Apparently, nothing screams high-class like the 30-pound pike that legendary taxidermists J. Cooper and Sons preserved and mounted in a gilt-lined bowfront case (below). This item, which sold for just below $11,000, was only one among a smorgasbord of vintage and near-modern fishing relics—including reels, rods, books, trophy fish, and tackle boxes—featured at the Bonhams Auction House Henley Sale, held last Saturday, July 21, at Henley-on-Thames just outside London.

Another angling artifact, which fetched over $5,000, has a name more reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs than A River Runs Through It. But the Gut Twisting Engine—made for the Great Exhibition of 1851 at the exquisite but short-lived Crystal Palace—is actually a beautiful, silver-plated brass tool used to turn horsehair into fishing line.

When it comes to rods and reels, a certain maker again asserted itself as the biggest name in the game. One of Bonham's signature fishing items, the Zane Grey big game reel and leather case (top), had a winning bid of $8,860. The high price was more than expected for the piece, which Hardy designed and manufactured in the 1930s to meet the requirements of the famous angler and author Zane Grey, who—as any self-important writer would—demanded it be the most expensive reel in the world before he would lend it his name.

An established angler looking to actually tackle the sport (rather than, say, decorate a room in the spirit of the pastime) might covet Lot 135, the limited edition House of Hardy Compleat Angler Traveller Set. And since it didn't sell last Saturday, it will be listed again on their next fishing auction on October 12 This item literally has it all—hook, line, and sinker. Inside its brushed aluminum case there's everything you'll need to snag your own 30-pound pike. After that, taxidermy is optional.

—WILL REITER