George W. Snyder

George W. Snyder (1780-1841) was a watchmaker and inventor.

George invented the fishing reel in the 1820s. He was a 19th-century reel maker from Paris, Kentucky. He is credited for inventing the very first American-made fishing reel in 1820. Snyder's reel was designed for fly fishing, and named the Kentucky Reel. Without patent or trademark protection, the Kentucky reel was quickly copied by many others, including Meek, Milam, Sage, Hardman and Gayle. These artisans were trained in Jewelry fabrication and were experienced in cutting gears, constructing small parts, and doing precision work. In time, the Kentucky Reel was mass-produced by the emerging factories located in the Northeast, where they could be produced at a fraction of the cost and time required for hand-built construction. The availability of more affordable fly reels greatly stimulated the sales and popularity of fly fishing equipment, and was soon applied to bait casting reels, resulting in a surge in the popularity of fishing as a pastime among all levels of American society.[1]

Here is an (article from EVOLUTION OF THE “KENTUCKY REEL”* by Dr. James A. Henshall

George Snyder was born in the same county as Daniel Boone—Bucks, Pa. He later went to Paris, Ky., then called Hopewell, about 1803, and died there on February 10th, 1841, aged sixty years. He was a skillful watchmaker and silversmith; being a good practical angler, and seeing the necessity for a rapid multiplying reel for black-bass fishing with the live minnow, he proceeded to invent one. Snyder’s first reel was made for his own use, about 1810. He afterward made reels for members of his club, and others.

See also

• Fishing reel