Francis Loomis of Onondaga, New York, received a patent for the first automatic fly reel in the U.S. on December 7, 1880. The hard-rubber-sided, spring-loaded reel allowed anglers to bring the line back on the spool without the “vexatious and wearisome” task of using a crank to wind line in manually. This first model, predating Loomis’s partnership with James S. Plumb of nearby Syracuse, New York, features a tall line guide and finger-actuated spool release.
