Fishing tackle was reel-y popular
International interest over massive collection

ONE of the finest single collections of fishing tackle to be sold at auction for 15 years netted almost £300,000 on Tuesday (March 11), more than £100,000 more than expected.

Fuelled by international interest and a packed auction house, auctioneers at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester sold 836 individual lots for £296,351 over nine-and-a-quarter hours, twice as long as the sale was expected to have taken.

Lots valued at hundreds of pounds sold for thousands on the day, as well over 100 eager bidders from across the UK – many of whom had filled the area’s hotels and B&Bs the night before – battled with wealthy collectors from the USA and Canada, Japan and Europe on the telephones.

All of the top 25 lots sold for over £1,600 with the catch of the day being achieved by a glazed case collection of 48 lures and baits, which sold for £8,800.

However, most of the highest prices were reserved for rare Victorian fishing reels. A Hardy Multiplying Silex Tournament Caster, estimated at £1,500 to £1,800, achieved £6,800. A Hardy first model brass Perfect reel, with a guide price of between £1,500 and £2,000, made £6,200. And a Hardy Perfect transitional trout fly reel, valued at between £1,500 and £2,000 was sold for £4,200.

Meanwhile a C Farlow pigskin fly wallet, estimated at between £150 and £200, made £2,100 and a Bambridge of Eton oak bound fly tier’s chest, carrying an estimate of £300 to £400, achieved £1,900.

Even tiny individual lures were achieving top prices. A two-and-a-quarter-inch Gregory brass Windsor Bee with glass eyes, estimated at £200 to £300, sold for £1,500, as did a three-and-three-quarter-inch Gregory articulated Cleopatra lure, with a catalogue price of £250 to £300.

The biggest surprise of the day was a Hardy Silent Perfect trout fly reel. Estimated at between £200 and £300, there were gasps when the hammer finally fell at £3,600.

The antique reels, flies, lures, floats, rods, landing nets, knives and books, which were amassed by a single collector over a number of years, were sold on behalf of the Assets Recovery Agency which had seized them under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Antiques experts agree that the collection – which had been valued at between £130,000 and £170,000 – included some of the most collectable and historically important pieces of tackle to come on to the open market in many years.

“It was a terrifically important collection,” said Moore Allen’s fishing tackle expert Bill Matthews, “because it contained so much top-end equipment. This collection was built by an individual who had a good idea of where to invest his money.

“All the big names in antique tackle were there and through the collection you could track the progression and development of tackle from the sport’s infancy to the equipment anglers use today. It was a fascinating collection and Moore Allen & Innocent were delighted to have been asked to sell it, and with the results achieved on the day.

A spokesman for the Assets Recovery Agency said: “This is a fantastic outcome which has far and exceeded the original estimate.  The sale of this collection is a very visible reminder that the extensive powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act work. 

“It sends out a clear message that crime doesn’t pay and that we together will our partners are determined to vigorously pursue those who attempt to prosper from crime. 

“We want communities to know that their concerns about people profiting from crime are being acted on.  We want criminals to know that there can be no hiding place for their ill-gotten gains. 

 
“This is part of a continual stream of assets being taken out of the hands of criminals, sold and used for the benefit of everyone in the community.”

A Bambridge fly compendium

An Edkins lures display case                                            Some of the antique reels

Auctioneer Philip Allwood on the rostrum