Weekly at Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California. Avalon's official
containing the local news of this wonderful Island World. Official
ton of the Light Tackle Club, an organization of sea-angling sportsmen.
1 training field for the Chicago "Cubs" and Los Angeles "Angels."
Avalon: Year-round mecca for tourists and travelers.
Boating, bathing, golf, tennis, baseball, riding, walking.
fishing, marine gardens. Unexcelled accommodations.
F'IVE CENTS AVALON. SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. CALIFORNIA. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 9. 1924. VOL. Xl. NO. 13
SANTA CATALINA ISLAND: IN ALL THE WORLD NO TRIP LIKE THIS! ]
By Ernest Windle
"Yellowtail John" claims distinction! the "city pipes ?" \Ve said it was in
e Says that he is the first Avalon, Falls Canyon dam
atrnan
to row a boat on "Middle] The water from Middle Ranch is
Latch water." The little incident accmnulating in the Falls Canyon dam.
~a.pPened one day week, "Yellowtail John" can prove that.
last
while
0hn was visiting the dam in Falls Wasn't he accused of trying to catch
"Middle Ranch" trout? There is a
lot of work to be done on the water
systenl before the residents of Avalon
will be permitted to use the water.
So, don't get anxious, folks. Try
your faucet about the fifteenth day of
June. Then, perhaps, it will supply
you with good water, fresh water,
sweet water--but, not ICE WATER!
That everyone in Avalon may know
that the Midd!e Ranch water is in the
"city system," this newspaper respect-
1"tfully suggests that "Yellowtail John"
~e barn Under Construetion to Hold" be given a public opportunity to tell
ater at Middle Ranch. [of his thrilling experience "When I
PHOTO aV JOHN W,NOLE rowed un rowboat acrost un lake."
(2an,.- . I (Continued on Page 6. Column 2)
~, sun, back of the electric light pow-
h" Plant. The Immp from Dam No. 21 ~~
h_ been in operation for several'
,,~tars, and the water poured down the
"~Yon 1
a , 000 feet, front the Sumnnt.
]~ rowboat, that had been used by the
i~a°.rers who had finished the cement
WOrk
~_ of the Falls Canyon dam was
r"0?r by. John launched the boa't. He
.ed
across the "lake."
i~ .here are persons in Avalon who
,:~l.S! that "Yellowtail John" was seen
r_Shang for trout in the Falls Canyon
fServoir.,, Perhaps that is only a re-
~ort! No one saw him carry away
~ty ft.
the- Sh. He admits that he rowed
boat from "un side to un oder."
pthe announcement made in this
:Der last week that Middle Ranch
ater had reached Avalon over the
au~arait was met with many snfiles
hd' , . '
u,. JOyous exclamations. So 'tickled"
",iS Olle
... of our readers that she mt-
"~ecliatel . . , . I
d- Y went to the taucet Vednes-I
a~ last, drew a cup of water, and took!
, Ong drink"
te'Vqh. y" p' she' says she said," "this" wa-
Shr. dOesn't taste a bit different than
ri' \°ld water we have been using!
,get~ along, Where does the Islander[
1~ .that noise' about theMiddle! After it Is Pumped to Summit the
~ueh Water bei-- +t,o 6~,~" ] Water Is Released at Top o~ Falls
Yes, "~,,.,,~ "'s ......... [ Canyon--Photo Shows First Water
She Star~:~-saw the.lady .Thursday!! Released at Summ,t.
~vee~, u In to tell sue wrner oi lasts PHOTO BY JOHN WlNDLS
PaJ, s article all about water--princi-I
a.:~Y" Then we asked her to read the] You will nearly always find some-
"Uele a ' ' "
ak_ gain. Did'we write anvthiug J thing interesting in the School Depart-
uuut Water having been turne~t into ment, on page eleven.
