Archive for the ‘Hardy fishing reel’ Category

Hardy fishing reels

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Hardy Bros started way back in 1872 in Alnwick England and soon started to produce some of the finest fishing reels in the World that would endure for a century and more. Hardy fishing reels are made from the finest materials sourced from around the globe, and handcrafted into the finished reel.

Hardy Bros were always testing and innovative for instance they were the first to produce ball bearing reels. They incorporated a check mechanism housed inside the reel arbour, once again a first.  In 1911 they made the first large arbor reel, this all goes to prove that Hardy Bros were predominant  in innovator producing top quality Hardy fishing reels, and other fishing tackle products, if anything went wrong with a reel then it could be returned and it would be rectified often for no cost.

The heart of Hardy’s product line are their fly reels, one of the most valuable reels on the vintage reel market today is the Original Perfect in the 2 ¼” diameter size, it is the ultimate Hardy collectors reel of which theirs only two known examples.

The Perfect was the foundation of the fly line fishing reel, and remained so till a few years ago when production stopped.  The original perfect fly fishing reels were made between 1890 – 1892 and the sizes between 2.1/4” to  5.1/4”, it was based on a new ball bearings concept and fully described and patented in 1888. Then came the traditional perfect between 1892/3 which did retain some of the original features but also had nickel silver pillars, ivory handle.

The 2 1/2″ brass Perfect is great example of their early workmanship.  A circular spring checking mechanism demanded exact tolerances and workmanship. The interior detail was finished to the same high standards  as the exterior ones. It had an ivorine handle a brass strap protecting the drag adjusting knob.

Many Hardy fishing reels were produced by hardy’s over the years, the following just a few:

The Birmingham Half-ebonite 1889-1896
Bronzed Crank 1880 – 1909
Hardy Nottingham 1888-1921
Nottingham Silex 1899-1911
Nottingham lever action reel 1912-1922
Silex Major  and minor 1923-1952
Super Silex Multiplier 1930-1939

The list just goes on, the Longstone, Farne, Uniqua, St.George, Sea silex,  natal, Fortuna etc.

All Hardy fishing reels ever produced have been produced to exacting standards, most were great successes a few flops, nearly all Hardy fishing reels are avidly collected and exchange hands at ever escalating prices. If you are lucky to get some of the earlier models especially the original and traditional perfects then keep hold of them they will be a great investment especially in these harder financial times.

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need to buy a fly new rod and reel?

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

which one would you recomend hardy or sage ? price dont matter need to get it right an what model would it be?

Robert,

My nickname isn't Sagefisher by accident, I fish with Sage fly rods. I am a little prejudiced towards Sage, but then they make an excellent array of fly rods. They are all handmade made here in the United States.

There are a number of good fly rods out there. Sage is one of the best. Winston is also one of the best, but it's low end rods are now made overseas. Thomas & Thomas was just purchased by an English company so I don't know what they are going to do with their rods. Hardy is an English company and I am not familiar with their products.

Personally, I say buy Sage, you can't go wrong. The lifetime warranty is great, but then a number of other companies have had to start lifetime warranties as well, to try to keep up with the top of the line rods.

As for which Sage, that does depend on how much you want to spend and more importantly, your level of casting skill.

Sage breaks their fly rods down into three groups: Premium Fly Rods; Specialty Fly Rods; and Value Fly Rods.

The Specialty Fly Rod is the saltwater rated Xi2. This is a great saltwater fly rod, they make them from 4 weights to 16 weights. They are made for serious saltwater fishing.

The Premium Fly Rod is the area you may want to take a look at. They have a wider selection of rod actions and sizes.

In this area you have the very technical and extremely ultra fast action TCR fly rod. Unless you are a master caster I wouldn't consider this rod.

