Voices from the Past: Edward C. Vom Hofe on Shark Fishing

As there has been renewed interest in Ed. C. vom Hofe of late, I thought I'd contribute a bit to a better understanding of vom Hofe the angler. The following article, reprinted from a 1906 Oelwein Daily Register newspaper, gives some rather interesting insight into vom Hofe the shark angler. The author is unknown, but the source for the material in the article is given as vom Hofe himself. As an aside, of course Hammerheads are not mammals, and the devil fish is another name for the Sting Ray.

The Best of Sports
Greatest Charm for the Angler is Freak Fishing
Varies the Monotony of Ordinary Pursuit of the Finny Tribe—Taking Small Sharks with Rod and Reel
The Florida fishing season is now in full swing, and the disciples of Izaak Walton are pulling in tarpon, kingfish and jewfish in the regulation manner, but for many amateurs freak fishing has the greatest charm—to pursue devil fish with sail or motor boat or bait sharks and gaff them is much sport.

To say the least such freak work varies the monotony of tarpon or kingfish angling, affords greater danger and excitement, and occasionally leads up to that champion of sea demons—a 14-foot sawfish, which will wreck a boat if it can. Some of the carnivorous fish weigh up to 5,000 pounds, or more than two tons, at least. So says Edward Vom Hofe, of New York, an expert in such pursuits. Mr. Vom Hofe captures devil fish at Punta Rossa and southward, his largest weighing over 1,000 pounds.

He says he finds them in groups of from three to ten, floating on the surface with the tide, feeding on fish for which they seem to fly under the water with a vampire-like motion of their huge wings.
Mr. Vom Hofe's views on the hammerhead shark would indicate that it is a mammal, like the whale, rather than a fish. A female which weighed upward of 1,500 pounds, he says, when
cut open was found to have 25 young shark within weighing from three to four pounds each. The hammerheads are found on the bottom. They are baited for with fish heads, the hooks and lines being cast overboard in a churn of blood.

Mr. Vom Hofe used a small stout rope for his fish line when angling for all kinds of sharks. Attached is a brake made of rounded wood, split in twain, which prevents the rapid running of the rope from burning the hands. The rope is coiled on the bottom of the boat. When the hammerhead is hooked the boat is beached as soon as possible, and the shark is worked toward the shore.

As soon as the hammerhead approaches within distance he is gaffed and dispatched. There is no finer sport than to angle for small sharks with rod and reel and hook specimens weighing under 300 pounds. One is fairly safe in handling small sharks if armed with a good stout fish knife having six inches of blade or even a strong gaff. The main thing is to get knife or gaff home through the throat, the vital spot, before taking the fish into a boat or on a wharf, otherwise they will fiercely attack the angler and may snap off a hand or foot.

Fish bites are somewhat poisonous, and a shark bite is dangerously so. A fish in snapping the hand will often leave a tooth point under the skin causing a serious sore. Immediate cauterization is necessary for such wounds. No person should go fishing for sharks without a stick of caustic (nitrate of silver) in his pocket.

In fishing for large sharks the harpoon becomes man's good friend, and must be hurled with deadly accuracy before tbe great fish is taken aboard. In Florida the rope is passed ashore if possible, and the shark dragged to the beach, where there is room to kill him or let him die naturally. At sea the tackle is rigged to the boom and the shark hauled up to it, where his throat is
cut. The wise angler who hooks a big shark from a rowboat, with no weapon but oars, discreetly cuts the line if he cannot get his tackle ashore. A large shark will, when maddened, attack a rowboat and smash it.

Such a shark, weighing nearly 1000 pounds, would readily make kindling wood of a rowboat with his tail and jaws.

-- Dr. Todd

A Review of Ted Bingham’s The Celebrated Reels of Edward vom Hofe

A Review of Ted Bingham’s The Celebrated Reels of Edward vom Hofe

There are a handful of truly legendary names in fishing tackle history: Heddon, Pflueger, Hardy, Leonard, Edwards, and a few others. But of all names in the pantheon of fishing legends, none connotate the sheer awe of vom Hofe. It is easy to understand why. The Vom Hofe family—Frederick, Edward, Julius, Julius Jr., Edwin, Clarence—crafted some of the most coveted (and valuable) rods, reels, and terminal tackle in American history.

