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| Blue Marlin Mount, State Archives of Florida/ Dale McDonald Circa 1970 |
By Jane Feehan
Known today as the “Big Game Fishing Capital of the World,” Bimini
entered the international sport fishing scene during the 1930s. Before 1930, locals
were unable to land a marlin. The reason may surprise some.
Locals always knew the big fish were out there, but they didn’t have the heavier, more expensive gear to land many, according to local historian Ashley B. Saunders (History of Bimini, Vol. 1, Alice Town: New World Press, 2000). Miami Herald fishing columnist Earl Roman also knew the big ones were plentiful. But, in the early days, he returned to the mainland with broken lightweight rods, cut lines and no game fish.
By 1933, possibilities
grew; he wrote about how “shallows and flats around Bimini are good for
bonefish hunting.” He recommended trolling with a heavy rod.
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| Earl Roman with student and trolling rod 1948. State Archives of Florida |
Bimini, with fewer than 1000 residents during the early 1900s, was known for its beautiful aqua waters, attracting the yachting set years before its sport fishing days. But the island could not provide much ice, had little electricity and no docks except for one used for mail and supply boats Nevertheless, yachters would visit from Florida, only 45 miles away, anchor in Bimini Bay, cook food onboard or get to a beach on small boats provided by locals where they could set up for meals. Steamship excursions, popular short trips from Miami, were advertised during the 1920s—until the hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 took a terrible toll on its population and economy. Bleak days.
Ill winds seemingly began to turn in 1930, thanks in part to
Earl Roman’s column, Angler’s Notes, about Bimini fishing. U.S.-based Bimini
Enterprises, Inc., advertised 1,000 homesites were available for purchase on
this slice of the Bahamas. Flights $5 for the 20 minute-seaplane flight were offered
to view the lots, there, which had the “greatest fishing grounds in the world,”
and “where no passport is needed.”
Bimini’s reputation as a game fish hotspot took off when Miami-based fishing guide Tommy Gifford and fellow American Louis Wasey, visited in 1933. They hooked a marlin but lost the fish after a dramatic 14-hour fight.
Months later, American writer and noted angler S. Kip Farrington
landed the first blue marlin off Bimini weighing 155 pounds. Betty Moore, yet
weeks later, hooked and fought a 502-pound blue marlin for a few hours that Louis
Wasey eventually managed to land. Bimini big game fishing launched like a sailfish
leaping out of blue ocean waters.
According to Saunders, Tommy Gifford designed the “first
outriggers for deep sea fishing” and trained locals in big game fishing
techniques, equipment and bait.
Writer Ernest Hemingway, who was also a top-notch fisherman,
heard about the Bimini news. He traveled there in 1935 and remained with his
family at the Compleat Angler Hotel writing and fishing until 1937 (this landmark
hotel was destroyed by fire in 2006). Firsthand accounts of Hemingway’s fishing
endeavors are available in Saunders’ book.
Fishing news from and about Bimini continued. The first big
game fishing tournament was held in 1940. None was held during World War II but
fishing events resumed and Bimini’s economy took off during the late 1940s with
expanded availability of electricity, ice, freezers, drinking water and construction
of docks and hotels.
Saunders notes the island’s first nightclub – Calypso Club
opened in 1947. Local restaurants also opened as did Bimini’s first straw works
kiosks. By 1949 big game fishing enthusiasts from around the world traveled to
the island in hopes of catching any of the game fish – bonefish, white marlin,
bluefin tuna, sailfish and swordfish. Locals created the high-profile Annual
Native Fishing Tournament during the 1960s; it remains as one of the key
fishing events to this day with world-wide participants. About swordfish: they only
swim at night. The first nighttime swordfish tourney was established in the
late ‘60s or early 70s
Interest in Bimini, its people, big game fishing and today the
island’s real estate, grows. A population count in 2010 indicated 1,988
residents. In 2022 the count went up to 2,417. Real estate listings show homes sell from $250,000 to millions of dollars. Resident visitors are not all
there for the fishing. Bimini waters are beautiful and its people rock.
For lots of stories,tournaments, stats and more, visit
International Game Fishing Association at IGFA.org (located in Dania Beach off
I-95)
Sources:
Saunders, Ashley B. History of Bimini, Vol. 1, Alice
Town: New World Press, 2000.
Miami Herald, Sept. 21, 1928
Miami News, May 18, 1930
Miami Herald, June 28, 1931
Miami Herald, July 12, 1933
Miami Herald, July 2, 1934
Bahamas Realty
Tags: Bimini history, Bimini fishing, Bimini big game
fishing, Miami history, marlin, tuna, swordfish, bonefish, Earl Roman
