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For the love of Hardys

3K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  sinktip 
#1 ·
I know a lot of hardcore salmon / steelhead guys love the click drag hardy reels for big searun salmonids. I haven't weaned myself from disc drags yet but am considering a new reel for my fall trip and thought I would solicit the opinions of the hardcores on this list.

Others I am considering include Islander, Lamson Lightspeed #4, Bauer. For drag-equipped reels I am leaning toward the lightspeed due to the ultralarge arbor design to double for albacore and bonito in the atlantic.

There I go again with the delrin addiction.

Any thoughts?
 
#4 ·
Juro:
this is from Kaufmann's...
Not bad at all if you ask me. I played with the 3" model last Sunday (went camping with my girls). It's beautiful and has the drag system like the old Lightweights (on the rim of the reel)


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BOUGLE MARK IV REELS A classic style of yesteryear, but with modern technology and craftsmenship. Running on 12 stainless steel ball bearings, and a click pawl drag, this reel is silky smooth. A beautiful pearl silver anodized finish with nickel silver components and wood permali handle. Also has a nickel silver roller pillar line guard.

Size Weight Capacity Reel X-Spool
3" 4.8 oz. WF3+75 $325.00 $ 75.00
3¼" 5.1 oz. WF5+100 $325.00 $ 75.00
3½" 5.4 oz. WF7+80 $335.00 $ 80.00
3¾" 9.5 oz. WF9+100 $360.00 $ 90.00
4" 9.5 oz. DT10+175 $370.00 $ 95.00
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#5 ·
I have a beloved Hardy Perfect Duplicate Mark II 4" Salmon Reel that I paid $200 for many years ago. It was very used when I got it, but certainly not abused, and it will last several more generations with care.

These suckers have unbelievable line capacity. I have it spooled with a 40 yard SA double taper Salmon line and 200 yards of 30 pound dacron backing and there's still lots of room under the bars. The weight of these mighty reels goes a long way towards counterbalancing a 14 - 16 foot rod, and they are a delight to fish with.

The Salmon reels are usually available in the used market for anyone really interested and are good bargains when compared to the more sought-after trout sizes of similar quality reels.

So anyway, you might want to consider used as well as new.

Petri heil,

Eric
 
#6 ·
Why decide between disc or click when you can have wheels? For the last four years of pretty intense fishing (close to 100 days a year), I have been fishing the Loop 4 on my big two-hander. For this type of fishing, it's ideal. It holds my fat line plus a ton of 30lb. backing and due to it's design, it's amazingly trouble free. The drag is smooth and always the same wet or dry, and if it gets some grit in it while landing a fish, all you have to do is submerge it and crank a little and it cleans itself. Of course, if you need it to double in a situation (albacore? tarpon? dorado?) where you need to count on a serious drag, it's not so great, as you would have to reel against this same drag. But for steelheading, where you just want a smooth start-up and enough resistance to stop over-runs, it's perfect. You Hardy traditionalists may miss that shrieking sound, but I've come to love the smooth hum of spinning wheels. Plus, people all up and down the river don't know when and where you've hooked up. In any event, I give it a big thumbs up--especially when you need to pick up a lot of slack fast.

I also fish a big Lamson on my 7136, but I've found that if it gets dunked, the drag pretty much stops working. Also, the handle screw has an annoying habit of unscrewing itself, which leads to the unnerving experience of the handle coming off in your hand. It's an okay reel, but I can't recommend it.

I have, I must admit, been eyeing the Bauer M7 so that I could use it for saltwater also. I'm just getting ready for the annual trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and wishing I owned one in the unlikely event that the hurricanes will give me enough of a break to get outside and fish albacore and amberjacks on the wrecks. Seems like that big Bauer could work in both places for a few bills less than a Tibor Gulfstream or Abel. Still a lot of bucks involved for something I do pretty infrequently.

Just got back from the Dean, and up there you see a lot of overkill reels, even for those hot fish--lots of Tibors, Fin-Nors and Abels. But then most of those guys fish a lot of saltwater too, plus if they're staying at the lodges I guess they have money to burn. Man, the do-it-yourself gig on the Dean is a LOT of work. Great fishing, but I figure, out of 12 days being gone, you spend three driving, three or four setting up or tearing down camp, loading the boat, rowing, etc...plus a day or two of the river being out. At least that's how it's gone for the last four years for me. The fish are awesome, though. I got four of my top ten biggest steelhead ever this year.

Anyway, I got a little diverted there. Basically, that's my .02 on the big reels I fish. Hope it helps a little in your decision making process. Let me know what you end up getting and how it works out. That Hardy you pictured sure is pretty.

Peace,

Dylan
 
#7 ·
Since I am on the east coast, maybe I can't qualify as a hardcore steelheader, but...I will tell you that the first place I check into on the site is the 'steelhead on a fly' thread 'cause that's where the heart is most everyday. So, having said that, I am a Bauer fan. Delrin face against a 3" slotted cork drag makes the reels buttery smooth and they just don't quit. I use 'em in the salt all summer and reline and chase salmon in the spring. Jon Bauer stands behind them and you can call and talk to him directly when there are questions.
(when Bauers first came out they had revA and revB non-interchangable spool faces, which the dealers didn't handle very well)
I try to look at value in a piece of gear and I look at it over a reasonably long timeframe. I think Bauer offers a very good value for the long haul.
I wish the Dean was a lot closer so we could get a casual
'clave going to share more experiences.

Regards,

Jay C.
 
#8 ·
Juro,

How the hell is anyone to know you've hooked a fish if you have one of those silent drags? (like that Lamson on the Skagit) You know I love the Hardys. Not much sounds like the scream of a Hardy with the handle spinning at warp speed. I will admit to lately using my Bo Mohlin which is silent, the Cow the less attention a fly flicker draws to one self the better. I have Perfects from 3 ½" to 4 ¼", only missing the 4" Eric ever though about swapping a 3 ¾ for your 4" I have two 3 ¾" Perfects or 9/10 Golden Prince? The capacity of these Salmon Perfects is only surpassed by reels used to lay TPC5 (Trans Pacific Cable 5). I however would not subject a Perfect to the rigors of the Salt.

You might consider the Marquis Salmon 2 which has a wonderful sounding drag good capacity reasonable weight, doesn't cost a fortune as your new steelhead reel and a Redington for the Salt. Redingtons look awesome for the $$. I've never met a reel I didn't like and have too many but an always looking for more.



Andre
 
#9 ·
I do love my hardy Salmon 2, but have lusted after the Bougle since it came out. An amazing, timeless design that is also very functional. I also tried a Loop last year and gotta admit, their ability to pick up lots of slack *fast* is a big plus. I also like the look (and price) of the new Reddington LA, but don't know if it has the outgoing Click or not. The Lamson Lightspeed is also nice, but a bit too funky a design for my taste. If I buy another spey reel, it will definitely be a Large Arbor.

I could survive with any of these reels, and depending on what duties you expect it to perform each could be the preferred choice. Given the spare cash, I'd probably own them all!

hasta,

Doublespey
 
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