We here at Fishing for History are no strangers to Edward C. vom Hofe, and in the past year we’ve followed many vom Hofe rods and reels in the Friday Funhouse. So one can say we certainly have been bitten by the vom Hofe bug. Likewise, author and noted collector Ted Bingham caught vom Hofe fever when he was young, but unique among collectors, he has taken his love one step further and written a new volume on the subject. The Celeberated Reels of Edward vom Hofe (2008) is a 160-page volume sure to delight any Vom Hofe fan, as well as a good number who don’t even own a Vom Hofe reel.


The book begins with a basic biography of the vom Hofe clan, tracing their lineage back to Germany before the Revolutions of 1848. It was the American immigrant Frederick—the scion of the American vom Hofes—who first took a knowledge of metal working and engineering and began crafting fishing reels around 1857. Frederick had not one but two talented reelsmith sons, Julius and Edward. Although the book covers Julius in general, it concentrates the majority of its attention (as the title might suggest) on Edward, believed by many to have crafted the finest reels of the era.

The book is conveniently divided into sections, the first being biographical and historical, with sections covering family history and the history of Edward Charles vom Hofe’s fishing tackle company. The remainder of the book is concerned with E.C. vom Hofe reels. Sections covering Reel Features and Design, Identifying and Dating E.C. vom Hofe Reels, Catalogued reels, and a pair of helpful appendices on reel materials and patents.

There is much to like about this book. Much of the information has not been seen in print before, and thankfully, Bingham has documented his historical information by footnoting the source material. Many, many myths about vom Hofe are thankfully put to bed by Bingham’s thoughtful research. There is a useful value guide that covers the current price and scarcity of various models. The layout is clean, the prose excellent, and the quality of binding excellent. Many readers will marvel at the numerous E.C. vom Hofe reels they likely didn’t know exist, from the massive Commander Ross to the dainty and enormously coveted fly reels. A detailed table of contents can be found here.

There isn’t much that detracts from this volume other than the natural reaction of finishing a good book such as this and wishing it was twice as long so you could continue reading. It certainly would have been nice if some of the images were larger so that they showed more detail. As it stands, the photography is crisp and clear but the image size sometimes makes it difficult to see minute details. Additionally, as the book is offered in a limited edition hardcover and trade softcover, it would have been great to have the limited edition printed in color. I for one would have gladly paid $100 for a signed and numbered color edition of this book.

These are minor quibbles. The Celeberated Reels of Edward vom Hofe is an outstanding contribution to vom Hofe, fishing reel, and fishing history in general. Ted Bingham’s work will likely remain the standard study on Edward Charles vom Hofe reels for the foreseeable future, and should be put on the short list of books that are absolutely required reading for anyone wishing to gain a broad knowledge of the history of fishing and tackle in America.

The book can be ordered directly from the author at www.edwardvomhofe.com.

-- Dr. Todd

Edward Vom Hofe, Tarpon Angler

Edward Vom Hofe is probably best known for his highly collectable fishing reels, but he was also a crack fisherman during his day. The following letter to the editor and photograph of Vom Hofe was submitted to the journal Forest & Stream in 1906. The letter reads:

Tarpon at Caesar Creek

NEW YORK, Jan. 26.--Editor Forest & Stream:

The photograph is one taken of myself on board the yacht Privateer, which I chartered from Ball Brothers, of Miami, for a cruise around the entire coast of Florida, during the season of 1898. The tarpon in the picture was killed at Caesar Creek, below Miami, and was one of the first fish of the species taken with rod and reel on the east coast of Florida. This fish and two others were taken on the same day, and were taken back to the hotel at Miami and there placed on exhibition, where they aroused a great deal of curiosity; as stated previously, the tarpon was comparatively unknown on the east coast up to that time. Last season, 1905, during the months of April and May, a party of three of us succeeded in landing sixty-three tarpon in this same locality, breaking the record for that coast.

EDWARD VOM HOFE



63 Tarpon? Incredible. I bet they were all taken on Vom Hofe reels too.

--Dr. Todd