FISHING LEGEND’S TACKLE UP FOR SALE!
Six decades of Bob’s tackle and flies at auction on Thursday
IT’S your chance to bid for a slice of angling history when tackle owned by fishing legend Bob Church goes up for auction this week.
A huge array of tackle from the personal collection of one of the most decorated fly anglers in history – who was awarded an MBE for his services to the sport – will go under the hammer in J.P. Humbert Auctioneers’ Sporting & Country Pursuits Sale taking place this Thursday.
More than 200 lots are going under the hammer at the salerooms in Whittlebury, Northants. Among them are rare rods and reels, including an unused, gold-plated Mitchell reel made specially for Bob, and a three-tier fly box containing around 1,000 flies tied and used by the maestro during 60 years of fishing all over the world.
Bob is known for an illustrious fly fishing career with a medal tally including team golds at the World Fly Fishing Championships in 1987 and 1988, and European team gold in 1990.
Bob, the founder member of the Northamptonshire Specimen Group, is also a celebrated coarse angler and there will be carp, barbel, tench and chub rods, along with signed copies of his books, up for auction. “It was time to have a clear-out of my tackle room as I had very little room to move,” Bob told Angling Times.
“I’ve had some incredible times during my fishing life and all the items in this auction have played a big part in these. It gives me great pleasure to know that the auction will enable other anglers to get as much pleasure from them as I have.”
Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert is extremely excited about the upcoming auction and believes the ‘party piece’ to be a three-tier ‘Bob Church & Co’ fly box.
Mr Humbert said: “This is an unrepeatable item. We are expecting widespread interest, given Bobs’ well-deserved fame and reputation in the angling world and his six-decade history in the sport.”
The fly box is estimated to be worth between £1,000 and £1,500.
The auction takes place at 11am on Thursday, October 20 and online bidding for this sale will be available at: www.thesaleroom.com/jphumbert
To see each lot in more detail visit: www.jphumbert.com