CIHS premieres new film in documentary series
On March 7, an audience of almost 250 got hooked by the Captiva Island Historical Society’s “Tight Lines & Big Fish Stories: The History of Angling on Captiva,” the ninth documentary film in the CIHS Captiva Memories collection. It premiered in the ballroom of the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva.
The CIHS reported that many have said Captiva was defined by fishing. The full-length film was the brainchild of the Dave Jensen, a founding CIHS board member who served until his death in 2021.
With rare film footage and photography, award-winning producer and CIHS documentarian Ken Sneeden reeled-in an enlightening tale of Calusa and Cubans fishing the local waters; of fish camps and commercial fishing; the emergence of sport fishing; the origins of fishing guides and the industry that developed to support the sport; and the famous visitors who came to Captiva to fish.
The film incorporated footage from over 25 interviews, featuring mix of engaging characters and their big fish tales. Many were in attendance for the premiere, including historian and author Robert Macomber, fishing gear historian John Jensen, Jay and Cindy Brown, Dan Stegmann and members of Captiva Rod & Gun Club, Dave Godfrey, Rich Stegmann and Kathy Kurtz Ferrari.
“In terms of the depth of research and production quality, this documentary is by far our most ambitious to date,” CIHS President Tom Libonate said in his welcoming remarks. “It’s been in production for just over two years.”
Sneeden, who directed and produced the film and others in the Captiva Memories collection, spent hundreds of hours conducting interviews and researching historical records, including the CIHS online archives. CIHS archivist Queenie Viglione also did her characteristic deep dive in sourcing content.
The film was made possible by the underwriting support of the CIHS Producers Club, which is composed of the Browns, Dave Jensen, Viglione, Tony and Angie Lapi, and Dan Stegmann and the Captiva Rod & Gun Club.
“Tight Lines & Big Fish Stories: The History of Angling on Captiva” is available on DVD for a $20 donation at http://www.captivaislandhistoricalsociety.org/documentaries/dvds-1; shipping is free.
The film will soon be available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
For more information, visit www.captivaislandhistoricalsociety.org.