Pickering Fishery Association
Established 27th April 1892
PFA Memorabilia
For many years the Bay Horse served as the spiritual home of the Pickering Fishery Association,it has jokingly said that Cliff Hardy, Club Secretary for 37 years, ran the club from a corner in the Pub. Such was the relationship between club Members and the Inn.
It's no surprise that the corner by the bar had a permanent display of the club's Memorabilia including a very old Rod and Reel, several framed sets of Flies tied by Hal Thompson, and ex Secretaries Charlie Hawkes & Don Williams plus various other framed items of interest.
Sadly, the owners of the Pub decided that they would close the pub in May 2026 for refurbishment, also telling the Landlady to put the Pickering Fishery items into the skip. Thankfully she kindly called the club and offered to hand over the items which were duly collected and stored until we can find another 'Spiritual Home' where they can be displayed.
One day we may see the club build a lake in Big Crooks and perhaps a new Clubhouse too or upscale the Hardy Memorial Hut into a lodge for Members.
For now these items are stored with the current Secretary. However, so they are not forgotten, they are shown below, until a new home can be created or found.
Who knows we may yet get a lake with an adjacent clubhouse!
For now at least you can see the items and read of their history.
The Bay Horse Display
of
PFA Memorabilia
Although this is only a poor quality photo from the old Bay Horse website, one can see the display in the corner of the Bar of the Bay Horse Inn, Pickering.
The old Rod can be seen on the wall, also several framed collections of Fishing Flies tied by Members & Secretaries, plus other items that can be seen too.
Had the Landlady of the day not been dismissed she would not have bothered to read the inventory and would not have found the instruction to return the items listed.
As luck would have it, although the Secretary of the day travelled 55 miles each way to fish or attend meetings, he was only 3 miles from Pickering when she called.
They would have been lost forever. What a co-incidence and what a narrow escape!
The collection
The collection will be shown below with a paragraph or two relating to the 'Excalibre' the vintage Greenhart rod made by WJ Cummings c.1880-1890.
Plus more about the Brass Reel that accompanied it.
There are some amazing stories that accompany these memorable items, hopefully you will enjoy reading about them and how they came to be significant to the Association
The Reel
The Reel that was displayed, with the vintage rod, in the Bay Horse' bar is by Foster Bros of Ashbourne. After some research it is said to have been made in the 1880's and hence would probably sold to accompany the Greenhart rod shown below.
It was hung on the wall of the Bay Horse Bar as can be seen in the photo above. It was displayed for decades and seen by many of the PFA Members over the years as they enjoyed a free pint after a working party.
Having been there for some time the silk line was a brown furry thing. As the silk was pulled out of the reel the true colour emerged and a claret coloured fly line could be seen.
Upon washing the first few metres that had the brown furry appearance the water turned yellow from the nicotine that had accrued.
But there is more to come when you read about the Rod 'Excalibre'.
The Rod - The Costa Beck's "Excalibur"
Made by C.J.Cummins of Bishop Aukland this is considered a "local made rod". Using the Serial number and Co-pilot AI it is thought to have been 'born' in the 1880's. As stated above, it was most likely paired from new with the Foster Bros Reel.
As the Rod was being dismounted from the wall of the Bay Horse Bar a local decided to add to it's legendary status.
"This rod was given to the club by the guy who caught the largest trout from the Costa".
This narrative from a local is supported by the date of the Rod and Reel pairing made in the 1880's when, according to the Costa Angler's Club Minutes below, a 9.75lb trout was caught in 1889!
Given the CAC was 'Reformed in 1879 and they were asking in 1889 for an additional subscription for Loch Leven fry and fingerlings from Howietown. Did the the Costa Anglers Club previously stock with them earlier in the 19th Century and could this explain the presence of a 9.75 lb.trout.
In 2020 thro to 2022 a PFA Member twice caught a 5lb trout in Oxfolds
DNA testing is probably a good idea to ascertain whether there is any lasting growth factors from the 19th Century Loch Leven strains..
The Trout Trophy
In amongst the box of items collected from the Bay Horse there was a hand carved wooden Trophy in the form of a Trout. As you can see in the photo below it states "AMOCO TROUTMATCH" and "82 Winner". On the reverse side it is written that it was hand carved by Brian W Mills September 1982.
It's a wonderfully detailed carving, Trophy won by someone in 1982 but how did this come to be displayed as a PFA Memorabilia item?
A quick search online revealed it was awarded to the Winner of a Televised Special with Roger Daltry. Chris Tarrant, Jack Charlton, Frankie Vaughan and Leonard Parkin. Each was paired with a Professional Fly Angler. The winners had 32 fish caught of the 37 caught on the day. No mean feat but alas hte news ckip failed to say who had won.
Further research suggested contacting Hereward Books and after a few days wait they confirmed that ex ITV News Presenter Leonard Parking had won the Trophy.
When Senior Members of the Club were asked they confirmed that Leonard had frequented the Bay Horse and enjoyed a pint with other members after the working parties. One Member recalled that Leonard's Funeral was held in Pickering. A further search of the Club's AGM Minutes (online on this website for Members) revealed that he had sent apologies at least twice in the 1980's for not attending the AGM.
And after collective sleauthing by Senior Members we could see he had been a PFA Member and must have donated the Trophy to the Club.
It is a truly magnificent thing with each and every scale stamped into the wood.
Framed Flies
Also on display were a fine collection of Flies tied by past Secretaries & Members to celebrate the Club's Centenary.
There are three fabulous frames of Salmon Flies by Charlie Hawkes who was the PFA Secretary 20 April 1997 to 06 February 2001.
Another frame contains a great selection of Flies tied by Don Williams who was Secretary from 11 March 2001 through to 12 March 2008.
Another frame of Dry and Wet flies tied by Hal Thompson (some research needed to see if he was a Member).
