Tailor Made By V. Huttley - The Craft

For several months now I have been following the work of Vince Huttley through the photos that he's posted to his Instagram account and along with crafting several glass builds on Ijuin-Rod blanks, he's also been finalizing several fly reel designs that really show the depth of his talents.

In today's post I wanted to highlight his shop work and then in a follow up post, in the next day or two, will show these finely crafted tools to the high mountains of California catching trout on a recent trip.

Please click on the images to view in a larger format.

Vince wrote...  "The story begins with my great appreciation for handmade instruments where beauty is function. The fly community are people who also share the same passion.  The appeal of something that was tailored for our needs far outweighs the instant consumerism of today's world in my eyes.  That passion we all share is what lead me to building my reels, the world still has a place for quality over quantity. 

As for each reel, I have no set designs or drawings and that goes for the majority of my works.  It gives me the freedom to just create.  I've taken a lot of influence from Hardy, as it's a complex design but once held in hand its looks quite simple, a hard thing to master.  

Each reel is free machined from T6 aluminum for the body and spool, drag gear and pawl are from high tensile carbon steel, with the reel foot and  other components machined from bronze, brass and 316 stainless.  As for coatings, I've found that hard anodizing is the best option due to its extra durability as I am generally very hard on gear.  

The only down side is that the colour choice is limited. There are three "perfect" influenced reels sitting on my bench with two still needing completion.  I'm confident the internals will hold up for years of use providing a little maintenance is done from time to time and that goes for the two piece design too.  

In the coming months I hope to complete several more reels that will be available for purchase, so keep an eye out as there may even be a rod or two in the mix."

Vince Huttley doesn't have a website yet, but he has both a Facebook and Instagram page to highlight his work.  He can also be contacted by email if you have questions or would like to inquire about a fly rod or fly reel build.