The second, and summertime, element of this community was comprised of outsiders like the Pinkertons themselves. Drawn by challenging, and rewarding salmon fishing, sportsmen from all over gathered at the tiny island to try their luck. Many of these were wealthy entrepreneurs living out the legends of the roaring twenties aboard luxury yachts who called on local folk as fishing and hunting guides.
Among the summer visitors, too, were a surprising number of literati, often creators of outdoor fiction, gathering material and enjoying themselves at the same time. Both writers, Kathrene and her husband Robert Pinkerton originally came to Stuart at the urging of their friend, the prolific author Stewart Edward White. During the same era, White cruised these waters with both Bertrand Sinclair and Earl Stanley Gardner. Thanks to Pinkerton, and several others, we have a good picture of what early days on Stuart, and the surrounding raincoast, were like. And surprisingly, though life has changed drastically in West Coast urban areas in the last seventy years, Stuart retains an aura of timelessness, where life is still regulated by the tides and, each summer, an interesting mix of hardy coast dwellers welcome an influx of avid salmon fishermen.
Stuart Island, lying at the mouth of Bute Inlet, and accessible only by boat or floatplane, is truly part of what locals term the "bush." In winter, fierce winds driven by high pressure in the interior Cariboo, can funnel down Bute and hit Stuart full blast, laying forests on their beam ends and whipping up nasty seas, making either method of approach impossible. The climate seems more benign in summer, when temperatures climb into the eighties and the fish are biting. Yet even then, the surrounding rapids present a challenge
not to be ignored, even by the most experienced of seamen.
It was not till approximately 1900 that non-natives first settled in the nooks along the island's western shores. Like surrounding territory, Stuart hosted temporary logging camps, but permanent dwellers came mostly to ranch and fish. Though the first store and post office were located at the south end of the island outside the rapids, much settlement took place around Big Bay.
This area offered easy access to the best fishing as water turbulence from the rapids stirred up the feed. Sometimes rickety fishing platforms were built out from shore, but angling was mostly conducted from rowboats, often without rods and reels. In the words of Pinkerton, from her book Three's A Crew, "Everyone who could get a craft and a line to trail was there. Indians from Church House (a small native community nearby) in patched boats and dugouts, yachtsmen in trim dinghies rowed by paid hands, commercial fishermen with wives starched and bungalow-aproned in the stern, and fishermen rowing singly."
By the late twenties, upcoast living patterns were changing. Large logging and fishing concerns were displacing individual endeavors, steamers on the supply run operated less frequently, homesteaders were forced to abandon dreams. But the small settlement on Stuart hung on.
According to the recollections of Walt Blade, longtime visitor to Stuart Island, two technological advances not only contributed to, but were responsible for, the ultimate prosperity of the tiny community. First, the proliferation of the outboard motor made fishing the rapids easier and safer. While the rowing method may have seemed glamorous and adventuresome, outboards offered reliable, fast power in strong currents.
And second, the development of the floatplane greatly improved Stuart's accessibility. In 1952, a plane landed in Big Bay bearing a fisherman who'd heard Stuart Island fishtales aplenty. Since no formal visitor lodgings existed, a local couple, Bert and Mary Brimacombe took him in. Their kindness initiated a tradition of hospitality which has persisted to this day. Word got round, and soon the Brimacombes could count on a full house throughout each summer, drawing guests by both air and sea. Their business grew to include prestigious personalities and for a time was operated almost like a private club for a group of wealthy businessmen from Tacoma, Washington.
Naturally, as floatplane transportation became common, other resorts sprang up to accommodate growing numbers of fish-hungry tourists. Locals found reliable, if seasonal, work catering to their needs. In the fifties, the first general store inside the bay was opened on the grounds of an old sheep ranch, now the bustling Big Bay Resort.
Not only locals felt the magic of this small community. At the end of the sixties, an OB/GYN from Chicago took over management of Big Bay Resort. Both Dr. and Mrs. Minor had medical training and had served in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as medical missionaries. The whole family blended into the summertime community, several of their sons serving as local fishing guides. Beloved by many visitors over the years, their tenure ended after one grown son was killed in a goat hunting accident up Bute Inlet.
Stuart today remains a unique community with many of the elements Kathrene Pinkerton described in the twenties. While the year-round population may have diminished from its all-time high of about a hundred, a staunch twenty or twenty-five souls brave the long winters and Bute winds. Many of their activities, especially as they relate to fishing, are still regulated by the tides.
In summer, Stuart's bustle is bigger than ever as boats both large and small stream into Big Bay on every slack. The air reverberates with the drone of seaplanes delivering new batches of hopeful fisherfolk. And, as in the old days, most of this hope centers around the capture of the king salmon (called chinook in Canada).
In 1924, Kathrene Pinkerton hooked ninety-four pounds of meat in one evening, using a hand line. In later years, local logging practices caused diminished runs, but the 2000 season brought much better fishing than anticipated. Though thirty pounders, termed Tyees, are still landed, most fish fall in the twenty to twenty-five pound range.
In recent years, many locals have been involved in salmon enhancement programs to ensure future returns. They realize that nowadays bigger "meat" fish can be had in waters to the west closer to the Pacific. But, they claim that at Stuart, summer weather is more reliable with none of the persistent fog or heavy seas caused by the seasonal westerlies.
They have also responded by diversifying. Where spartan cabins and big fish once were enough to keep the hordes coming, new embellishments now supply an added drawing card. Bruce and Kay Knierim, in their twenty-fourth year of Big Bay Resort ownership, have made many changes. Their Eagle's Wing Restaurant and Lounge enjoys a deserved reputation for fine cuisine, from breakfast right on through dinner entrees of local seafood, steaks and spareribs. The well-stocked store, known by boaters for fresh produce, also offers an espresso bar, popular bakery and pizza parlor. Though anchoring is not recommended in the bay, the resort provides over a thousand feet of moorage for cruising visitors. Fuel, and limited power and water are available; there is no propane or garbage service on the island. Surrounded by meticulously kept grounds, modern, well-appointed cabins welcome fly-in fishing parties and folks who want an authentic get-away.
Elsewhere around the bay, passing boaters will find additional transient moorage at the government wharf. These floats, protected by a large pile breakwater, can be crowded and may require rafting. Nearby, the Wheelhouse Pub occasionally opens for burgers and beer. Stuart's charms include more than fish.
Naturalists appreciate her abundant birdlife, almost tame deer, roving pods of killer whales, fields of magenta fireweed and apricot sunsets which profile the unique peak called Mount Estero. Her trails offer contrasting alternatives. While the six-mile round trip to Arran Rapids, is no longer viable, another twenty-minute hike leads to quiet Eagle Lake, good for fresh-water swimming, though the marshy edges dissuade some. This trail, barring windfall and damage by winter storms, continues across the island to Bassett Bay, also known as Murphy's Anchorage, which faces Bute Inlet. A third trail heads south around the bay and into the interior. Folks should inquire about current trail conditions before hiking.
And so the small community on Stuart persists and prospers, adjusting to changing needs while retaining a continuity with the hardy folk who first settled there. Walking the beach to aid neighbors during the worst winter winds Bute can muster or extending a warm welcome to summer friends, their life continues in many respects like that which the Pinkertons encountered so long ago.