Staff members from the Museum of Florida History visited the West Palm Beach Fishing Club (WPBFC) earlier this year to pick up selected items that are being featured in a special exhibit, The Lure of Florida Fishing. The fishing museum is located in the R.A. Gray Building in Tallahassee. The temporary exhibit has been running for several months and concludes Aug. 26. More than 100 artifacts gathered from various organizations and individuals around the state are included in the exhibit, including artwork, historic images, trophies, fish mounts and tackle that will help tell the tale of sport fishing in the Sunshine State. Items on loan from the WPBFC include vintage photographs, a fishing jacket and old skin mounts of sailfish, dolphin, bass and tarpon. The WPBFC’s famous Mrs. Henry R. Rea trophy, the top award in the annual Silver Sailfish Derby, is also featured. “This has been a wonderful opportunity for the club to share some of its incredible history with the public outside our region. We are honored to assist and participate. We’ve had several people contact us to let us know they enjoyed the fishing museum exhibit,” said WPBFC Chairman Pete Schulz.
From the 19th century to the present, sport fishing has drawn people to Florida’s coastal and inland waterways. The Lure of Florida Fishing exhibit explains how fishing became such a popular activity for visitors and residents alike. “This exhibit allows visitors to experience and learn about the fascinating history and lineage of sport fishing in the Sunshine State,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “We hope visitors and Floridians alike will get hooked on Florida fishing as so many have before them.”
Items on loan from others for the exhibit include a pair of environmental paintings by marine artist Stanley Meltzoff, the Metropolitan Miami Fishing Tournament’s Henry H. Hyman Memorial trophy from the International Game Fish Association and numerous additional artifacts showcasing the rise of fishing as a recreational activity in Florida. Twenty-two early twentieth century paintings depicting various species of fish by artist William Aiken Walker are also on display from the collections of the Museum of Florida History.
WPBFC member and angling historian, Mike Rivkin, author of The West Palm Beach Fishing Club: A 75-Year History, gave a presentation of Florida Fishing History at the exhibit’s opening reception earlier this year. Throughout the remainder of the summer, the Museum will host educational programs for people of all ages. The exhibit also features interactive elements through electronic games that allow visitors to experience fishing in Florida for themselves. The programs help interpret various types of fishing or significant periods in Florida’s angling history. “Many organizations and individuals have been generous in loaning us items,” said Museum Director Dr. Jeana Brunson. “As a result this has been an educational and entertaining exhibit.”
[easy-social-share]