Vintage fish gear up for sale

Mark Vincent holds the rarest Zane Grey reel. Photo / Geoff Thomas

What started out as an interest in old fishing tackle turned into a consuming passion for Auckland fisherman Mark Vincent. Now, 30 years later, he is putting his whole collection up for sale; a collection which Webb's auction house managing director Neil Campbell calls "the most comprehensive lifetime collection of fishing gear ever seen in this country, and one of the largest in the world". With more than 300 pieces of pre-1940 vintage game fishing tackle, it contains some of the rarest reels in the world.

Vincent said, "My favourite pieces are early Hardy's Zane Grey items, which are extremely rare, in particular the Zane Grey four and three-sixteenth game fishing reel. It has never been used, is made of stainless steel in the late 1930s and is one of only 22 ever made. I doubt whether you will ever see another one." That reel alone is worth up to $15,000. Another Hardy Zane Grey model six-inch reel comes in its original leather case, which bears the signature of the famous angler who is credited with putting New Zealand game fishing on the world map. There are matching rods, super stiff and powerful made from laminated split cane and greenheart, a canvas Zane Grey fishing harness and a flying gaff designed for Grey.

"If somebody wanted the complete range of Zane Grey gear there will never be a better opportunity," he said.

Vincent started out by picking up a few pieces of old fishing tackle, but within two years it had became an obsession.

"I would actively hunt out the stuff and bought a lot of Hardy's rods and reels. I had an old bloke in England who would source material and he knew what I wanted _ mainly game fishing tackle, but anything of interest."

The collection grew quickly and today the list includes everything from old lures and fly boxes to a beautifully crafted extendable salmon gaff made of brass. There are fly reels of every type with the famous Hardy brand well represented. The array of rods is impressive and ranges from early game fishing rods to trout and salmon rods.

"There are a lot of early New Zealand rods, which I particularly like, with names like Tisdalls and Kilwell."

Antique lures are real works of art, and the range includes a Hardy's herring bait, a very rare Wickham lure and early American bass fishing lures.

Like many Kiwis, Mark Vincent grew up on a farm. But this family farm was on the coast near Whangaroa Harbour in Northland, and the young Mark and his family spent much of their time fishing the nearby Cavalli Islands and Flat Island.

"We did all our game fishing from a barge, which serviced the farm on Flat Island," he said. "As it only did six knots we didn't go very far. But we caught a lot of marlin, and we really only fished around Taheke Reef." It was all bait fishing in those days, but they often outfished the modern game boats which "tow lures all over the ocean. We even won the Nationals (the NZ Big Game Fishing Council's National Championships) in 1977 fishing from the barge, which upset a few of the fishermen in their fast boats," he said.

While snapper fishing from the barge off Flat Island they would put out a bait on a long line. "We caught a lot of thresher sharks that way. Nobody fishes for threshers these days, but they are still there."

Vincent is selling his collection because he and his wife have made a change in lifestyle. "I am sick of the traffic in Auckland. The family has grown up, we have sold our house in Devonport and capitalised the business and bought a 52-foot launch which we keep at Gulf Harbour. We live on the boat, and we love it. We head off whenever we feel like it, and spent last weekend at the (Great) Barrier. On the way home we stopped and picked up a few snapper. It is brilliant."

The auction will be held at Webb's at 6pm on December 9, and can be viewed online.