The West Palm Beach Fishing Club: A 75-Year History

Think your local fishing club is historic? This new book by IGFA historian Mike Rivkin details one that really is. The West Palm Beach Fishing Club - A 75-Year History (Silverfish Press) is an unusually compelling story. Founded in 1934 as a civic antidote to the Depression, the Club went on to pioneer such practices as tag-and-release angling and sailfishing with light tackle. The red release pennant, universally recognized throughout the big-game fishing world today, was a WPBFC innovation. The Club's Silver Sailfish Derby (f. 1935) remains the oldest billfish tournament in the world, and its' classic Fifth & Flagler clubhouse has been a West Palm Beach landmark since 1941. In the day, celebrity anglers such as Kip Farrington, Lynn Bogue Hunt, Lou Marron, and the recently deceased Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. filled its roster. I don't know about your club, but this one has a truly glittering history. Rivkin tells it all in his usual enchanting style. As with his previous books, Rivkin supports the story with hundreds of heretofore unpublished photos and documents. The book's cover is dazzling: a Deco-style sailfish leaping towards the sun with a hint of palm tree in the background. In fact, palm trees were relatively late to arrive in Palm Beach, not turning up in quantity until 1878 when a Spanish bark shipwrecked nearby with a load of coconuts aboard. There's a whole goggle of other things you'll learn from this book about early Florida, angling pioneers, the birth of sailfishing, WWII, and even artificial reefs. It's an easy read, a visual delight, and belongs under your Christmas tree and those of your angling amigos. The West Palm Beach Fishing Club - A 75-Year History has just been released and is available now in a limited first edition of 900 signed-and-numbered copies ($75). All net proceeds benefit the Club's affiliated charitable foundation.