~ Hardy bros “ St Aiden “ fly reel & two cases. ~ in very very good condition,

[Fish52]

Thanks for looking. My last Hardy. Very, very little use as seen by photo … comes with both Hardy clamshells …

3.75 inches.

$259.00



Venmo or PayPal or USPS Money Order.

Many thanks.

Please email for the best response.

Jamato5@comcast.net

[Fish52]

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I bought, sold, and gave away Hardy reels for over 50 years and have had many of them myself.


This would be a great reel for a Switch rod or smaller Spey rod.




Weirdly we have a large import duty on products from England (30%?).

During World War II England was our strongest ally?

We have no import duty on products from China?




In the 1970s I was getting Hardy reels retail from a tackle shop in England.

Their retail price was less than the wholesale price from the US importer/distributor, "Hardy USA?"



I never collected old fly reels but traded off and gave away some to people that "just had to have them."


In the 1970s the old Hardy "Perfects" in single-hand Steelhead sizes were a big deal......older RHW 3 7/8" Wide series.


The LRH and the Princess in the Lightweight series were popular for trout sizes.


Scientific Angler/3M company designed the "System" reels and had them made by Hardy in England.

They had a rim drag or rim-control drag that set them apart from all other fly reels of the day.

I think they went System #3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8/9, 10 and 11?

After SA decided to stop having the Hardy System fly reels made, Hardy made them for themselves.

They were named the Hardy "Marquis" series.

I think "most" parts and spools are interchangeable.



Then Sage designed the famous "500" series that was fully machined from bar stock aircraft alloy by Hardy in England.

They were a high-end version of the System and Marquis fly reels.

All hardware was nickel silver instead of the soft aluminum that the System and Marquis reels used.


We could not give away a Sage 509, the largest made, in the 1980s but today they are highly prized for two-handed rods.



I could write a book about all the different fly reels that came and went since the 1950s.

[RoosterHunter]

I had the St. Aiden back in the late 70's when I was fishing the San Lorenzo river mouth. I was rock hopping one morning and slipped hitting the reel on the rocks. That ended my fishing day before it even started. Hit the bottom of the frame and put a big dent in it and it was jamming the spool from turning. Took it home, tried to straighten it out and snapped off the bent piece. They were made from pot metal and dinged easily

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Bill Archuleta's Reel Repair in Grants Pass, Oregon can fix most broken Hardy reels and other nice reels.

[Fish52]

Thx bill and jay. Great read … I think if you live long enough and started early enough, you’ve had them all, I love the systems by scientific angler, one of my most favorite reels was made by Hardy, which was the scientific angler mastery, it was so far ahead of its time, but then crippled by the large arbor craze .. I still fish with my two masteries… 5/6. And 7/8. As well as my system five, yes, they were interchangeable with a Hardy , Marquise

It seems to me in many ways fishing was just so much simpler back. Then, I didn’t seem to need, at least didn’t need to be convinced that I needed a carbon, fiber..titanium washer Dellron. Impervious sealed drag…to catch a 2lb Brook trout…amen