Zane Grey: His Life, His Adventures, His Women

7. Movin' On: 1924-25

7 Movin’ On: 1924–25 The California conservationists have arrived late, maybe too late to save the game and fish, but they have arrived! And we want it distinctly understood that we are for California and our children and grandchildren, to the end of saving something of California’s wild life for them to enjoy and to live with. This is the main issue. —“California Game Fish: How Long Will They Last?” Had Zane been able to foresee the future, he would have done nothing and given thanks that his problems passed so quickly. Of course, he could not, and in deciding to take action, he prolonged the healing process. Prior to his departure for New York City, he mailed the Catalina Islander an article entitled “Heavy Tackle for Heavy Fish,” which ran on the front page of the January 2, 1924, issue. This article opens with the declaration, “After years of trial and experience I have come to the conclusion that the standard twentyfour -thread line was not heavy enough for broadbill swordfish, not to mention big tuna.” He reveals his decision of the previous season “to use tackle which we were convinced was more sportsmanlike and fairer to swordfish,” 07.219-253_Paul.indd 219 8/10/05 1:51:39 PM zane grey 220 and to purchase the $1,500 Coxe reel that he had equipped with 39-thread line. He condemns the recently reaffirmed Tuna Club regulation limiting the strongest allowable line to twenty-four threads with a breaking strength of sixty pounds, and he advocates an alternative, custom-made 24-thread line with a breaking strength of eighty-eight pounds. Despite its $30 cost, he judges this line to be vastly superior to the “inferior grades” that cost only eight to twelve dollars. In support of these decisions, he argues that tuna frequently break standard 24-thread lines, become bloodied, and are devoured by sharks. He argues that boat captains, who work hard to locate big fish, are frustrated by the failure of the inadequate lines, and that many fishermen agree with his proposals. He quotes the words of support offered to him by the accomplished angler Harry Adams: “Now I want you to sell me one of your thirty-nine-thread lines. I’ll use it, and when I catch a broadbill I will call a meeting of the directors of the Tuna Club and tell them flatly that you are right and they are wrong.” R. C. not only used a 39-thread line for his first broadbill, but he also told Zane that he had “never had such a feeling of security as this tackle gave him.”1 This airing of Grey’s dispute with the Tuna Club worsened the rift. When he allowed “Heavy Tackle” to be reprinted in the February issue of Outdoor America, his disagreement turned into an open declaration of war. Even though his article appeared during the off-season, it elicited much discussion and little support, certainly not enough for the Tuna Club to reconsider its decision. Under pressure to comment, Harry Adams wrote a frontpage article for the Islander urging that Grey’s suggestions be considered, but he also insisted, “I have never used a thirty-nine-thread line on any fish.”2 Among the many letters of opposition, perhaps the most interesting was by “A. Westerner,” who related Grey’s position to his Westerns and parsed its ironic implications: I have just finished reading Zane Grey’s article on heavy tackle, and my world has come tumbling down about me. I don’t seem to be able to believe that there is a sportsman left! The whole charmed game is commercialized . The days of fast transportation, bodily comforts, gasoline, electricity and money have driven out of existence those old-time, hardriding , clean-hearted men of the out-of-doors. . . . Now that is all ended, and it’s bigger lines, heavier reels, more boatmen and more fish! Oh, the pity of it! Vale, Zane Grey, the ideal, ‘Rest in Peace.’3 This controversy focused more attention upon the big fish being caught and whether the angler followed Grey’s proposals or the Tuna Club regula07 .219-253_Paul.indd 220 8/10/05 1:51:40 PM Movin’ On 221 tions. Harry Mallen, a Tuna Club member loyal to its regulations, was handed a major role in the unfolding drama. On May 21...