Spinning as we know it today was generally frowned upon in the late 1800s and early 1900s era.
PD Malloch of Perth launched his popular and ingenious side casting reel in the late 1880s, but fly fishing was still the elite art form.
That said, it can be argued that spinning with a lure for salmon was more successful than fly fishing. The explosion of spinning baits and lures in the market between 1880-1940 backs up this theory.
Let’s face it, not everyone can fly fish well, however most can spin easily.
The early spinning reels were drum types such as Hardy Silex and it wasn’t until the Illingworth No 1 hit the scene that it all changed.
A couple of rare unusual spinning reels to look out for…
The Farsure Patent 1921 reel is not common at all, alloy with a half bail and rectangular coffin-like gear casing, the Patent and serial numbers normally stamped on the main casing, and unusual crank handle.
It looked like nothing else on the market, until fly reel and ex-Hardy engineer Walter Dingley introduced his Patent spinning reel, looking quite similar.
Dingley of course produced a masterpiece of engineering and parts of this reel look very similar to reels of today, unlike the Illingworth No1. Values are in the £100s , so look out for them and drop me a line if you have any unusual variants on the square case reel theme.
