Leonard Mills Model 44 Raised Pillar Fly Reel

Leonard Mills Model 44 Raised Pillar Fly ReelFor sale here is a late era Leonard Mills Model 44 raised pillar fly reel. This is a post Julius Vom Hofe era reel, probably made in the early 1960s (I have the 1961 Wm Mills catalog and this reel appears in it). Frame and spool are made of duralumin and the side plates are made of hard rubber. The Model 44 is seen much less often than the slightly larger Model 50. The clicker works great, is of medium strength and the directional winding bias is

while an elastomer rubber sheet on the vise base prevents the vise from slipping

I took the reel apart and found this reel to be in spectacular condition

A superb Paul Hermann salmon reel in left hand wind (LHW)

Fully machined from high-grade aluminum and steel

Down-locking aluminum reel seat with butternut wood spacer

The Swiss style step-down ferrules are size 13/64 with a perfect fit

Art Flick was close friends with Paul Cardell from Birmingham

cutthroat and yayame

Aluminum cap and ring reel seat over a beautifully figured mortised burl wood spacer

Fair label on rod tube

Honey colored guide wraps and burgundy ferrule wraps

Beautiful classic post-fire Leonard Hunt model with red wraps