| 08 August 2009
Ted Williams Fishing Video , It was only 50 years ago that the first tailing bonefish were targeted by sport fishermen in Florida's waters. Here in a restored video courtesy of IGFA, famous baseball player and angler Ted Williams takes us back to an age when Florida's fishing was being discovered. Journey back in time and feel the sport as it was in it's infancy.
So that's how they did it!
In this vintage IGFA video, modern anglers will see antiquated boats, quaint skiffs and poling methods. These were considered the cutting edge just 50 short years ago. Since then Florida has managed to become the #1 sportsfishing destination in the world, reaping many billions of tourism dollars and providing anglers with many millions of hours of pleasure in the pursuit of game fish. Fishing is a quality of life issue. To activate Video, place cursor on the picture and click.
In the 1950s, famous baseball player Ted Williams became the best known sports angler in the world. In this 1958 video Ted is fishing with capt. Jimmy Albright, perhaps best remembered for the well known Albright knot.
The late Henry Aulton Griggs, said he once threw his net from Longboat Pass Bridge and caught 187 mullet in one throw. He used to joke that, if he had all the snook that he had caught during his lifetime at one place, there would be so many that 'you couldn't put them all in one pile.' Henry passed away at the age of 96 this year. He was a pioneer of snook fishing and his kids and their kids are all avid anglers today.
Looking back:
In 1958 the first U.S. earth satellite, Explorer I, was launched from the U.S. Air Force Missile Test Center at Cape Canaveral. Micheal Jackson was born. Our official state animal, the Florida Panther, was protected from legal hunting. Redfish were called red drum and considered bottom fish best caught on chunks of blue crab or cut mullet. This was the time Ted Williams was fishing for tailing bone fish with Jimmy Albright along with Stu Apt, Chico Fernandez, and many others reinventing inshore fishing. These pioneers of fishing helped Florida grow. Millions of retirees and others go fishing in Florida every single day.
It's hard to believe that in this short period, Florida has lost more than half of its once-abundant nursery and juvenile fish habitat. With the exception of Ft. Pierce and it's surrounds, the southeast Florida coast is nearing full development. On the west coast, 28% of this once abundant habitat has disappeared to become shopping centers, gated communities, golf courses and neighborhoods.
What will Florida's coastal habitats look like 50 years from today? What will our grandkids think of our efforts to provide for the future of game fish? Will we be seen as farsighted - putting a halt to the loss of these resources? Or will we be seen as oblivious and/or greedy, continuing the loss.
Ted Williams and Capt Jimmy Albright had little reason to have concern for the future of game fish in 1958. The waters were crystal clear, full of fish and everyone was excited with the potential for catching tailing fish. Few could have foreseen the changes made when only 3 million people resided in a State where today the population is pushing 20 million. Fortunately, we have learned to be able to forecast trends. For specifics see What lies ahead...best estimates for 2060
We believe that our fish are provided and managed for us to enjoy catching and cooking as well as for catching to release. One primary goal of the Snook Foundation is to set in motion projects that will restore lost habitat ensuring abundant natural stocks statewide, in salt and in fresh water through education and cooperation. We are actively involved in projects to help ensure sustainable development that will take into consideration that fishing enhances our quality of life. The attraction of fishing is different for each of us - some prefer strict catch and release, others to occasionally cook their catch. Through the protection of effective habitat, we can help fisheries managers keep both camps happy.
You can be an active player in this mission. Join the Snook Foundation because your time and input is needed. Be a part of the inshore Angler Alliance, and become a part of the future.
Grandpa Jungsworth - Snook was common table fare for growing families in the 1940s and 50s.
Thinking back, Florida's environment was surely under stress when I was a kid but it was barely noticeable. The land seemed vibrant and alive.
In those days an angler could keep four snook, fifty redfish and fifty trout, limitless mangrove snapper, black drum, and flounder. He could spend every day on the water with a two day limit in possession. In the midst of such abundance it was hard to imagine Florida with today's population of some 18.5 million.
So forgive us for not being short sighted, for avoiding the easy path and ignoring the impacts of our collective actions. We don't have that luxury today. If we don't strive to ensure the future of gamefish by protecting nursery and juvenile habitat, it's just not going to happen. And make no mistake, it is an essential mission.
Unlike those long ago days of 1958 when the world was young; we can easily imagine the loss that will ensue to accommodate the estimated population of 36 million Floridians in 2060. Look at the money being spent to right the wrongs of the past in the Glades and look at the destruction of habitat flushing the polluted waters from Lake O are causing in the St Lucie and Charlotte Harbor watersheds.
We have a wonderful opportunity to make changes now. It is entirely possible to engineer a Florida with strong communities linked by a green infrastructure that protects open space, farmland and wildlife.
Armed with better understanding than ever before of Florida's essential ecosystems, the need now is for us to put our best minds together and become the strong alliance able to stand together to plan for the future we want. We have little chance of doing this without working together. Fishery Management regulates the adult stocks, and fish hatcheries alone can never accomplish this by completely replacing natural production with fish raised in buildings.
Please take a few moments to read the 2060 report. In whatever community you live, you can begin to make a difference. And think about contributing your time and efforts with the Snook Foundation Angler Alliance to incorporate fishery protections into your community's solutions. Anglers and our game fish populations deserve as much attention as the few people who live on our beaches in Condos and expensive homes receive when they raise cane about beach renourishment.
...in the 50 years that have transpired since the birth of poling for Bonefish, Florida has lost 39 percent of its mangrove shield on Florida's east coast and more than 26 percent on the west coast. We are not against taking fish home to eat...we are concerned about the loss of habitat. We are taking action now to bring a positive change over the next 50 years. We hope you will see the positive value of being a part of the alliance. This attempt to keep the habitat necessary to keep supplying naturally reared fish is essential. Had we known 50 years ago...we would have done differently.
Join the Snook Foundation
What lies ahead...best estimates for 2060
