2018 SMRA NEWS Online (NXPowerLite Copy)

Page 50
The Tuttle Cabin on Rock Island Pool
If there's one thing my father, Ralph Tuttle, loved to do
above all else, it was to go fishing. fly fishing for Atlantic
salmon in particular, and preferably on the St. Mary's
River. He tied his own flies and made his own fishing rods,
he was also a renowned expert on the subject of how and
where to catch salmon.
After many years of fishing on the St. Mary's and living in
tents while doing so, an opportunity presented itself to acquire
a piece of land near the Rock Island Pool on the
west branch of the river. During the summer of 1969 the lot
was cleared, logs were cut and the following year the
cabin was constructed.
Having the cabin made it much easier to go fishing and
that's what my father did every chance he got. I tagged
along on many trips to fish the spring run on the east
branch of the river. I remember a few names from those
days, Wes MacDougall, Ray Buckland, and
Ralph Tuttle, left, sharing yarns with another angler Gordon Macintosh to name a few. It was quite a thrill
whenever one of them would land one of those big fish.
Later in the season the salmon would run on the west branch, then it was a matter of stepping off the cabin porch and
he was on the river.
From the first days at the cabin until about the mid-eighties the fishing was very good and on a good day you could
limit out in ten minutes if you wanted to. There was a noticeable decline in salmon numbers from that point on though,
as most are aware, and they have not rebounded since. Dad's reasoning for the decline was in line with many people's
thinking: habitat destruction, acid rain, overfishing on the high seas, etc.
Dad passed away in 1997, he was able to enjoy his cabin and fishing right up to the end. When you think about how
passionate he was about it, he was fortunate to have such a place and to live in a time when the wilderness was still
largely unspoiled.
My son now has the cabin and we're giving the old place some much
needed attention. My little grandson loves it there too and caught his
first trout last summer. There's a picture of my father hanging above the
fireplace, I'm pretty sure he'd approve of what we are doing and he
would be elated by the fact that his great-grandson loves to go fishing.
Paul Tuttle, 2018
Editor’s note: I recall one spring when Ralph Tuttle had great
fishing on the East Branch, catching several large early run
salmon where other highly skilled anglers failed. He just seemed
able to find a salmon wherever he fished! In photos I’ve seen of
Ralph holding salmon there is never blood on the fish. That’s because
he didn’t like to land his fish with a gaff as most anglers
did. He preferred use of a compact Hardy tailer that he carried, a
snare-type device that tailed & landed his fish cleanly. A few
years later gaffs were prohibited and others, including myself,
carried tailers as well. But, in my opinion, Ralph was first to do so
on the St. Mary’s River.