This invention relates to fishing reels and, more particularly, to a reel which combines the advantageous features of standard trolling and casting reels.
Different types of fishing reels are designed to be used under different conditions. For example, one popular type of reel is known as a casting reel where a line unwinds generally axially from a spool which does not move. This type of reel is designed to prevent the line from backlashing and becoming hopelessly tangled during casting. However, because casting reels can only provide support for the spool at one end so the line can unwind from the other end, casting reels are primarily used for light fishing and not designed to be used for heavy fishing such as, for example, surf fishing where larger fish are usually caught.
Another type of popular reel is known as a trolling reel where the line is wound and unwound generally perpendicular to the spool axis by turning the spool by means of a crank. Although this type of reel can be used for casting, one disadvantage is that backlashing oftentimes occurs which requires a tedious untangling process. Because of the way the line winds and unwinds, the spool can be supported at both ends so that trolling lines can advantageously be used for heavy fishing where there is a direct dead pull on the reel.
Numerous attempts have been made to combine the best features of these two types of reels. One common way of providing such a combination reel is to have a reel which can be rotated on the fishing rod so that when the line is casted it will unwind axially from the spool. The reel is then rotated about a pivot point so that the line is wound back onto the spool perpendicular to the spool axis. Such reels are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 744,454 and 2,604,272. However, these types of combination reels undesirably require extra moving parts which are required to enable the spool to be rotated before and after casting.
Other types of combination reels have been developed such as, for example, those shown in U. S. Pat. Nos. 2,034,917, 2,551,320, 2,621,869 and 3,089,663. The reels in those patents, however, cannot be used for the so-called heavy fishing because the spools are anchored only at one end so that if too much force is exerted by a heavy fish the spool cannot withstand the stress.
Other types of adaptations have been provided such as the ones shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,684 and British Pat. No. 20,609 (1902), where foldable guides are provided to allow the line to unwind axially from a spool during casting, the guide being foldable out of the way so that the line can be reeled in by turning the spool and receiving the line perpendicular to the spool axis. However, these reels just further complicate the casting and winding procedure and add more weight and additional movable parts to the fishing rod.