Fishing trips used to be more formal than they are today

Charles William Hodge was an amateur photographer who lived in Dover. He was a mechanic by trade, and his collection includes photos taken in the garage of E.M. Davis in Wilmington and Boylen’s Garage in Dover. He made lots of photographs of friends, family and co-workers, most of them from the time period between 1920 and 1923.

This photo from 1920 shows a group of men headed off on a fishing trip out of Atlantic City, New Jersey on a gaff-rigged sailboat. E.M. Davis is at the helm and Hodge himself is shown in the back second from the right.

When you’re headed out into the ocean or bay for a fishing trip it’s always good to have either a mechanic or a sail aboard in case the engine fails. In this case the men had both. No record is left of how many fish the men caught, or who dirtied their suits baiting lines, cleaning fish and removing them from hooks.