Huckleberry Finn’s Fishing Pier (1956–1965) was a quirky, short-lived attraction on Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland, where guests could rent fishing poles to catch real catfish, bluegill, river perch, and trout in a hidden net pen at Catfish Cove. Initially offering a “take-home” option for cleaned and chilled fish, the pier faced chaos when guests abandoned their catches, causing a park-wide stench. After switching to catch-and-release, it eventually closed, with its site now beneath the Fantasmic! stage. Here are 10 fun facts about this fishy fiasco, packed with 1950s Disneyland nostalgia!
- Brief Opening Glory: Huckleberry Finn’s Fishing Pier opened in June 1956, alongside Tom Sawyer Island, a year after Disneyland’s debut. Located on the island’s eastern dock near Harper’s Mill, it let guests fish in the Rivers of America.
- Catfish Cove Setup: The fishing area, dubbed Catfish Cove, used a hidden underwater net pen stocked with 15,000 catfish, perch, bluegill, and trout. Guests cast bamboo poles with worms from a shed, aiming for a catch.
- Take-Home Trouble: For a small fee, guests could rent poles and have catches cleaned at Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House (now River Belle Terrace) for storage until park exit. But within weeks, the “take-home” option was axed due to abandoned fish.
- Fish Tote Fiasco: Staff provided “fish totes” for carrying cleaned, chilled fish home, but many guests hauled live catches onto rides or ditched them in bushes, trash cans, and lockers, creating a rotting stench in California’s heat.
- Catch-and-Release Pivot: After the take-home ban in August 1956, the pier shifted to catch-and-release fishing, letting guests fish for fun but return catches to the net pen. This lasted until at least 1965, when the attraction faded.
- Fantasmic! Overlap: The pier’s former site, below Harper’s Mill, is now directly beneath the raised Fantasmic! stage, added in 1992. The net pen’s underwater remnants are long gone, buried under modern show tech.
- Mark Twain Tie-In: Named for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the pier tied to Tom Sawyer Island’s literary theme, with rafts ferrying guests across the Rivers of America for a Huck-inspired adventure.
- Walt’s Fishy Vision: Walt Disney himself approved stocking the Rivers of America with fish, envisioning an authentic frontier experience. A staged 1956 photo shows Walt with Becky Thatcher fishing, though the idea quickly backfired.
- Park-Wide Stink: The stench from abandoned fish was so bad it wafted across Disneyland, prompting cast members to hunt for discarded carcasses. This logistical nightmare led to the pier’s early restrictions.
- Nostalgic Oddity: The pier’s closure didn’t end fishing dreams—Walt Disney World later offered catch-and-release excursions at Fort Wilderness, proving the concept’s allure despite Anaheim’s stink.
