Hemingway, Churchill and the Trophy Fish of Catalina Island

“Fish on!” at the Catalina Museum for Art & History during “Capturing Memories: A Half Century of Fishing 1900-1950,” an exhibition of photographs highlighting Catalina Island’s emergence as “the birthplace of big game fishing.” That story begins in 1898 with Charles F. Holder, believed to be the first man to catch a tuna on rod and reel – and what a whopper it was, 183-pounds. He landed the fish off Santa Catalina Island, about 25 miles from the California mainland depending on point of departure.

Holder would go on to found the Tuna Club of Avalon, so named for Catalina’s only incorporated city. Anyone visiting Catalina Island most likely has done so via Avalon.

The oldest fishing club in the United States, the Tuna Club of Avalon boasted a roster of early members including U.S. presidents William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, and Theodore Roosevelt, and Hollywood luminaries like Cecil B. DeMille, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel.

“Capturing Memories” features photographs of Bing Crosby out on the water and Winston Churchill with rod in hand. Orson Welles, Zane Grey, and Delores Del Rio, too. Grey lived on Catalina and was a big fisherman.

Was Earnest Hemingway inspired to write “Old Man and the Sea” fishing around Catalina with members of the Tuna Club? That’s the rumor.

“I was interested in finding photographs that celebrate the excitement of landing a really large and challenging fish such as marlins and swordfish,” Sheila Bergman, Executive Director of Catalina Museum and exhibition curator, said. “I was also interested in exploring the captains and the people helping to support that – what they did here on the island, were they full-time, how did this work, how extensive was this community.”

The earliest picture in the exhibition dates to 1897. All photographs come from the museum’s collection of innumerable images gifted by former residents and businesses documenting the island’s evolution into the tourist haven it is today.

“At the beginning of the show, you have these individuals that look like a quarter of the size of the fish that they’re standing next to, and that gives you one sense of – wow – sports fishing, it’s such a fantastic culture,” Bergman said.

Woman with Seabass 1901. Image courtesy of Catalina Museum for Art & History.

These early trophy photos follow a standard format with the name of the angler, captain, weight of the fish, and time it took to land written on the black-and-white image. The scale of the fish is almost unbelievable. Monsters by today’s standards.

“Capturing Memories” does more than highlight trophies and the rich and famous. Smaller catches by locals and visitors are included as well, rock fish, barracuda, trout, the more approachable side of sport fishing. Bergman resisted the temptation of including a photograph of herself and her mother fishing there when she was a child.

The communal aspects of fishing – a day out on the water – promotional images used in luring tourists to visit Catalina for fishing, photos of tackle and equipment, and photos of the first yacht club on the island, the Sophia Yacht Club, predating today’s Catalina Island Yacht Club, are all included.

These historically significant images capture moments illustrating the island’s deep-rooted connection to fishing as both a pastime and a way of life. Accompanying narratives provide a window into the island’s enduring connection to fishing culture. The exhibition also encourages visitors to share their own fishing stories. 

There are photos of commercial fisherman as well, but with its small port and small size overall, Catalina Island couldn’t support the infrastructure of canneries, marinas, docks, and housing required for large commercial fishing operations. The waters could, but not Catalina.

Bing Crosby on Boat with Fishng Pole. Image courtesy of Catalina Museum for Art & History.

The Tuna Capital of the World

Southern California was once known as “the tuna capital of the world.” San Diego, about 100 miles south of Catalina, employed nearly 40,000 people catching, processing or selling tuna during the 1960s.

“Southern California has good fishing in general because of upwelling, which is driven by the wind,” Michael Milstein, Senior Public Affairs Officer, West Coast Region/Northwest Fisheries Science Center/Southwest Fisheries Science Center, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said. “The winds blowing onshore pull water up from great depths that is very rich in nutrients. That fuels an incredible food web starting with microscopic organisms like plankton, but goes all the way up to great white sharks. This is why Southern California has the incredible kelp forests teeming with life, why when you go to tidepools they are full of living things. It's so rich that leatherback turtles migrate across the Pacific Ocean to feed off California before going back to nesting beaches in Indonesia.”

Southern California is also a worldwide destination today for whale watching with many of the most popular excursions leaving out of Dana Point directly across from Catalina. Protecting marine life in these waters now takes priority over profiting from them.

“Two factors led the fishery elsewhere,” Milstein explained. “Protections for dolphins and porpoises that made it more laborious to pursue tuna in the eastern Pacific along Southern California, also, low labor costs offshore pushed many of the canneries elsewhere, especially to the western Pacific, that also attracted much of the fleet that had worked off California.”

Sportfishing, likewise, has a more conservationist ethic with “catch and photograph” or “catch and release” replacing the old-school scenes of dozens of fish hanging from hooks at the marina after a successful day.

“There is still some commercial fishing in Southern California, often more artisanal fisheries such as albacore and other tuna and sea urchins and such,” Milstein said. “Market squid is one of the biggest commercial fisheries in California with much of the squid shipped to Asian markets. There is some indication squid may be shifting with climate change. Some of the other early fisheries such as sardines that inspired Cannery Row in Monterey have declined with low numbers of fish. The sardine fishery has been closed for several years now because there are too few fish to catch.”

That situation seems to be more the exception than the rule.

Couple with Swordfish on Catalina Island. Photo courtesy of Catalina Museum for Art & History.

“While some fisheries like sardines have been in decline, most others are stable or increasing. Dungeness crab is also a major commercial catch in California and are doing well. The crab fleet is delayed because of all the humpback whales feeding off the California Coast, which are feeding on anchovy that have been booming for many years now,” Milstein continued. “Humpback whale numbers are up, as are many other marine mammals. The number of dolphins and porpoises off Southern California now are probably as high as they have been, and of course there are now many whale watch boats that take people out to see them, further adding to the economy as fishing once did.”

Sportfishing, too, continues thriving around Southern California, including off Catalina. Yellowtail Amberjack, White Seabass, yellowfin and bluefin tuna, striped marlin. Inshore and offshore.

“(The) recreational fishery in Southern California is booming,” Milstein said. “There are many boats crewed by folks who used to fish commercially and are now hosting sport fishers from around the world. Swordfish, tuna, bonito, there are many popular species. That is helping offset the decline in the commercial fishery.”

Spring is the best time of year, a guide is suggested, and a permit required.

The Tuna Club persists as well. Located on the edge of Avalon Bay, its home is a California Historical Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. As a private club, it keeps a low profile. The Catalina Island Yacht Club next door has a more public presence including hosting an annual billfish tournament.

“Catching Memories: A Half-Century of Fishing 1900-1950” remains on view through May 24, 2025.