Hardy Fishing - Alnwick England

Hardy; Simply the Finest Fly Fishing Rods and Reels

House of Hardy Fly Fishing Reel and Rods area some of the finest pieces of fly fishing equipment that any fly angler could purchase. These rods and reels are more than just rods and reels; they are true pieces of art. I truly believe that they builds THE BEST fly fishing rods and reels on the planet and that they have been doing so since 1872 and will keep doing for a long time.

hese reels are widely considered the manufacturer of the finest fishing equipment in the world. This hasn’t changed since the company’s inception over a century ago. There are few companies that have or ever will maintain such a flawless reputation for over one hundred years. This reputation always has and will continue to be perfect for years to come.

In 1872 William Hardy became a gunsmith in Alnwick England. Soon after his brother John James joined William and so became the Hardy Brothers Partnership. After producing fine quality firearms of al types the brothers soon decided to pursue there real passion, Fly Fishing. This is when the legacy began.

The company invented many of the modern techniques used in today’s fine quality bamboo rods. They built the first system for producing rods from the hexagonal form from bamboo. The Palakona rod won an exhibition gold medal in 1881. Even Royalty appreciates the Hardy passion for great products. At least a dozen Royal Warrants of appointment have been awarded to there company over the course of the company history. A hardy reel won the first American Kudos Award for Design and was the first to win the prestigious Japanese Industrial Design Award, not once but five times. It was in the late 1980’s Hardy won the Queens Award for Expert Excellence when Hardy opened there USA division. This is when the company became The House of Hardy.

The company built a museum at its headquarters in Alnwick in the late 1980’s to preserve some of the companies memorabilia, the Museum was opened by Princess Margaret in July 1987.The factory in Alnwick produces almost 100% of the parts used in there manufacturing of fishing equipment from Bamboo to Carbon Fiber.

In 1891 the Perfect reel was patented. The same basic design with only minor changes is still used throughout the company today. Three generations of Hardy men have been involved in the corporation, many of them have been great anglers that have held many competition casting records among other great fishing achievements.

Hardy has been the inventor of some of the most widely used methods in fishing rod and reel manufacturing today. Some innovations that have proven the test of time include;

Bridge Rings

Spiral Lock – Fast Joints

Stud Lock Joints

W and screw-grip fittings

Ball bearing reels

Large Arbor Reels

And the first Graphite Fly Rods

Hardy’s fishing equipment from the past has become extremely sought after; there are collectors all over the world that pay tremendous amount of money for some of the early rods and reels. Short production run items are even more valuable, there are very few people who realize the value of the items that they have had buried in an old tackle box for many, many years. Even the annual catalogue has become a collector’s item. A catalogue starts gaining value only a year after it was released. A short time ago a 2002 catalog sold for $55.00 U.S on EBay.

Alnwick was a relatively unknown place until the Harry Potter movies started filming in the Alnwick Castle. This has created a whole new market for the company due to the tourism market. A whole new group of people are experiencing the finest fishing products on the planet.

Today most of the literature you will see will be labeled Hardy and Greys. Greys is a subsidiary and is the more economical line of fishing equipment, Greys is also built with an exceptional quality and are products that you will not be disappointed with.

2009 will be the 137th year in the company’s most amazing history. The Heritage Series includes the gear that is still produced in Alnwick, England. These products are still the most sought after of all their items. These items are designed to be family heirlooms, to last for eternity, to be fished by you, your kids, your grand kids, heck even your grand kids grand kids. That is what a great product is all about, that is what it is to have a true piece of working fly fishing art.

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