Black Sea bass from the past

[Bill B]

"Before commercial fishing became overtaken by huge fleets and long-line fisherman, people could still catch fish that defied imagination.  Black Sea Bass are masters of hiding on the bottom of the sea in caves and crevices and are believed to live for over a hundred years if given the the opportunity. In the early 1900's, people started moving to the California coast and discovered fish so enormous that some of the records from that time still stand to this day. This image of Edward Llewellen and his world record black sea bass is astounding. Weighing in at 425 lbs, this fish caught off of Catalina Island on August 26th, 1903 shook the fishing world."

[Dominick]

According to Mike's book Penn did not start making reels until !932.  So in 1903 the reel which looks like a Penn was probably an Ocean City, Pflueger, or Shakespeare.  This is only a wild guess.  I blew the photo up until it degraded to the point that it did not resemble a fishing reel.  Dominick

[Tightlines667]

Looks like a Pflueger to me.

[foakes]

I think John and Dominick are right -- probably a Pflueger.

No drag, no A/R, probably a leather thumb drag -- hard rubber plates, handle is kind of universal to the era -- but indicative of Pflueger or 4 Brothers.

Appears to be around a 9/0 -- maybe a tall, wide 6/0 size.

The anglers who fished the island areas off of California over 100 years ago -- were pioneers -- but they were not wealthy, or typically well to do.  They could not buy Vom Hofes, or similar reels like the Hemingways or Zane Greys.  They discovered large fish could be taken by the average fellow, on solid, simple, Heavy Duty gear.

Many of these fisherman belonged to clubs -- and they learned techniques and often times shared gear among club members.

Imagine catching a monster like this on an old knuckle-buster.  Just you, the boat operator, and a bull of a fish.

Shows that the old gear works just fine.

Tearing apart a few old soldiers tonight -- seem to be similarities to the reel pictured -- but the one in the pic is a little larger.

Maybe a few more experts will chime in with the ID.

Best,

Fred

[Shark Hunter]

This looks like the same feller with a lady friend.

[steelhead_killer]

Sea monsters!

[Bill B]

The Channel Islands has hosted many monster BSB.....I believe the State Record was 563 lbs off Anacapa Island....

[Flounder Boy 3]

This looks like the same feller with a lady friend.

She was mighty dressed up to go a-fishing.

[Steve-O]

Here's a link with loads of BSB images and catch data, including the two above. Appears to me that after gaffing the fish they were hoisted aboard via block and tackle on the mast or towed them to shore if they were too heavy to haul aboard with the gaff.

Very worthwhile if you like historical fishing data.

http://islapedia.com/index.php?title=Black_Sea_Bass

[sdlehr]

Here's a link with loads of BSB images and catch data, including the two above. Appears to me that after gaffing the fish they were hoisted aboard via block and tackle on the mast or towed them to shore if they were too heavy to haul aboard with the gaff.

Very worthwhile if you like historical fishing data.

http://islapedia.com/index.php?title=Black_Sea_Bass

Also worthwhile because it has a picture of George Farnsworth, who is credited as one of the inventors of the modern drag mechanism along with Wm Boschen and Joseph Coxe.

[Bill B]

I vote these monsters for Pound for Pound best fighters   

[handi2]

I like the guy in the background with the gangster lean..

[conchydong]

The California BSB are a different species than our east coast BSB. More like a Jewfish. Where I live in S. Florida it is the extreme southern range of east coast BSB, and any thing that is legal size is called a good catch.

[sdlehr]

Wikipedia lists the west coast species as a Giant Sea Bass - Stereolepis gigas - and the east coast Black Sea Bass as Centropristis striata - both are said to be related to the Grouper.

[Swami805]

Sunrise over anacapa island yesterday. The record bsb was caught off the point at the left end of the island in the picture. There's still a few monsters caught now and then but they're protected so they have to be released.