Fishermen surf fishing at Stump Pass near Englewood, Florida. Photo credit: State Archives of Florida. Photo by Johnson, Francis P.
Englewood Grew up Fishing
Written by Diana Harris
At the turn of the last century, our area in Southwest Florida was
slowly seeing an increase in its population. Although the newer arrivals brought with them different ideas about business ventures,
commercial fishing still remained the leading industry, as it would
for many years to come.
In 1898, the total population of all the small settlements around
Lemon Bay, in the Englewood area, was only 250, but the shipments of fish totaled 625 tons, which was valued at $50,000.
Some of the fish was shipped to Tampa, but most went to Punta
Gorda. The shipments of fish had to go to either of these ports,
because that’s where the railroads were, and the main market for
the fish was the northeast United States.
Today, people often tend to romanticize the fishing life of yesteryear, but the truth is, the fishing business was anything but easy.
There were often “fishing wars” as fishermen from other areas invaded someone else’s home territory. The fishermen themselves
worked long, lonely hours, often at night and were always cold and
damp, never totally drying out.
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Loading and hauling the fish after a large catch was backbreaking
work, often taking hours, and not always rewarded with decent pay
because of the constant fluctuation of the price of fish.
Commercial fishing has not only been one of the earliest industries
in Southwest Florida but for many decades it was also a way of life
for many, the “fisherfolk” life style. There was a time, as recently as
the 1940s, when just about everybody in Englewood fished for a living. Slowly, many different pressures have emerged affecting commercial fishing, until now, when we see it as an era past---never to
return again as it was.
Sport fishing has also played a big part in the way Englewood has developed. Second and third generations of families who were originally introduced to our area through fishing trips still vacation here and
many have taken up residence enhancing our diverse population.
Diana Harris has been archiving and documenting Englewood history
since she moved here from New York in 1963. The historical columnist
for the Englewood Sun has written a book, Englewood Lives, which
is available for sale at the Englewood Chamber of Commerce office.