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900 BCE
The first fishing rod is invented
It was discovered in Ancient Rome. People speculate that it was made of bone. The people that used it would tie line, usually made of horse hair on to the pole. Then they attached a sharp piece of metal or rock to the end to act as the hook. -
400
This is the time when we think that the first reel was invented
We think that the Chinese made the first fishing reel in 400 AD, but the only way that we knew they did was by paintings on walls and pots. We don't really know if they were making reels in the same way that we were. -
One of the first written evidence of The fishing reel
Thomas Barker, a seasoned fisherman of his time, wrote The Art of Angling. In that book he said, "A winder was useful for playing bigger fish¨. Until then People were still using a basic rod with horse hair tied to the end. -
Malloch Side Caster
This was a really confusing early reel. The spool is on the side for some reason. It was NOT widely used by fishermen most likely because of its confusing design. But it was an important innovation as it inspired Holden Illingworth to create his ground breaking reel. -
Samuel made a fun cool multi sectioned fishing rod
It was made of imported Calcutta and it was in in 6 pieces. it was made by Samuel Philippe. he made it in Bavaria when he was trying to sell violins. -
Holden Illingworth creates the patent for the first spinning reel
Holden Illingworth creates the first true Fixed spool/spinning reel where the spool permanently faces toward the tip of the rod. The line peels off during the cast. This is an important step to getting fishing gear to the place it is today. -
First Spin - Cast reel
Zebco makes a spin-cast reel which basically gives them a monopoly over the beginner fishing market. If you've gone fishing you've definitely used or seen a Spin - Cast reel. They are defined by their casting buttons, and easy to use components. -
Carbon fiber rod is a thing hip hip hooray
Carbon fiber a revolutionary new material has been added to fishing with the invention of the hardy 9 1/2 fishing rod. It was made by Fred Buller who was quite an innovative guy in the fishing world. -
Graphite makes it debut with the Fenwick HMG
This was the first graphite fishing rod to hit the market. The manufacturers were quick to make a graphite rod as soon as they had the materials they needed, but Fenwick was the first manufacturer to do it. The HMG - High Modulus Graphite - was a revolutionary tool for fishermen everywhere as graphite was not only lighter and stronger than fiber glass, it was stiffer as well. that meant that fishermen could take a more aggressive approach to fishing because their rod wouldn't break if big fish b -
The teardrop shaped reel is now a thing brought to you by Lews
The Speed Spool was an amazing innovation in casting reel technology. Its main competitor were the Ambassador reels that were a circular shape. Anglers liked the circular design of the
Ambassador reels as opposed to the oblong Lews reels but now bait casters are almost always oblong! -