The legend of Fin-Nor reels begins in the glory days of big game fishing: A time when Ernest Hemingway wrote the Nobel Prize-winning Old Man and The Sea; a time when only men with leather-like hands, salt-crusted beards and a steel determination would dare challenge the great fish of the sea; a time when gamefishing greats such Tommy Gifford and Alfred Glassell Jr. were expanding the sport's horizons.

The Fin-Nor brand was born in a Miami machine shop owned by Mr. Finley and Mr. Norwood, where the pair produced their first big game reel in 1933. It weighed 35 pounds and was large enough to fill a sizable water bucket. Capt. Tommy Gifford, collaborator on the reel design, caught a 527-pound bluefin tuna at Cat Cay on his reel, and Fin-Nor took off from there.

Fin-Nor's reputation for quality increased with the record catch of Alfred Glassell Jr's 1,560-pound black marlin in Cabo Blanco, Peru in 1953. Caught during the filming of Hemingway's Old Man and The Sea, this remains the largest black marlin on record with the International Game Fish Association. It’s just one of more than 380 world records listed with the I.G.F.A. taken with Fin-Nor tackle.

Fin-Nor's heritage of fine craftsmanship and unmatched durability continues as today’s anglers float in the footsteps of yesteryear’s gamefishing pioneers. Each Fin-Nor game reel leaves the factory with the blessing to top Alfred Glassell Jr’s long-standing record. The legacy of big game fishing is alive and stronger than ever at Fin-Nor, and in each crank of every handle on these exquisitely engineered reels.

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