What a little stroke of luck. I went to our local antique shop ’Feelin’ Used’ the other day as the proprietor after many years is closing it down. As I walked past the front desk on my way to the tools section in back, I said hello and saw some flyfishing reels on a little table. I quickly saw all were cheap knock off reels except for the one my hand instinctively grabbed. I rolled it around in my hand thinking it felt right, I then flipped it over and read on the back, Made in England by Hardy Bros. Ltd. THE ‘ST. JOHN’

Gold! Its probably from the late 1950’s early 60’s, click drag, 3 7/8 in diameter, and in excellent condition. A seatrout, steelhead or salmon reel, and is perfect for my Scandi line and my two handed 4wt 12ft rod. It also fits in nicely with my Hardy collection of rods and reels. I show it here beside my 1960’s Hardy ‘The Princess’ reel for scale.