Montauk Pioneer - August 8, 2008 - Documenting Fishing

The showing of the "Montauk Fishing Legends Film," produced and directed by our own journalist Debbie Tuma and with cinematography and editing by Ryan Schmitter, was shown last Tuesday at the Library, where minimal standing room was available. The event was so well attended that many sat on the floor.

Throughout the film, beautiful scenes of the Montauk fishing village were shown. Each captain was asked several questions about their favorite fishing experiences, why they chose the profession, and how Montauk's fishing has changed throughout the years.

Captain Fred Bird of the "Flying Cloud" talked about how he loved being around water. The fact that his horoscope sign is Scorpio confirms this. He talked about how the burlap bags were always full of porgies when coming home from a fishing trip.

Captain Bob Tuma of the "Dawn" talked about rescuing the overloaded 62 passengers of the Pelican Fishing Boat, which was headed by Captain Eddie Carroll, who was engaged to be married. The sudden storm of 1951's Labor Day weekend sank the boat and drowned 45 men including its captain. Bob recalled the abundance of cod and flounder in the early days and how he only had to travel ten to fifteen miles from shore to fish for tuna as opposed to fifty to a hundred miles today.

Captain Frank Tuma Jr. talked about his father, Frank Sr., of the "Charlie Tuna", who started commercial fishing in the 1900's and then went into the charter business. He talked about Tuma's Dock in the 1940s and the Yacht Club. He also spoke about working for IBM in New York City and how after going to Montauk for a weekend, deciding that he would make more money catching fish. With that decision, he left the Big Apple for good.

Frank Tuma III, who came from Florida one year ago, talked about how he inadvertently took Bob Tuma's customer by mistake because they had the same last name. Bob ended up staying at home that day.

Captain Wally Drobecker of "Skip II" and his wife Joan were interviewed in their Montauk living room with the Lighthouse painting in the background. They showed their album that was full of pictures of the huge fishes Wally had caught throughout the years, including the 979 lb blue fin tuna that took him two and half hours to reel in.

Captain Dave McMahon of "Marie II" and "Marie III", which was named after his wife ("A good way to keep peace in the family," he said) spoke about catching twelve to fifteen swordfish in one season. He said that in the olden days his boat would only have to go a half-mile away from shore and it took only one hour to bring home buckets full of porgies.

Captain Carl Darenberg of the "Fortunate" recalled how the swordfish was the most exciting fish to catch. The captain is presently in the hospital and could not attend the Library's tribute. His son Carl Jr. was there to represent him and said a few words.

Captain Vinnie Grimes of the "Cigarette" started the Blessing of the Fleet in 1956. He wanted to have his boat blessed and thirteen other boats joined him. Today, Captain Frank Braddick runs the event and about 150 boats now participate and are blessed by a priest, a reverend and a rabbi.

Captain Bill Holzman spoke about the fish tower he built on his boat complete with a chair and controls so that he could see tunas from a high vantage point. This tower was called the Tuna Tower. He said it should have been called the Swordfish Tower since he caught eleven in one year.

This forty-minute film meant a lot to the audience. It is important to note that if not for these men, Montauk's fishing industry would not be what it is today. Kudos to Debbie Tuma for having the foresight to make a film that future generations can appreciate. For those interested in purchasing this Documentary of Montauk Fishing Legends, DVD copies will be made available at the Montauk Chamber of Commerce for $29.95. Contact (631) 668-2428.