How Big-Game Reels Got Small

You can just about stop a truck with a conventional reel that fits in the palm of your hand these days, but when big-game fishing was in its infancy, reels were little more than direct-drive winches.

- Joe Albanese

The evolution took a little over 100 years, but now anglers can beat 1,000-pound fish with reels that weigh mere ounces.

W.H. Wood was widely credited with the first rod-andreel tarpon, a 93-pounder taken at the mouth of Florida's Caloosahatchee River in 1885. While landing a silver king of that size is a feat, it is even more impressive when the angler is using their fingertips and a patch of leather to slow the reel's spinning spool. This accomplishment inspired New York-based tackle manufacturer Edward vom Hofe to develop a reel with an internal drag system that utilized friction to slow a fish's run, which he employed to catch tarpon of his own.

Edward's brother, Julius, would run with his design, crafting a larger and stronger reel that could handle even tougher fish. C.P. Morehouse of the Tuna Club of Avalon would use one of Julius' reels to land a then-record 251-pound bluefin tuna off the coast of Catalina in 1899. The first rod-and-reel marlin was caught a few years later by fellow Tuna Club member Edward Llewellyn, though the reel he employed has been lost to history.

George Washington Blackburn patented the first anti-reverse system in 1907, eliminating the busted knuckles that accompanied battles with big fish. This created an arms race among tackle manufacturers, with Pflueger and Edward vom Hofe offering their own versions. Others quickly followed suit.

The advent of the star drag in 1913 allowed anglers to adjust drag pressure on the fly for the first time, greatly aiding their ability to land fish with the linen lines of the time. The brainchild of Tuna Club member William C. Boschen and developed in conjunction with reel-makers Julius vom Hofe and Joe Coxe, Boschen used one of the first star-drag models to land a 315-pound broadbill swordfish.