CATALINA 



business although barracuda have not been as plentiful as 

 usual and, as I write this, yellowtail have not showed up in 

 their customary numbers. 



The Catalina Islands compose Santa Catalina, San Clem- 

 ente and San Nicholas, running offshore in the order named. 

 Catalina Island always is spoken of with reverence by mem- 

 bers of the salt-water fishing fraternity— as indeed it should 

 be, for this is the birthplace of salt-water angling. 



Near the east end of Catalina and facing the mainland 

 twenty-two miles south of San Pedro, the seaport of Los 

 Angeles, lies Avalon, the home of the Catalina Tuna Club. 

 While Catalina Island was the birthplace of big game fishing, 

 the CataHna Tuna Club was the cradle in which the newborn 

 baby was nursed by some of the greatest sportsmen and 

 fishermen who ever lived. 



The first tuna ever taken on rod and reel was caught by 

 the late Dr. Charles F. Holder who founded the Catalina 

 Tuna Club. This fish weighed 183 pounds and the year was 

 1898. Five seasons later, Edward T. Llewellyn caught the 

 first marlin. Ten years after that, in 191 3, the first broadbill 

 swordfish was taken by W. C. Boschen. It weighed 355 

 pounds. Thus the three largest species of game fish were first 

 caught in these historic waters. 



Since its inauguration twenty-six men have served as 

 president of the Tuna Club, and the four wartime presiding 

 officers— Harry Buffum, Joseph D. Peeler, Charles S. Jones 

 and Robert C. Mankowski— turned it over to the 1 946 presi- 

 dent, Ellis J. Arkush, with a larger membership and more 

 enthusiasm than ever. There were practically no resignations 

 during the war years— extraordinary when you consider that 



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