When someone mentions angling or fishing, they are more than likely referring to the actual outdoor activity that captures the interest of so many Americans. However, there is one activity involving the subject of angling that does not require you to own a boat or even go to a body of water and engage in fishing.

That activity is art of collecting vintage things that have to do with angling. I have just about everything I ever purchased or was given in the pursuit of my interest in fishing. My wife calls some of it junk but I treasure all of it and actually I am constantly adding to my collection.

Did you know those things that I have collected over the years actually have value and in some cases a large amount of money? Now I have some sentimental angling related items that were given to me that I would never attempt to sell for profit.

However for the angling collector, if items do not have sentimental value, they can in many cases bring a nice profit. There are many people collecting vintage angling items today and will pay good money to relieve you of your old angling items. I have a hard time passing up any old angling item I see for sell.

I was at a recent estate sell and I found several vintage fishing items at really good prices. One item was a brand new Bronson Classic spin-cast reel in the original box. It was sold in stores in the late ‘50s and early sixties. That reel was almost 50 years old and had been never used.

What was the value of that reel that I found for 10 bucks at the estate sale? Value sometimes depends on rarity and on condition. It also depends on the interest of the product to the buying market. There is a great deal of interest in anything related to fishing that is old and especially items that are in good condition.

There are two good easy ways to gauge an items value. First there are a whole slew of books available that give the history of fishing lures and tackle and many give you estimated values. Most of those books are available on www.amazon.com and many are available at bookstores.

Also if you have an Internet connection, you can go to www.ebay.com and see what fishing items are being sold and how much money they are bringing. This will give you an idea what people are collecting and what people are willing to pay for fishing items. My wife does not like me to go to the eBay internet site looking at old fishing items because I can always find something to buy.

You do have to be careful when buying sight unseen on eBay but as long as you do a little homework and buy from good eBay sellers, you should be OK. In most cases, good photos are provided so you can get a good idea of the item’s condition. I personally have never been disappointed in the items I have purchased on eBay.

I mentioned earlier that I had purchased items at estate sells. You can also find items at yard sells, flea markets and antique stores. I collect many different fishing items but if you want to begin collecting fishing items, you might want to start with one area like fishing lures until you get your feet wet in the art of collecting.

I collect vintage magazines, books, lures, rods and reels, electric trolling motors, gas motors. Just about anything I can find at a good price that deals with vintage fishing I buy. Many folks are out there collecting so don’t expect to get rich, if that might be your motivation. But you can collect and also sell vintage fishing items and turn a profit if you desire.

One of my best buys was $5 purchase I made at a flea market a few years ago. I bought a box set of books published by Outdoor Life in 1923. The set of nine small books cover ever aspect of the outdoors including four books on hunting and four on fishing.

I just put this little library of books, which were in mint condition, away with many of my other vintage books and magazines that I had purchased and collected over the years and did not pull them out again until recently.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to see if I could find out their market value. Well lo and behold they were listed on www.amazon.com and the individual books were valued from $100 to $300 each. That meant my little $5 investment was worth more than $1,000. Will I sell that collection of books? Not likely but I guess if I don’t sell them, they may end up in a yard sale once I am dead and gone.

Collecting vintage angling items can be real fun. It’s a good thing to do on those days when it might be to cold or messy to be on the water. If the weather is right and the fish are biting I plan to be on the water. But otherwise, I love searching for old fishing items. Good fishing and see you next week.



Outdoor columnist Bobby Peoples can be reached via e-mail at brpeoples@windstream.net.