Bait runner/free spool reels - When did this become a thing?

[MaggotDrowner]

Not so traditional, but I was just wondering when bait runners first appeared. I've been using the same ones since I first started going carp fishing with my Dad. I have no idea how long he had had them before I was allowed to start going carp fishing with him. There were years of watching and learning before I finally got to use them myself.

Which was the first brand the developed bait runners/free spools? What was the name of the reel? How long ago was this?

[Mark]

Never had one or used one myself MD so I can't answer your question unfortunately.

[MaggotDrowner]

As you know I'm very new to the world of vintage fishing tackle, Mark. (Unless you count my hollow glass, early to mid 70s, Sealey Specialist rod that I learnt to fish with as traditional. I still use and love it because it's so twangy. It makes a 2oz perch seem big for the first few seconds. I once caught a 3-4lb tench with it, purely by chance. It was one of the best fights I've ever had. )


There isn't that much of a need for bait runners to be fair. It's basically the same as turning the anti-reverse off on a fixed spool. I would think that would lead to a few more tangles though.

[Haydn Clarke]

Excluding any mods to normal fixed spool reels, like the Mitchell Rollex spools for example, I think the first baitrunners were the Triton Sea spin one that Shimano produced. There's an old thread on this:

http://traditionalfisherman.co.uk/viewt ... =44&t=1988

[Snape]

I recall them being around in the 80's but I never had one but according to this they may have come out in the 70's.

http://members.madasafish.com/~thepiper/new_page_11.htm

[Gary Bills]

I have a Shimano 5010, from pike fishing days: not a bad reel, however - too big for carp stalking, and too chunky, in my opinion. The handle gets wobble if the carbon cap fastener on the other side loosens, which it is apt to do. The roller in the bail is far too large, in my view; the clutch is only average. The bait-runner, even on the lightest setting, could lead to dropped pike runs, so I rarely used it - going open bail instead.
I do prefer my Mitchells - 300s, 410 and 410a.

[JohnL]

The centrepin is the original baitrunner, it just took fixed spools a long time to catch up.

[JohnL]

I must admit I do own several shimano and okuma bait runners. They were great for teaching my children to carp fish as it meant that I didn't have to keep diving in the lake to retrieve the rod.

[Chavender]

i think the original seaspins came out in the late 70's but didn't catch on with the carp anglers until a few years later .i swapped a shimano 5010 i used for mainly eel fishing ,for a centrepin in 98' i think .my first centrepin for 20years a 5" rolls royce stanton ,got rid of it a few years ago ,then swapped a aventa pro to get it back .because i missed it .

[Gateleaner]

I still have my pairs of Shimano Aero 3500's and 4500's which bought new around 1979. They may be baitrunners but that's still over 30 years old. I didn't like the double handles that came in next.
Anyway 30 years on and still going strong. To be honest they are superb reels. Not as charismatic as a Mitchell 300's or 410's or the pins but nevertheless reels from my youth and I love them.