Capt. Farnsworth's Kite Tuna Catcher (1906)
He invented tuna kite-trolling technique angling off Catalina Island
FARNSWORTH, George Chase “Tuna George” (1883-1959), Connecticut-born son of for Samuel Stephen Farnsworth (1854-1933), he became one of the most innovative pioneers of big game angling off Catalina Island in the early days of sport fishing. He went to the island with his parents and siblings in 1887. Farnsworth is particularly noted for his development of the tuna kite-trolling technique and the internal star drag reel. Farnsworth was born in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. His father was an engineer who moved the family to California while George was very young.
In 1900, the senior Farnsworth went to work on Santa Catalina Island surveying the road from Avalon to the Isthmus and moved the family to Avalon. That’s where George became interested in fishing. Farnsworth became a boat captain and charter man. In 1902 Avalon resident, John Nestell, had the boat, Nestella, made for Farnsworth as a gift. He later owned the fishing boat, Mabel F.
In 1915 he was one of the original twelve members of the Santa Catalina Island Twenty-Five Year Club.
Farnsworth was known for his incredible navigational skills and his ability to catch fish when everyone else was coming up empty-handed. He was involved with the Tuna Club and helped many of its members achieve record catches. He wrote a column for the Avalon newspaper, The Islander, entitled ‘The Cycle of the Fishes,’ published in 1917. Farnsworth discovered the now-famous twenty-eight acre fishing bank, Farnsworth Bank, and named it after his father, Stephen Farnsworth, engineer of the coach road on Santa Catalina Island. Farnsworth died in San Francisco on November 6, 1959 at age 79. ~ Welcome to Islapedia
Image Title:"Capt. Farnsworth's Kite Tuna Catcher, Inv. 1906
Caption: Invented June 7th 1906 / Copyright 1911 by Geo Farnsworth - Avalon, CA
Created / Published: 1911.
Library of Congress: LC-USZ62-50057