A real look at the new Hardy St. George

I had the chance to take a look at the new St. George reels by Hardy today. What a nice reel! The Spitfire version isn't polished steel-like as I imagined from the pictures but more of a champagne color. Both the black and the Spitfire version had a slight powdered finished on it rather than simply smooth anodized or painted.

The finish is just... perfect? I love the ivorine handle by the way. At around $750 a piece these reels are really for the connoisseur or collectors. However they are excellent fishing reels. On a bamboo fly rod, the 3 inch version is just the right size for a 4-5 weight rod.

I was interested whether the spare spools of the new batch would fit the re-issue reel form the 1990's. Unfortunately I didn't bring along my 1990's reel. The price of the spare spools blow me away a little. Around $250 this ain't peanuts...