Image: (New York Public Library)
A Fight with a Devilfish
Dateline: December 1924
"A two-hour fight on the open sea off Santa Cruz Island with a monster devilfish resulted in victory for three Long Beach men Saturday afternoon." The fish measured more than 17 feet and was caught with a hook and line in 90 feet of water.
When first snagged, the large fish almost pulled the fisherman overboard, but two companions came to his rescue. They struggled for two hours before finally pulling it aboard. "The devilfish is one of the largest ever taken in southern California waters, and the only one captured in the Santa Barbara Channel for many years, according to fishermen."
(There had been another of these monstrous fishes that was caught at Stearns Wharf back in 1915.)