DIVE DRY WITH DR. BILL #757: FISHISTORY, PART 2
In my first column based on the data from Avalon fishing boat captain George Farnsworth, I covered the early origins of fishing in our waters. In the 1880s and early 1890s, most of the fishers off Catalina were commercial or market fishers who sought edible fish suitable for market. Many of them came from the San Pedro area and brought their catch back to the mainland for sale.
Then in the latter 1890s sport or game fishing became more popular. Farnsworth reported that Hugo Asplund was the first of the "professional boatmen." He was followed by Harry Elms, Percy Neale, Chappie, Mexican Joe and Jim Gardner. In those days gasoline powered boats were "in an experimental stage." These men rowed skiffs out to take their anglers to the backside to fish.
Boatbuilder Pard Matthewson begin building launches that Farnsworth deemed Lusitanias among the smaller "mosquito craft" of the skiff rowers. His boat was the "Tenderfoot" and it was soon followed by the "Fleetwing" captained by Sandy MacDonald, the "Santa Ana" for George Emerson, the "Sunbeam" for Monte Foster and others. The fleet continued to grow, but Farnsworth referred to them as "horrid little tubs" compared to the luxurious fishing launches of later days.
Most of the fishing at this time was done with hand lines rather than rod-and-reel. After a day of good fishing, boats often returned "with lines and tackle in an almost inextricable tangle." Although he focused mostly on boat building, Pard was the first "launch boatman" to take out rod-and-reel anglers.
In the mid 1890s most of the fishing was centered around Church Rock and Silver Canyon. Barracuda, yellowtail and "white fish" (white sea bass?) ran thick there. There were plenty of fish for everyone in our "virgin waters." "Black" Sea Bass were said to be thick at the "Jew Fish Grounds..." Jew Fish being an early name for giant sea bass because these large fish were considered kosher.
The giant sea bass were initially considered pests as they would steal hooked fish before the angler could boat them. Farnsworth states that fishing for this species began not from intentionally targeting them, but from a form of by-catch as they were caught while fishing for other species. He goes on to say that big sharks began interferring with the giant sea bass angling near shore and that it had to be abandoned in 1897 with anglers going farther off-shore to seek them.
Farnsworth referred to the "cycle of the fishes," but so far I don't have a clear understanding of what he meant by that. It could be a seasonal cycle or a longer term one. He wrote that the run of young fish ended in 1896 and the baitfish, especially sardines, were much larger by the following year.a San Pedro seiner, the "Alpha," had record hauls of them. They were so numerous that the canneries exceeded capacity and many of the fish were ground up into fertilizer!
According to these reports, squid and totano appeared in 1895 and greatly increased over the next two years. Now I had to look up totano, but it apparently translates from Italian as squid. I wonder if there were two different species hitting our waters then. Strangely white sea bass, which feed on squid, declined during this period.
Large tuna replaced smaller ones in 1897. Anglers would fish for them mid-Channel. However so many jiggs and tackle were lost due to their ferocious fighting that boat operators stopped trolling cross-channel. Swordfish jumping out in the Channel were thought to be sharks!
I hope you are enjoying these columns based on George Farnsworth's observations more than a century ago. I find them fascinating. I often wonder what it would be like if I could take a time machine back to this era, complete with dive gear (several filled tanks!) and my underwater video gear to document this.
© 2018 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 750 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Beginning of column in the Feb. 13, 1917 issue of The Islander
In my first column based on the data from Avalon fishing boat captain George Farnsworth, I covered the early origins of fishing in our waters. In the 1880s and early 1890s, most of the fishers off Catalina were commercial or market fishers who sought edible fish suitable for market. Many of them came from the San Pedro area and brought their catch back to the mainland for sale.
Then in the latter 1890s sport or game fishing became more popular. Farnsworth reported that Hugo Asplund was the first of the "professional boatmen." He was followed by Harry Elms, Percy Neale, Chappie, Mexican Joe and Jim Gardner. In those days gasoline powered boats were "in an experimental stage." These men rowed skiffs out to take their anglers to the backside to fish.
Boatbuilder Pard Matthewson begin building launches that Farnsworth deemed Lusitanias among the smaller "mosquito craft" of the skiff rowers. His boat was the "Tenderfoot" and it was soon followed by the "Fleetwing" captained by Sandy MacDonald, the "Santa Ana" for George Emerson, the "Sunbeam" for Monte Foster and others. The fleet continued to grow, but Farnsworth referred to them as "horrid little tubs" compared to the luxurious fishing launches of later days.
Most of the fishing at this time was done with hand lines rather than rod-and-reel. After a day of good fishing, boats often returned "with lines and tackle in an almost inextricable tangle." Although he focused mostly on boat building, Pard was the first "launch boatman" to take out rod-and-reel anglers.
In the mid 1890s most of the fishing was centered around Church Rock and Silver Canyon. Barracuda, yellowtail and "white fish" (white sea bass?) ran thick there. There were plenty of fish for everyone in our "virgin waters." "Black" Sea Bass were said to be thick at the "Jew Fish Grounds..." Jew Fish being an early name for giant sea bass because these large fish were considered kosher.
The giant sea bass were initially considered pests as they would steal hooked fish before the angler could boat them. Farnsworth states that fishing for this species began not from intentionally targeting them, but from a form of by-catch as they were caught while fishing for other species. He goes on to say that big sharks began interferring with the giant sea bass angling near shore and that it had to be abandoned in 1897 with anglers going farther off-shore to seek them.
Farnsworth referred to the "cycle of the fishes," but so far I don't have a clear understanding of what he meant by that. It could be a seasonal cycle or a longer term one. He wrote that the run of young fish ended in 1896 and the baitfish, especially sardines, were much larger by the following year.a San Pedro seiner, the "Alpha," had record hauls of them. They were so numerous that the canneries exceeded capacity and many of the fish were ground up into fertilizer!
According to these reports, squid and totano appeared in 1895 and greatly increased over the next two years. Now I had to look up totano, but it apparently translates from Italian as squid. I wonder if there were two different species hitting our waters then. Strangely white sea bass, which feed on squid, declined during this period.
Large tuna replaced smaller ones in 1897. Anglers would fish for them mid-Channel. However so many jiggs and tackle were lost due to their ferocious fighting that boat operators stopped trolling cross-channel. Swordfish jumping out in the Channel were thought to be sharks!
I hope you are enjoying these columns based on George Farnsworth's observations more than a century ago. I find them fascinating. I often wonder what it would be like if I could take a time machine back to this era, complete with dive gear (several filled tanks!) and my underwater video gear to document this.
© 2018 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of over 750 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Beginning of column in the Feb. 13, 1917 issue of The Islander
