Thanks very much for the tips, David. Fishing from a kayak is great fun. We were jigging with MacFish and couldn’t keep the rockfish off the hook long enough to find out if there were other fish down there. We had to be careful where we fished because rockfish are protected in much of the area, and there appeared to be no way to keep them off the hook.

This was all fishing from kayaks. Ling cod are also often on the menu; also kelp greenling, which are speckled like trout, have greenish flesh (hence the name) as do ling cod, which are also of the greenling family, and provide meat that closely resembles Dover sole–fine textured and delicate in flavor. I did one time happen onto a small coho salmon while trolling with a B B, but I otherwise have not had luck trolling that way. Lost the salmon, of course.

Thanks, Ken.
Regarding the jib: I’ve been carrying the jib and its tackle as a backup means of propulsion, and I’ve tried using it in two different ways–both successfully. My son and I took the jib and tackle, but no mast, with us on a fishing/camping expedition to Reindeer Lake (MB/SK) some years ago, and just for a lark, we cut a dead pine and shaped its base a bit for use as a mast. The boat sailed well downwind, but the wind was light during our trial, so we didn’t test it on other tacks. Then on a solo electric trip to Lake Nipigon two summers ago, I took a substitute mast that was just an 8′ x 1 7/8″ wood dowel, which stows easily and can be deployed quickly, to which I had tied a pulley at one end. I hoisted the jib by its clew using one of the attached sheets as halyard, so the jib was upside down on the 8′ mast with the tack still at the bow but the head acting as clew, the attached halyard acting as sheet, and the luff of the sail acting as foot. I tested the rig in about 15 knots of wind using a paddle to steer and made 3 1/2 knots (GPS) on a beam reach. I took the same rig to Knight Inlet but didn’t use it.
Regarding the black bear that charged me: Once I had tumbled into the boat, I looked up to the rock embankment expecting to see the bear coming over the top, but she had broken off the chase once I turned and fled. I never would have made it into the boat if she had really wanted to catch me. The bear was undoubtedly a female as there were two adult bears and two cubs, and they are careful to avoid adult male bears as they sometimes kill cubs.

I had never heard of a bear actually trying to get into a boat, Andrew, but I knew it was a possibility, and I had tried hard to avoid it on this trip. I tried even harder after it happened! My own guess is that 50 yds of water deep enough that a bear would have to swim–roughly 6′ deep–would be an adequate deterrent. That’s what I was trying to achieve in Knight Inlet. The problem was that bottom conditions and a tidal range over 10′ often made anchoring away from shore difficult.

Thanks, Maddie! You’re a sweetheart!

Thanks, Alex. Yes, indeed, and a what worthy goal that would be!