The new Z-Axis fly rod is their fast action rod, which replaced the XP series (I love the XP rods). The Z-Axis casts very well and is an excellent fly rod. Remember it is a fast action rod, great for nymphing and casting large streamers. I use an 11 foot 6 weight Z-Axis for nymphing and I love it. If you are going to be doing a lot of casting of small dries with really light tippet, I would not get this rod, but rather I think the SLT would be better.

If you are going to do a lot of dry fly fishing, especially smaller dry flies, then you may want to get a medium-fast action rod. This rod will handle the larger streamers and heavy dries yet allow you the ability to cast small dries using a 7X tippet.

The SLT series is an excellent medium-fast rod and great for virtually any fresh water fishing. That would be my choice for a dry fly rod.

They do make a TXL rod, a medium-fast action in a short rod (7' to 7' 10") in 000 to 4 weight sizes. Great for smaller fish and brushy creeks or streams. This is more of a specialty rod and not to be used for your usual lake or larger river fishing. You would not use this rod for casting large streamers or huge dry flies or heavy nymphing rigs.

If you did want to save a little money, you could go for a Sage value rods.

The Launch series is their lowest priced rod. It is a medium-fast rod and casts decently.

The FLi series costs a little more and is a fast action rod.

A consideration to be made, is what are your fishing needs? Are you going to be doing a lot of small stream fishing, or just larger creeks and rivers and lakes? Are you going to be doing a lot of small dry fly fishing or casting mostly large streamers and heavy nymphing outfits?

If you bought a 9 foot 5 weight Launch rod for dry flies and a 9 foot 6 weight FLi for streamers, you would have two rods for two different needs, or even buy an additional Launch rod in the 7 foot 3 weight for small streams, you would be spending just about as much as you would for their high end rods. That is a great way for a beginner to have a nice selection of rods.

However, if you have been fly fishing for a while and cast decently, then I would go for the higher end rod. You will appreciate the way they cast and handle the fly line.

For large streamers and heavy nymphing rigs, I would suggest a Z-Axis. It may be a fast action rod, but it is very sensitive and you can really feel the fish while fighting it.

For a lot of dry fly fishing, I would suggest the SLT in a 5 or 6 weight 9 foot rod.

Have fun selecting a rod. Have even more fun fishing with it.

For more on Sage rods, go to:

http://www.sageflyfish.com/default.asp?p=6

Larry

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how much is a hardy st George fishing reel worth and is it rare.?

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008


Is it a fly reel? If it is and made by the original Hardy it is worth quite a bit (age is the factor of bein' rare)!! All Hardy fly reels are quite costly (new or used) I'd be doin' some investigating and get some professional advice or someone that knows the art and is an avid fly fisherman. Also you can easily go to ebay and get info., as ta' what their worth is. Good luck to ya'…

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Antique Fishing Decoys Decoy Old Old Old

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Antique Fishing Decoys Decoy Old Old Old

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1950s HARDY BROS 3 7/8 fly reel “ST JOHN” vintage

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

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Hardy Demon Trout Rod - on the River Suir in Ireland

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Andrew Ryan demonstrates the latest river rod from Hardy - The Demon. Using the 9ft 5wt model and a Rio Windcutter 2 rod he demonstrates how to catch fish on the beautiful River Suir

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John Bailey centerpin fishing the Hampshire Avon

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Fishing author John Bailey invites Country Channel TV to join him on the Hampshire Avon as he puts Hardy’s new course equipment through its paces.

View the full 20 min video for free at:

www.countrychannel.tv

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Hardy Demon Test

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

A video of a Hardy Demon rod and reel in action catching a 21 lb sea trout

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30 in pike on 6wt bamboo fly rod fishing rocky mountains CO

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

A 30 inch pike taken by bamboo fly rod maker Matt Schliske in the rocky mountains on a handmade 6 wt bamboo fly rod swinging streamers. The fly reel is a winston hardy perfect.

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Hardy “The Gem” Spool eBay item # 220314920366

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Good second spool for a vintage Hardy Gem with the bent reel is came off of. Currently offered on eBay ending Nov-28-08 21:40:20 PST No Reserve

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