For the Love of Fish | Marilyn Jones, First Women Skipper in the Pacific Northwest

Angler and musician Marilyn Mercer Jones was known simply as “Mars” by her
friends-a group that included Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, even Eddie
Bauer. Born in 1917, she rose as a star singer in the Seattle jazz scene, marrying fellow artist
Gaylord Jones in 1937. After he returned home from the Europe and the Second World War,
they formed a band and moved to Los Angeles to pursue their musical dreams.
But there weren’t nearly enough salmon in Southern California. After making their name and
rubbing elbows with the greats, they eventually moved back to the Pacific Northwest where they
could be on the water more often-sometimes supplementing their income selling fish to
markets. Gaylord got the opportunity to start chartering clients in 1952 and got his U.S. Coast
Guard captain’s license. Not to be outdone, Mars studied and sat for hers next-becoming the
first woman on the West Coast to earn the title.
In the years after her retirement from music and move from Bainbridge Island near
Seattle out to Port Angeles and Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula, the “The Lady
Skipper” developed a reputation as a leader and highliner in the fleet, her regular
clientele including the likes of distinguished outdoorsman and inventor Eddie Bauer.
Three daughters and a son joined the crew as the family fishing business grew. Marilyn
and Gaylord’s grandson, Mark Fritzer, fished and worked and tinkered on their boats as
a boy, leading to a career as a marine engineer and ultimately the president of Lindell
Yachts, one of the most advanced boat builders on the West Coast. Mark still talks
about his grandmother frequently.
“For The Love of Fish” is an essay Marilyn wrote, a title we thought well suited to a story
about her. We hope you enjoy this short film we produced in partnership with Mercury
Marine.
Lindell Yachts is proud to carry on the legacy of bold, pioneering anglers. The love of
fish and the sea remains as potent as it ever was.