A fixed spool fishing reel having a spool shaft with a coaxial hollow rotor shaft rotatable thereabout. The reel is further provided with a handle shaft which extends transversely of and is offset relative to the spool shaft. First and second mutually orthogonal gears are coupled for rotation with the handle shaft, the first gear having an axis of rotation which is transverse of and offset from the spool shaft. Likewise for third and fourth gears, with the third gear being on the opposite side of the spool shaft relative to the first gear. The axis of the third gear is closer to the spool than that of the first gear. Likewise the fourth is closer than the second. The rotor shaft can be driven by the handle shaft selectively via the first or the third gear to change the gearing ratio.
