On March 26, 1917, an enthusiastic crowd of over a thousand people gathered in Punta Gorda to welcome former President Theodore Roosevelt, who had come to conquer the “devil fish.” He had been drawn there by an article by fishing guide Russell Coles of Danville, Virginia, which dramatically described the catching of a manta ray weighing three tons. Roosevelt contacted Coles, who arranged for Captain Jack J. McCann and crew to take Roosevelt and Coles on the “E.C. Knight” to what was then considered Florida’s leading sports fishing area. McCann transported the party between Punta Gorda and the area’s inlets and passes. On the first day, Roosevelt harpooned two “devil fish,” one small and the other a huge creature measuring over twelve feet across. The party also explored surrounding waters and spent a full day inspecting the bird rookeries near Matlacha. Roosevelt enjoyed a week of fishing in Charlotte Harbor and returned to Punta Gorda on April 2, 1917, a few days before the United States entered the First World War.