Hardy Reels

[matt johnson]

I was just chatting with a good old friend about how cool it is to fish Hardy "ratchet" reels for steelhead.

I was inspired to "nerd-out" a little and take a picture of all my Hardy's:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/ozziebooboo/hardys.jpg
My favorite is the Hardy made SAGE 509. This is the perfect steelhead reel for single #8 or #9's or light spey/ switch rods. I have two of them. I want more but they are hard to come by and getting expensive. One just came up on ebay but there were like 21 bids on it with 20 hours to go so I gave up...I really wish somebody would make a simple bar-stock spey sized reel with a Hardy clicker.

The "Princess" is the perfect #6 reel. I fish mine a bunch in the Central Valley and for half-pounders on the coast.

I don't ever fish steelhead without a Hardy. Steelhead are usually tough to come by these days (at least for me). I want the event to be as dramatic as possible. Nothing puts an exclamation point on FISH ON! like the screech of a Hardy. The tolerances are kind of bad on most of my Hardy's. When a fish is really goin' there is this "wobble" in the reel that goes on as the line is peeling out....then you know you are hooked up to a good one...Matt.

[bigtj]

Great collection thanks for sharing the pics. You are right Hardy reels are awesome for steelhead. My favorite reel in your pics is also the 509. I use it on my 13'4" Loomis streamdance 5/6 spey with a 470 grain floating line. It is one sweet little setup for the Trinity.

Have you ever tried Peerless reels? I just picked up a Peerless 4A spey. Great click drag and the sound is awesome. No palming rim but I like to go "old school" anyway and either palm the inside of the spool or apply pressure to the line. Anyway if you ever try a Peerless you might need to add it to your collection.

[Charlie Gonzales]

Johnson is about as classic of a guy as Hardy is reels.

[nrthcsteel]

Hey Matt. Great collection youve got there. Interesting timing on this thread. Ive had my reels out lately. Yearly cleanings, fresh backing, lining em up, TIS THE SEASON! So I figured Id add to the pics and nerd out a little myself. Not as many Hardys as you but heres a 3 3/4 wide salmon, 3 7/8 and 3 5/8 perfect and a couple of workhorse 3 screw St. Johns. Also theres a Hardy Marquis salmon 2 on its way so you can use your imagination on that one! And while not Hardys these others have quite a nice "ratchet" to em. A peerless 4a, a spey company summer spey, and two older shakespeare 1899s. The Shakespeares are three piece design ala "perfect" style. They are 3 5/8" X 1 1/8 and they are a really nice smooth running reel, great sound on these. A little small but you can squeeze enough backing and a running line/shooting head system for lightweight speys or switches on there. Great little reels for halfpounder speys! Again thanks for sharing, hope you get lots of ratcheting going on in the coming months. Kevin

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc120/keving71/P8140031.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc120/keving71/P8140035.jpg

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

When I started working at 'Arden Sports Unlimited' on Arden Way in Sacramento in the mid-60s we sold the Hardy 'Perfect' fly reels for $37.50 usd new in the box.

The Pflueger 'Medalist' fly reels were around $15.00 new.

I think that many classic Steelheaders (single and double handed) are leaning towards the older fly reels like the Hardys.

Like Mat said, we don't catch that many Steelhead so it is cool to hear them run as well as feel and see them.

Steelhead usually burn themselves out so a big drag system is not that necessary.

[matt johnson]

Kevin: Nice reels! Those St John's are great for lots of rod's/lines. I had one for a while but I traded it. It wasn't a nice old "blued" one like yours are.

Kevin and bigtj: Thanks for reminding me about the Peerless 4A. Those are great looking reels. Are they very heavy? Like most others I am definitely moving in the "shorter/lighter" direction with two-handers. I am not really sure how my 33/4" perfect is going to fit into my program anymore...might have to sell it so I can afford another 509?

Gonzales: I am flattered that you think I am a classy guy. I guess we were hanging around each other back in my "cane and tweed" period. I am glad you didn't see me earlier this summer shad fishin' with my spin pole, curly tailed grubs, and a big ol' wad of sunflower seeds in my cheek. It would have destroyed your favorable image of me. But man, I was nailin' those shad! Nothing beats the curly-tailed grub. Matt

[nrthcsteel]

Hey Matt. The peerless 4a is a VERY light reel, especially for its size. Off the top of my head I think it comes in around 8.4 oz and I believe its 4 3/8 diameter. Has a HUGE line capacity. For larger spey rods I usually add some weight to it to help with balance, did I say this reel is VERY LIGHT! Compared to the 3 3/4 perfect its like a feather. Its a great reel though I really like it. Thats a great looking 3 3/4 youve got there, especially next to my battle worn one! You shouldnt have a problem getting rid of that one. Kevin