IGFA Theater Presents: James W. Jump
During his prime, James Jump was known on Catalina Island as the "King of Light Tacklers." He held light tackle records for marlin, broadbill swordfish, and tuna. During the first 50 years of The Tuna Club in Catalina, Jump achieved more angling honors than any other club member. He ranks among the angling elite who have caught two swordfish in one day. Jump's double came in 1928 off Catalina Island. Hailed affectionately as "Jimmy" by scores of friends in Avalon, Jump was known and loved for his philanthropic work as much as he was respected for his mastery of angling. He made two fortunes and lost one during his entrepreneurial days in his native St. Louis. He amassed his first fortune as the head of a manufacturing company which failed during the depression of 1893. By the time he retired in 1911, he was a millionaire once again. After retirement Jump moved to California. Health problems Jump experienced during these years led doctors to warn him that he did not have long to live. But James Jump spent the next twenty-seven years living to the fullest. He was a very active Shriner, he founded the Catalina Island Yacht Club, and he set scores of angling records at The Tuna Club. In the fall of 1925, in a report on a 441 pound broadbill swordfish Jump had taken, his third in 10 days of fishing, The Catalina Islander noted, "There is no angler who fishes more consistently or knows these waters better than does Angler Jump."
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