On September 19, 1912, Tuna Club member Smith Warren caught six Catalina swordfish in a single day off Santa Catalina Island. A surviving photograph publicized the feat as the “World’s Record Sword Fish Catch.” The fish listed in the image caption included a 202-pound swordfish landed in eight minutes, a 149-pound fish in 30 minutes, and a 134-pound fish in 21 minutes. The phrase “world’s record” appears to have celebrated the extraordinary six-fish day, rather than identifying a single fish as the all-time weight record.
The event reflects Catalina’s importance in the development of early big-game angling. The Avalon Tuna Club, founded by Charles Frederick Holder after his 1898 rod-and-reel capture of a 183-pound bluefin tuna, helped establish formal sporting expectations for offshore fishing, including regulated tackle and an emphasis on the individual angler’s skill. Catalina’s fishing culture, photographs, and published accounts made the island internationally known as a destination for blue-water sport fishing.
World’s Record Sword Fish Catch Santa Catalina Island, September 19, 1912. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