By "Three-Six"
Looking back into ancient history,I
we discover that the commencement of l
rod and reel fishing practically began
in 1898, with the organization of the
Catalina Tuna Club by Chas. F. Hol-
der, in the interests of a higher stan-
dard of sportsmanship. Hitherto, the
hand-line and bone jig had predomi-
nated the field.
The rods and reels were somewhat
crude at first, but were gradually be-
ing intproved upon, due to the enthus-
iasm shown by club members in the
taking of fish under this new order
of things.
kept of everything, from rock bass up;
but (luring 19t)5 interest in the sport
appeared to be falling off; tuna had
disappeared, and only a few of the
oht guard were returning. Mr. Andrew
Grey Weeks, a famous trout and sal-
mon angler arrived from Boston, and
put a lot of crazy ideas into our heads
with the case with which he was pick-
ing out our yellowtail with his eastern
bass rod.
The next year, 1906, as the resuh of
sotne very strenous sessions, the light
Tackle Club organized, with bronze,
silver and gold buttons for specified
weights of the various fish. The rod
was the source of many warn~argu-
ments as to its weight--with or with-
out the butt inchtded. Some favored
barring out the butt, and others desir-
ed to disregard its weight and weigh
in the tip only. It was "hollow butts"
all over the city for a time, and the
club was dubbed the "Halibut Club."
Following later this nine-ounce rod,
came the 3-6 and the 3-4-5 rod, anti
Mr. Arthur Jerome Eddy even lWOl)OS-
ed a "No Tip Club," and 1 remember
seeing him qualify off Long Point one
day, fighting a yellowtail with nothing
but the reel in his hands, and he was
quite a busy man for a time, too.
Now, through all these various de-
velopments the line, if it did not ex-
ceed the requirements of test, was dis-
nfissed from further consideration, and
the rod simply had to come within
certain weights and lengths to be
standard. But all the time our lines
were breaking. If they happened to
be furnished by the boatman, the ang-
ler knew where the trouble lay, of
course; but if he were breaking his.
own lines, well--that was probably the
boatman's fault too.
As I have said, a properly propor-
tioned rod will do away with some
breakage in lines. Mr. Weeks could
have used some drag on his bass rod,
had he chosen; but Mr. Eddy could
not, with his reel alone, and be safe.
Why is it that a Murphy hickory is
preferable to a split bamboo rod ? Be-
cause it just naturally takes on the
proper contour and will not allow of
the tip being raised too high, as in the
case of a very stiff rod.
Trying to get over one extra turn
of the reel handle on a lmmp often
brings the tip into the danger zone and,
l at the same time, is unduly strain-
ing the line when a stiff rod is being
used. If you are fortunate enough to
get hold of a Montague City six-ounce
rod for examination, you will find that
the tip is scientifically proportioned to
the last detail, even to the placentent
of guides. Roy Shaver, our local ex-
pert, after much time and labor spent
upon it, brought it down to scale. The
nine-ounce rod, to be perfect, should
be constructed similarly.
At present, this rod has a lot of
wood in the center that is doing no
good but much harm, for it is not
where it belongs. The idea, roughly
speaking, would be to crowd down a
good deal of this towards the butt for
lifting power, at the same time taper-
lug down finely towards the tip. Thus,
in lifting, the tension on the line is
imparted gradually and the line in
turn is pulling on the tip straight to it,
instead of fornfing much curvature,
thus causing the bow in the rod to
first start to form down towards where
the thickening or backbone coanmen-
ces; but the bow will not be great, of
course, at this point, on account of the
added strength; therefore, you obtain
perfect curvature throughout with a
variable tension that you do not get
so nmch with a stiffer rod. This rod
is not quite so well adapted for trying
to pump up a fish from directly under
the launch, but you have no business
on top of the fish anyway, as this is
his loafing place; so move off away
from him and put him to work for
you, and if there is any loafing to be
(lone, do it yourself.
Catalina will give you the rest of
your life. Come to Catalina.
I
