Hardy

Duchess Fly Reel

There's a reason you'll find a pair of royal wulffs, elk hair caddis, and olive wooly buggers in every angler's fly box—they just work, and the same can be said for classic reel designs. Handmade in Alnwick, England, the Hardy Duchess Fly Reel is the first classic reel to be released by the company in decades, and it's obvious that Hardy hasn't forgot how to put a world-class reel together.

The Duchess is machined from two pieces of bar stock aluminum, then assembled by hand with a unique split cage frame design and ambidextrous, fully adjustable click-check drag mechanism. The reel can be converted to either a left- or right-handed retrieve thanks to twin line guides. Hardy built the Duchess in sizes ranging from small, light line applications all the way up to a four inch option for salmon and steelhead fishing. Every option is machined and assembled in Alnwick England and is finished with a recessed stainless steel spindle and classic wooden handle.