Film series on history of sportfishing featuring Catalina Island being developed

AVALON—It’s an American pastime almost as old as baseball. Millions share in the passion and their stories often start the same; a young kid goes out on the water and gets hooked. This is how it started for Michael Fowlkes, who is directing and producing a nine-part video series on the history of sportfishing. “I grew up fishing the foothills of rural Virginia almost before I could walk,” Fowlkes said in an email. “When we moved to Southern California in the late 1950s I instantly became a fixture at the old Davey’s Locker #2 landing.” The “History of Sportfishing” series will feature 60- to 90-minute episodes produced in the spirit and style of award-winning documentarians, Ken Burns and Bruce Brown. Catalina is the birthplace of big-game sport fishing and will be predominately featured in the pilot episode, “The Birth of Big-Game Fishing.” The origin of big-game fishing can be traced to Dr. Charles Fredrick Holder, with his catch of a “leaping tuna” on Catalina Island on June 1, 1898. This was the first tuna in recorded history ever caught on rod and reel. The catch inspired Holder to start the Tuna Club, which is the oldest fishing club in the U.S. Word spread and...