Abstract: A fishing reel consists of a crank which can be folded, when the reel is not in use for fishing. The crank consists of a hub which supports a lateral operating lever. The hub consists of two parts which are joined one on the other for relative pivoting around a shaft arranged perpendicularly to the hub and in a plane which contains the lever. These parts are held against relative pivoting by a sliding bolt which can be moved in directions along the lever. A spring tends to keep a profiled part of the bolt in engagement with a part of the combined profile provided in the part of the hub. A push rod, which forms part of the bolt, can be actuated in a direction in order to unlock the bolt, which makes it possible to fold the crank around the shaft. The reel can be used in all cases where it is desired that a fishing reel occupy as small as possible a volume when not in use for fishing.