A fixed spool fishing reel having a handle shaft connected to a handle to be rotated thereby and coupled to a bail arm drive of the wheel so that rotation of the handle shaft causes rotation of the bail arm. The handle shaft is coupled to the bail arm drive via a gear mechanism that enables the gear ratio between rotation of the handle shaft and rotation of the bail arm drive to be selectively altered. Also, a fixed spool fishing reel having a spool shaft and two gear wheels respectively on opposite sides of the spool shaft, both gear wheels being coupled to be driven by a rotary handle of the reel and both being selectable to be the one which drives a spool shaft oscillatory mechanism of the reel, the coupling between each of the said two gear wheels and the mechanism being via respective gearing arrangements to impart different respective ratios of handle rotary speed to oscillatory speed of the spool shaft.
