Hardy Perfect 2 7/8" Fly Reel early post-WWII
Sometimes the stars are in alignment, and some things are just meant to be. I was finally able to track down an early post-WWII era Hardy Perfect 2 7/8" fly reel with straight lettering and a leaded finish. In immaculate condition and with the original box. This is a ready-to-fish reel that is now being loaded with some 3.5 wt. Terenzio silk line. Yes, my old friend is now officially getting fitted with a new older friend; finally, after years of looking under every river rock, I finally tracked one down. Finding a fully functional, well-kept, fishable, solid reel from this post-WWII era is extremely difficult. It will be fished hard and complement the rod I made well over two decades ago. The pairing is what I have visualized since the rod's inception. The rod is also well into its second generation of snake guides and a new tip-top on tip section #1. The little 7' Payne 97 that I made over 23 years ago still goes everywhere with me. I often hear people say, “Aren't bamboo fly rods super delicate?” The answer is definitely not, and they are not hard to maintain decade after decade. Like old reels, if you care for them, they will last a lifetime and then some.
The Hardy Perfect has undergone many evolutions since the 1880s, when Foster Hardy first designed the reel. With the first patent in 1888, followed by a second in 1891, its official launch took place in the catalog the same year. The first run of reels was constructed completely of brass with iron line guards. It then transitioned relatively quickly to aluminum spools, and by 1910, many of the larger brass components were phased out. Smaller trout models soon evolved as well, and check and drag mechanisms underwent incremental evolutions through the 1950s. The modern reissues now forage on to this day.
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Clint Joseph Bova
