Fishy Tales

These colorful fishing comic postcards are from the 1940s. This type of postcard was popular with those who vacationed where fishing was available. Fishermen are notorious for exaggerating and lying about the size of the fish they catch. The first two postcards have official-looking forms aimed at proving they are not just fibbing and telling tales.

 

The next postcard gives new meaning to the words "the fish are biting."

Hunters sit in trees, but fishermen??

Now – he is wondering whether you will really believe him . . .

The last postcard was mailed from Duluth, Minnesota in 1944 with the following message on the back:

Hello all —
Got to Duluth & just finished our supper. We are down by the dock where they are loading iron ore. It is beautiful here & so cool. We are going to get a cabin to sleep in. I am writing this on the auto hood.
So long -------

 I think these fish exaggeration postcards are very amusing, and I have collected many of them. The video below is one I made with some of my fishy cards. 

My only actual experience with fishing was at a resort where my family vacationed for many years in the 1950s. We used to save some bread from the dinner table to use as bait. We rolled little doughy balls with the bread and went fishing from the dock. They had weekly fishing contests for the kids and awarded prizes for the longest (not heaviest) fish. I still have the certificate that I won one year. Here's proof that I actually caught something.

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