By GEORGE LISET, Writing on the Fly

I was browsing through an antique shop when I came across a fly fishing reel. It was an older Hardy Princess reel, for size 4-6 weight line, made in England. It was a click and pawl model and fairly light weight and in good condition for being around fifty  years old. As a purveyor of fly fishing equipment I was checking it over to see if the price was right to buy, and if so, could I use it and then turn it over to another collector.

    It wasn’t a bad price at ninety five dollars. If I were just going to use it for myself I might pick it up, but the price was a little high and the condition needed to be a little better to try and resell the reel. Anglers can be really picky about their equipment. Then the thought came to me that I may already have one in a pile in my office. To be fair it is not really a pile. I actually have all my reels in reel cases and inventoried, sort of, up til a couple of years ago. The latest acquisitions, from the last few years, are in a soft covered reel case which is overflowing.

     I remembered that I had picked up a Hardy Lightweight reel awhile back and when I checked my inventory list I saw that my son borrowed it. Actually I gave it to him. He had come across a nice small stream dry fly rod and needed a reel for it, so I gave it to him with which he continues to outfish me with. As I was going through my newer reels and inventorying them, I realized how much of a collector I am. When it comes to collectors, if they have one of something, they probably have three. As my friend John says, “One is a novelty, two is a pair and three is a collection.”

    I have a bunch of threes. The reason I looked at the Hardy reel in the first place was to pair it with a small dry fly rod that I was going to use for hiking into small streams in the White Mountains. I wanted an inexpensive set up that I wouldn’t worry about it possibly getting banged up. Since I would be holding it, it would be more of a probability. Those kettle stones in some of those streams are big and slippery, particularly when you are trying to reach some of those cross-stream pools.

     This year we are having a real New Hampshire winter which has made it difficult to get out on the rivers and  streams. We haven’t had that warm spell between storms that helps to keep the water open. The “Old” me would have been out. The “Newer and Smarter” me says, “Nah, I’ll wait.” So I have been watching videos and getting excited for the warmer weather. I’ve found a few new spots to fish thanks to some industrious YouTubers.

     Meanwhile I’ll finish my inventory and I should probably start my taxes. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll get a few bucks back from Uncle Sam so I can buy more stuff; which means my son may end up with it all. He says he is not a collector, which is the first sign that he is.

 George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.