Hardy’s “Click & Pawl” reel represent today, some of the best Salmon fly reels you can buy and use, in spite that the design are more than hundred years old – Nothing beats the sound of a Hardy Perfect or Bougle reel when a hot salmon take of in a strong run downstream, and the durability is second to none
For many Fly fishing anglers this little story should be well know – Nevertheless – It is a pleasant window into the Fly fishing industry history book – A “must to read” book in our high tech age.
The first Hardy reel patent was registered in 1888, and since then many patents have followed. One of Hardy’s most popular reels appeared in 1891. It was understandably called the “Perfect”. It included most of the improvements that fishermen had been asking for up to that time. The spool was narrow and deep. An adjustable check supplied the friction to keep the spool velocity from over running the line while playing a fish. Up to that time most fine reels were made from brass. The first Perfect reels were also made from brass. After a short period they were machined from an aluminum casting. This made the Perfect very lightweight by standards of today
A great contributor to the reels success was its ease of disassembly which is accomplished by rotating the side plate backwards. Both ends of the reel turns. This allows the angler to palm or finger a side plate for more friction while playing a fish. Still today, the best existing brake system on the market
The “Perfect” can rightly claim to be the most successful fly reel of all time, having remained in production for over of a century, during which time many dozens of variations and improvements to the original design were made.
In 1903, Louis Bouglé, a French tournament caster, asked Hardy to make a lighter variation of their Perfect reel for competition casting. The Bouglé Mark V is most advanced version yet of the reel that the legendary Monsieur Bouglé asked Hardy to make in 1903. It comes in five sizes of click check reels for freshwater fishing.
With the reintroduction of the Bougle reel, Hardy has taken a classic reel, made it more beautiful and brought it pounding into twenty-first century. It is now machined from aluminum alloy bar-stock. The Bouglé looks as lovely as ever on a rod, but now performs like the most modern of reels on the market. Looks? Its stunning, hard anodized silver frame, combines strikingly with the anodized silver spool and side-plate. Practicality? The deep spool gives you big line and backing capacity, vital for those facing ever bigger, faster running fish. The ventilated spool and frame has created a model that is the lightest Bouglé yet whilst still retaining its legendary strength.
Bougle is available in 4-inch wide model which is a great reel for Salmon fishing a great reel. Beside The Bougle reel, Hardy have recently reintroduced several of the old Perfect models. Another way to get hold of a Hardy reel full of soul, is to buy it second hand on the antique market – and its actually not very expensive to buy a good Post War Perfect reel full of Soul and good Karma..