. 
The present invention comprises cranking means, crank anti-reverse means, 
drag means, drag adjusting means, bail means, spool means, drive selector 
means, spool stop means, bail stop means and spool reciprocating means. 
Said cranking means comprise crank 45, attached crankshaft 46 and 
drive-gear 47. 
Said crank anti-reverse means comprise spring-loaded pawl 53 and engaged 
ratchet-wheel 54 attached to crankshaft 46. 
Said drag means comprise friction-washer 55 of suitable material compressed 
between abutting surfaces of head of crankshaft 46 and drive-gear 47. 
Said drag adjusting means comprise star-wheel 56 and spring-cup-washer 57; 
said star wheel threads onto crankshaft 46 compressing said 
spring-cup-washer against ratchet-wheel 54 and sleeve 58, which in turn 
force drive-gear 47 to compress friction-washer 55 between it and head of 
crankshaft 46. 
Said bail means comprise skirt 50 and bail 44. 
Said spool means comprise spool-shaft 52 and spool 42 secured on said 
spool-shaft between snap-ring and retaining nut. 
Said drive selector means comprise shaft-knob 59, shift-rod 60, yoke 61, 
and yoke 62; which is a duplicate of yoke 61. 
Said spool stop means comprise pawl 63 which can be operably engaged with 
spool-gear 48 to permit the latter to rotate in clockwise direction only. 
Said bail stop means comprise pawl 64, which is so located and oriented 
when engaged with bail-gear 49 to permit latter to rotate only in 
counterclockwise direction. 
Said spool reciprocating means comprise slide-arm 51 and 3-tooth portion of 
drive-gear 47. 
Referring to FIG. 5, in explanation of the functioning of one embodiment of 
the invention, counterclockwise rotation of crankshaft 46 is prevented by 
said crank anti-reverse means. Clockwise rotation of crank 45 drives said 
crankshaft clockwise. Clockwise rotation of crankshaft 46 is transmitted 
to drive-gear 47 by said drag means. Clockwise rotation of 3-tooth portion 
of said drive-gear causes reciprocating motion of slide-arm 51, attached 
spool-shaft 52 and spool 42 to enable level-winding of line 43 onto said 
spool. 
FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 illustrate the drive selector means of this embodiment. 
The arrangement and spacing of parts are such as to permit engagement of 
drive-gear 47 with only one of spool-gear 48 and bail-gear 49 at any one 
time. The location and length of slot in gear-case 65 predetermines the 
first (closest to skirt) and second (farthest from skirt, as shown in 
FIGS. 4 and 6) selection positions of shift-knob 59. In said second 
selection position of shift-knob 59, spool-gear 48 is disengaged from said 
drive-gear and engaged with pawl 63 while bail-gear 49 is disengaged from 
pawl 64 and engaged with said drive-gear; pawl 63 permits rotation of 
spool-gear 48 and spool 42 only in clockwise direction; bail-gear 49 may 
be rotated by crank 45 in counterclockwise direction or said bail-gear may 
be caused to rotate clockwise by so-rotating bail 50, due to tension of 
line 43 caused by an out-running fish, against insufficient drag means 
adjustment. In said first selection position of shift-knob 59, bail-gear 
49 is disengaged from drive-gear 47 and engaged with pawl 64 while 
spool-gear 48 is disengaged from pawl 63 and engaged with drive-gear 47; 
pawl 64 permits rotation of bail-gear 49 and bail 44 only in 
counterclockwise direction; spool-gear 48 may be rotated by crank 45 in 
clockwise direction or said spool-gear may be caused to rotate 
counterclockwise by so-rotating spool 42 and retaining-nut 66, due to an 
out-running fish or other cause of pull on line 43, against insufficient 
drag means adjustment. 
Conventional snap-rings secure slide-arm 51 to spool-shaft 52, yoke 61 to 
drive-selector rod 60 and spool-gear 48, and yoke 62 to said rod 60 and 
bail-gear 49. A conventional snap-ring with spacer-washer 67 retains 
sleeve of skirt 50 in anti-friction bearing 68 of gear-case 65. 
The present reel is particularly adapted to the winding and unwinding of a 
relatively massive fly-line in combination with the easy retrieval and 
axial release of the trailing and attached monofilament. Referring to 
FIGS. 1 and 2, when shift-knob 56 is in its left-most position and crank 
45 is rotated, the trailing monofilament is wound onto non-rotating spool 
42 by rotating a skirt-carried bail 44 via gears 47 and 49 while gear 48 
is engaged and retained by pawl 63. When shift-knob 56 is in its 
right-most position, the shooting-head is wound and unwound without axial 
line-twist only by rotation of spool 42 relative to stationary bail 44 via 
gears 47 and 48 while gear 49 is retained by engaged pawl 64. 
In fly-fishing, to prepare for a forward cast with the invention: 
(1) mount foot 41 of reel in conventional reel-seat; 
(2) with shift-knob 59 in said first selection position, strip leader and 
shooting-head from spool 42, past bail 44 positioned as shown in FIG. 2, 
with line 43 having sufficient tension to cause said spool to rotate 
counterclockwise against friction torque set by drag adjusting means; 
(3) conventionally thread leader and shooting-head through rod-guides and 
attach fly to free end of leader; 
(4) move shift-knob 59 to said second selection position and swing bail 44 
around conventional screws in skirt 50 to conventional open-position; and, 
(5) holding line 43 from spool 42 with sufficient slack in left-hand, false 
cast and feed out said line until full length of said shooting-head is 
beyond fly-rod tip. 
Conventional false casts and a forward cast are made with or without 
double-hauls. At instant of maximum forward velocity attained by 
shooting-head, release of left-hand grasp is made of said monofilament, 
which uncoils from and axially leaves spool 42, being pulled by said 
shooting-head of significant mass during trajectory of said forward cast. 
When a fish strikes, it is played off said reel in conventional 
spinning-reel manner with shift-knob 59 in second selection position; 
which causes bail 44 to be driven counterclockwise by crank 45 via said 
adjustable drag means. When butt-end of said shooting-head is retrieved to 
bail 44, said shift-knob is moved to said first selection position. 
Thereafter, until fish is either taken or released, line 43 is retrieved 
without imparting twist by turning crank 45 clockwise, causing spool 42 to 
rotate clockwise while bail 44 is prevented from so rotating by said bail 
stop means. Said drag means permit counterclockwise rotation of spool 42, 
for out-running fish, to release line 43 without imparting axial twist to 
said line. 
Having thus described the invention, it is understood that certain 
modifications in construction and arrangement of parts thereof will be 
made, as deemed necessary, without departing from the scope of the 
appended claim.