Missed It

Who ‘makes’ more click-check premium reels than anyone? I'm guessing it's Hardy. Who ‘fishes’ click-check reels more than anyone? Small stream fly fishers. And yet, they can't seem to get together on reel specifications. If Hardy would only talk to some Rocky Mountain small stream guys, they would learn we'd pull out our wallets for a 3" diameter (left-hand wind) Lightweight fly reel...yup, there would surely be a big spike in Hardy's cash flow.

Hardy recently came out with a TU Tealweight edition reel. A beauty. But it's smaller than a Featherweight reel. And worse, a Featherweight reel is actually too small with a diameter at 2 7/8 inches. That certainly limits sales here in USA. If they had built that TU Tealweight reel as a 3" diameter, that limited edition run would already be sold out. The difference doesn't sound like much, but is significant in view of aesthetic on three and four weight creek rods.

They're probably selling a fair share of them. However, in today's world of small stream fly fishing, a 3" diameter left hand reel is the standard fit with creek rods. Yup, Hardy missed it! And, TU missed it too. That's a shame because we small stream anglers love to fish with Hardy click-check reels.

Right now, I lock in a Hardy LRH Lightweight reel into my Winston 8' and 8'6" 4wt fly rods and it's an absolutely perfect pairing. I also pair up a Hardy Featherweight reel with my short Winston 3wt fly rods and it's very good, but it would be perfect if it had a diameter of three inches.

I vote for Hardy to add a new 3" model in their Lightweight series...and name it Troutweight. Or, drop that ugly TU logo and partner with Winston for a 3" Troutweight reel, finished in Winston green. Now that would be special, indeed! Yeah, I know, Winston or Hardy wouldn't be interested because of Bauer reels. But I can dream, can't I?

Photo Credit: Hardy