|
Cuttyhunk Fishing History
Part I
By Frank Capone
Introduction
Cuttyhunk has always been a special place for me. It was one of my earlier haunting grounds when I started Surfcasting in the early 1990s and has long been the subject of many fishing stories, books, website chatter, and bragging rights. As you know, Cutty has a long history as one of the greatest Striped Bass fisheries in the world - famous for its rich fishing tradition, fabled waters, and outsized striped bass. Many large, including Charlie Church's world record 73lb bass which hung on the wall of the Island's, once-popular bed and breakfast, the Allen house, for many years was available for visitors to the guest house to see as a reminder of the Island's relationship with Striped Bass fishing.
 photo courtesy of Andre' Velez of the Connecticut Surfcasters Association
In fact, there is a rumor that night fishing for stripers, from a boat actually was discovered on Cuttyhunk. The story goes that a local Cuttyhunk bass guide by the name of Capt. Robert Tilton claimed to have pioneered night bass fishing on Cuttyhunk. According to an article, Bob got drunk one night with his fishing buddy and dared him in a bet that they could probably catch fish in the middle of the night. The story goes than on their very first night, they caught 22 bass off Sow and Pigs reef.
 photo courtesy of Mike Mcelroy
I Started surf fishing Cutty around 1990 when striped bass started to make a resurgence in the Northeast. Then, I believe the size limit for Stripers was around 35" and not a lot of large fish catches were being reported. For years, a very small group of us would fish the island and not bump into more than 3 or 4 other fisherman on any given trip.
The Fabled Island-History
In 1864, approx. 125 years before I first set foot on Cutty, a group of 7 New York Businessmen (Millionaires -Sportsmen in those days) sailed to Cutty on a ship named the "THERESA" - -they were looking for a location to establish a new fishing club that would replace their old club at Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island. Shortly after first arriving on Cuttyhunk, these individuals purchased significant real estate on the island and, shortly thereafter, established the Cuttyhunk Fishing Association, later to be called the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club.
 photo courtesy of Bob Melody
The clubhouse, members and guests
The club was as social as it was sporting. These businessmen/sportsmen would gather in around their clubhouse, discuss business, eat lavish meals, drink expensive liquors, and do a little fishing when they had the desire. In fact, the club's flag depicting a symbol of the Cuttyhunk Club was a Rocking Chair, not a Striped Bass. (Indicating that club members were on Cutty to relax, eat, drink, and fish).
Guests at the Cuttyhunk fishing club included Presidents Grover Cleveland and William Taft, railroad tycoon Jay Gould, and Standard Oil President J.D. Archbold. Early 1900's interest in the Cuttyhunk club died out. Many of its members passed on and by 1912 only one (1) bass stand remained. Several years later, William Wood- a "Cuttyhunk Club outcast" built the Avalon - a huge estate that now shadows over the Cuttyhunk club.
 photo courtesy of Andre' Velez of the Connecticut Surfcasters Association
On several occasions, I was fortunate enough to stay at the former Cuttyhunk club house when it was a private residence, I had the opportunity to look at the club's record books, by-laws, personal diaries, talk to many local Cuttyhunkers and interview the then-current owners of the club house and, of course, fish the island before internet and website chat was popular and the only fishing reports were from the locals themselves.
 photo courtesy of Bob Melody
Fishing Cuttyhunk in its glory days wasn't done in manner consistent with the way many of us fish today. Then, club members would fish from one of 16 fishing stands (made of narrow wooden planks, supported by pipes that ran out to larger rocks) that were placed in various locations on the island.
Some stands had a reputation for producing better than others, so each night club members would draw for their stand. The fisherman and were accompanied by their chummers, (local Cuttyhunker islanders) who would carry baskets of bait, usually lobster tails, herring, and such, to chum the water and land any fish the Members might catch. Whoever, caught the largest fish was named "high hook" and was awarded a diamond studded pin in the shape of a fish hook. When a larger fish was caught, the pin and the high-hook designation were passed along. In many years, the largest fish often topped the scale at over 50lbs. In 1882, W.R. Renwick took the honors with a 64lb striped bass. Like today, not all fish were LARGE and if one were to spend the time reviewing some of the diaries as written by various club members during the club's existence, one would see that many small fish were often caught. I'll attempt to cover some of the fishing history in greater detail when I complete part II of this article. I hope you enjoy.
 photo courtesy of Mike Mcelroy
End of Part 1
Sources:
1. By-Laws of the Cuttyhunk club
2. Interviews with John Moore, previous owner of the Cuttyhunk club property
3. Soundings 1995- Interview of Janet Bosworth, Curator and historian of the Cuttyhunk Historical Society.
4. Personal experiences traveling to and fishing Cuttyhunk
 photo courtesy of Andre' Velez of the Connecticut Surfcasters Association |
Home 
Fishing Articles 
