As a child and teen, Charlotte had gone fishing with her father nearly every weekend on the rivers and lakes of New York State, and by the time of her marriage in 1935, she had spent a good chunk of her 28 years yanking bass, drum and sturgeon from the depths of Oneida and Onandaga. As a result, once she and her husband were installed in their sturdy home in Bayview at the very tip of Texas, she immediately began indulging her hobby in these new environs. Starting with gulf trout and channel bass, robalo and salt-water pike, she mastered the fine points of bay fishing in little more than a year.

But bigger game was waiting. Charlotte learned of the annual Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo and she felt certain she could sweep the women’s division. James bought a yacht, the couple hired a captain and Charlotte started to train on the open sea beyond South Padre Island.

In August of 1937, Charlotte was ready. Though many fishermen and tougher-looking women raised eyebrows at her slim 5’2” frame, the Syracuse native scanned the sea with an uncanny sense for the denizens of its depths. Soon she had boated a 7-foot-6-inch sailfish, deflating the egos of her competitors as she was awarded the $200 prize in front of one of the largest crowds ever to attend the ceremony.

The following year, though the Sewells had moved to San Benito, Charlotte was ready to up the ante, perhaps even to gaff a blue marlin, the holy grail of deep-sea fishing in South Texas.

Then the rumors starting coming in: Mexican fishing boats were encountering some strange leviathan, looming ominously just below the surface of the sea. The Brownsville Herald reported the story and many contestants considered withdrawing just days before the rodeo began.

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