This H.L. Leonard 37H rod and Williams Mills fairy reel are from the same collection which was one of the largest Leonard collections in the country. The former owner purchased the rod directly from the Mills store in NY. It is possible the reel was purchased at the same time. Regardless, they were used together as a pairing and we feel they should be kept together. The consignor will offer a $200 discount off listed price if they are bought as a pair within one week of the listing, making the rod and reel's total cost $4,400 together. The pair is a very sensible purchase due to the difficult nature of finding a reel that fits the Baby Catskill reel seat. If used with another reel, a special reel foot would likely have to be custom made.

Leonard 37H Rod

6’0” 2/2 Pre-fire Leonard 37H Baby Catskill, 1 5/8 oz. for a 2-3 wt. line. This is an extremely rare Pre-fire model which was only offered for a couple of years in Leonard's long history. Original tag reads: “#37H, 6 Feet, 1 5/8 Ounces, Stock” . Size 9 ferrule with original ferrule plug. Burgundy wraps. Diminutive grip and Baby Catskill slide band reel seat with Leonard stamped butt cap and Butternut spacer. Original bag, tag, & tube. Unlike most of the Baby Catskill series, this rod has a crisp action and a similar dry fly taper to the highly sought after 37ACM. A very rare model in excellent original condition with great ferrule fit. $3,250.

Leonard Mills Fairy Reel

William Mills & Son Fairy reel. 2” diameter not including pillars. Ebonite side plates. Mills stamping is present but faint & reads as follows at 12 o’clock on the winding plate: “William Mills & Son -NY-“.  Tiny foot to fit Leonard Baby Catskill reel seats. Comes with a vintage leather D-Block case (the strap is dried and split) customized with a wood insert to hold reel securely by the foot. The reel has a very smooth and strong click which favors right hand retrieve.. It is very rare to find a stamped original Mills Fairy in this condition which operates as smooth and as flawlessly as this one.  $1,350 

If one wishes to buy either the rod or reel separately, please contact us for an invoice.