DIVE DRY WITH DR. BILL #755: "FISHISTORY," PART 1
Back when I was at the Catalina Island School (Toyon Bay), I taught a course on Catalina history. I thought it was important for my students to have a better understanding of the island they attended school on. About this time I met Patricia Moore and Chuck Liddell, who had a much more comprehensive knowledge about the history of The Rock.
Recently Chuck gave me several copies of our oldest newspaper, The Islander, dating back to the period 1917 to 1919. Back in the early days of our town, fish and fishing were big news here. Issues of the paper abounded with stories of fish and anglers. A number of them featured "The Cycle of the Fishes" based on observations by legendary boat captain George Farnsworth. I thought I'd use a few as fodder for my columns since they are of historical and biological interest.
Back in the earliest years fishing activity was largely commercial. Fishing boats from San Pedro would come over to Catalina to harvest our bounty and bring it back to markets on the mainland. Most of the fishermen were Italian and Italian Gardens was home to many who lived on their boats. There were also noted market fishermen from Avalon like Harry Doss, Vincente Moricich, Harry and Jimmy Elms. Big game fishing was relatively unknown until the late 1890s when The Tuna Club was founded.
Barracuda and white sea bass were among the most common species in the 1890s. It was reported that Lover's Cove was "a solid mass" of white sea bass. Yellowtail were present, but primarily a half mile offshore. Albacore (often spelled "albicore" in early papers) were also present.
Small (20-60#) tuna were present close to shore while bigger ones could be taken out in the Channel. However, the market fishermen did not often target them because they gave such strong fight. This was in the days of hand lines and the paper reported that "fisher's hands were burned from the friction" of the lines as the fish ran. This made them less attractive to those who were fishing for food vs. sport. Thus tuna and even swordfish were considered "pests" in those early days.
Sharks were abundant in the day and it was reported that "very large" ones would come in close to shore. Fishers did not like having their catch stolen by them. Avalonians would tie an empty 5-gallon can to a baited line, leave it at the mouth of Avalon Bay and wait for a shark to hook itself. When the can took off, skiffs would follow it until it came to rest. The shark would then be towed to one of our local beaches. Imagine doing that today... bye bye tourism.
These early days of market fishing would slowly give way to sport fishing with tuna, black sea bass and billfish taking precedence. Anglers would head out more for the thrill of the chase and the fight of the fish than the smell of dinner frying in the pan.
Personally the only fishing I've done has been for food, and I've not done much of that since I quit spearfishing back around 1975. My culinary "skills" also had something to do with that transition. Heck, I managed to set several kelp bass on fire in my toaster oven when I opened the tin foil and revealed the melted butter. Much better to head down to The Lobster Trap for dinner these days!
© 2017 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 700 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Beginning of column in the Feb. 6, 1917 issue of The Islander
Back when I was at the Catalina Island School (Toyon Bay), I taught a course on Catalina history. I thought it was important for my students to have a better understanding of the island they attended school on. About this time I met Patricia Moore and Chuck Liddell, who had a much more comprehensive knowledge about the history of The Rock.
Recently Chuck gave me several copies of our oldest newspaper, The Islander, dating back to the period 1917 to 1919. Back in the early days of our town, fish and fishing were big news here. Issues of the paper abounded with stories of fish and anglers. A number of them featured "The Cycle of the Fishes" based on observations by legendary boat captain George Farnsworth. I thought I'd use a few as fodder for my columns since they are of historical and biological interest.
Back in the earliest years fishing activity was largely commercial. Fishing boats from San Pedro would come over to Catalina to harvest our bounty and bring it back to markets on the mainland. Most of the fishermen were Italian and Italian Gardens was home to many who lived on their boats. There were also noted market fishermen from Avalon like Harry Doss, Vincente Moricich, Harry and Jimmy Elms. Big game fishing was relatively unknown until the late 1890s when The Tuna Club was founded.
Barracuda and white sea bass were among the most common species in the 1890s. It was reported that Lover's Cove was "a solid mass" of white sea bass. Yellowtail were present, but primarily a half mile offshore. Albacore (often spelled "albicore" in early papers) were also present.
Small (20-60#) tuna were present close to shore while bigger ones could be taken out in the Channel. However, the market fishermen did not often target them because they gave such strong fight. This was in the days of hand lines and the paper reported that "fisher's hands were burned from the friction" of the lines as the fish ran. This made them less attractive to those who were fishing for food vs. sport. Thus tuna and even swordfish were considered "pests" in those early days.
Sharks were abundant in the day and it was reported that "very large" ones would come in close to shore. Fishers did not like having their catch stolen by them. Avalonians would tie an empty 5-gallon can to a baited line, leave it at the mouth of Avalon Bay and wait for a shark to hook itself. When the can took off, skiffs would follow it until it came to rest. The shark would then be towed to one of our local beaches. Imagine doing that today... bye bye tourism.
These early days of market fishing would slowly give way to sport fishing with tuna, black sea bass and billfish taking precedence. Anglers would head out more for the thrill of the chase and the fight of the fish than the smell of dinner frying in the pan.
Personally the only fishing I've done has been for food, and I've not done much of that since I quit spearfishing back around 1975. My culinary "skills" also had something to do with that transition. Heck, I managed to set several kelp bass on fire in my toaster oven when I opened the tin foil and revealed the melted butter. Much better to head down to The Lobster Trap for dinner these days!
© 2017 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 700 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Beginning of column in the Feb. 6, 1917 issue of The Islander
