Chris Yates’s Oak Tackle Box.

10” wide, 7” deep and 2¾” in height, this box fits comfortably in most large creels, baskets, tackle bags and Rolls Royce glove compartments.

As the accompanying pictures illustrate, the box is beautifully made from oak, with Chris’s initials inlaid in paler wood on the front of the lid.

Its interior is thoughtfully divided into one long rear compartment for floats and four front compartments for various items of tackle.

The tackle box (and its contents) is exactly as it was when I collected it from Chris. It contains the following items of tackle:

16 floats, including one Barder fluted Avon c1990, one Colin Whitehouse antenna float and various others made by Harcork et al.

One glassine packet of original Richard Walker size 4 carp hooks

One glassine packet of Allcocks Model Perfect size 6 hooks

One glassine packet of Allcocks Model Perfect size 8 hooks to nylon

Seven glassine packets of hooks to nylon by Hewitt of Alcester

One glassine packet of Martin James hooks to nylon

One small aluminium hook disgorger

Two packets of Hardy Halcyon spinning flights

One vintage glass dry fly oiler bottle in its leather retainer with an applicator brush fitted to its stopper.

One glassine packet containing a scale from a 16 lb Redmire carp that Chris caught on his return from the local pub c1982.

The case itself has some water staining to its rear and underside but this is entirely superficial and there is no damage to the wood or the joints. Overall, the box is in superb original condition. I would recommend regular applications of Black Bison beeswax polish for a year or two. The wood will glow and your tackle will be redolent of beeswax and turpentine.