Fly fishing reel with brake assembly and methods

A fishing reel comprising

• a housing having a radially inward facing surface;
• a spool configured to have a length of fishing line wound thereon and being rotatably mounted to the housing, the spool comprising at least one brake mount;
• and
• a brake assembly including a mounting plate, a backing plate, and at least one pawl, the at least one pawl having a contact surface arranged to contact the radially inward facing surface to create a braking force that reduces a rotation speed of the spool relative to the housing, the brake assembly being reversibly and detachably mounted to the spool in a first position providing a right hand arrangement for the fishing reel and a second position providing a left hand arrangement for the fishing reel, and wherein the at least one pawl comprises a weighted plate removably attached to an end of the at least one pawl, the mounting plate comprising at least one mounting plate spool mount and the backing plate comprising at least one backing plate spool mount, wherein, in the left-handed reel arrangement, the mounting plate is attached to the spool by attaching the at least one mounting plate spool mount directly to the at least one brake mount and the at least one backing plate spool mount is spaced apart from the at least one brake mount, and wherein, in the right-handed reel arrangement, the backing plate is attached to the spool by attaching the at least one backing plate spool mount directly to the at least one brake mount and the at least one mounting plate spool mount is spaced apart from the at least one brake mount, and wherein in both the left-handed reel arrangement and the right-handed reel arrangement a fastener extends through the at least one mounting plate spool mount, the at least one backing plate spool mount, and the at least one brake mount.

A method of operating a fishing reel, the method comprising:

• providing a housing, a spool, and a brake assembly mounted to the spool, the spool being rotatably mounted to the housing and having fishing line wound thereon, the brake assembly including a mounting plate, a backing plate, and a plurality of pivotally mounted pawls, the plurality of pawls each including a contact surface, the mounting plate comprising at least one mounting plate spool mount and the backing plate comprising at least one backing plate spool mount, the spool configured to have a length of fishing line wound thereon, wherein the brake assembly is reversibly mounted to the spool;
• moving the contact surface of the plurality of pawls into contact with the housing to create a braking force that slows down rotation of the spool upon application of a centrifugal force when the fishing line is pulled by a fish;
• mounting the brake assembly to the spool in a first orientation to provide a right-handed fishing reel configuration, wherein, in the right-handed fishing reel configuration, the backing plate is attached to the spool by attaching the at least one backing plate spool mount directly to the at least one brake mount and the at least one mounting plate spool mount is spaced apart from the at least one brake mount;
• detaching the brake assembly from the spool;
• rotating the brake assembly relative to the spool;
• and
• attaching the brake assembly to the spool in a second orientation to provide a left-handed fishing reel configuration, wherein, in the left-handed fishing reel configuration, the mounting plate is attached to the spool by attaching the at least one mounting plate spool mount directly to the at least one brake mount and the at least one backing plate spool mount is spaced apart from the at least one brake mount, and wherein in both the left-handed fishing reel configuration and the right-handed fishing reel configuration a fastener extends through the at least one mounting plate spool mount, the at least one backing plate spool mount, and the at least one brake mount.