Kayaking North Vancouver Island

A few months ago, my friend Christopher from Sweden let me know that he was coming back to BC in July to do a 6 week kayak trip along the west coast of Vancouver Island.  How I wish I had the time to  join him!  I could manage however to go with him for a week.  At first, he thought of going from Tofino to Port Hardy.  After speaking to a knowledgeable kayaker from EcoMarine,   we found out that it is better to go the opposite direction, mostly due to currents and wind.  It was decided then, we would drive up to Port Hardy.  There are several islands not far where we could camp and fish and where I could easily return while he kept going. 

After having got all his supplies and food together, we packed up our gear and kayaks and left in the morning.  It's difficult to make it all the way up to northern Vancouver Island in one day.   Two thirds up the island, we pulled over at a rest stop which had a nice small clearing in the forest and set up the tent. The next morning we arrived in Port Hardy, had breakfast in a cafe where we met Norm, a local, who pointed out on our chart several good fishing spots for ling cod and halibut.  The salmon he said were everywhere.

It took Chris about an hour to set up his Norwegian folding kayak,  a high tech version of a skin-on-frame kayak.   Similar to Feathercraft kayaks from Vancouver (and probably just as expensive), he told me he was sponsored by that company so he had it for free.  In fact, he was sponsored by a few companies for this trip and told me more about an adventure company he had started with a few friends in Sweden.  He also had two cameras and a Go-pro to film and photograph the trip which would then be edited into a film and posted online.



The paddle out from the large bay of Port Hardy to the channel was straightforward although the wind was picking up.  By the time we paddled through a narrow passageway between Vancouver island and a small island,  it was howling at 25 knots with whitecaps.  Luckily,  there was a floating fishing lodge protected in a small bay where we stopped for a couple of hours, having some coffee that David, the owner, brewed for us.  We saw several of his guests return to the docks with large salmon and halibut.  Everyone was eager to share their stories of fishing and what spots were better than others.  Seeing the size of a 65 lb halibut gave me the jitters as I imagined catching one of those on the line from a kayak.

It was a gorgeous day but the wind was not letting up, so at around 5 pm we decided to paddle straight into the wind up the coast several km to a rocky beach that was good for camping.  Thankfully,  there were a few small bays that gave us a break from the wind but everytime we passed a point,  it was a major workout to just barely crawl forward.  When we finally got to the beach, which was in a bay somewhat protected from the wind, we saw that the salmon were jumping everywhere in about three feet of water.   I caught one right off the bat, a 5 pounder that would be perfect for dinner.  Chris, the avid fisherman, was indeed excited and stayed out another hour fishing. Once on the beach, we met Shay, a solo kayaker who had set up camp and who was a month into a circumnavigation trip of Vancouver Island starting from Salt Spring Island.  A vague feeling of pity crossed my mind as he declined my offer for some fresh grilled salmon.  As a vegetarian, he was having rice with some sort of seasoning.  Although we were in a pretty remote part of BC, you still meet many colourful characters either locals or people from all over.

The North Westerlies blew strong for the next few days so we had to make do crossing the channel with some fairly large chop on the water.  Each camp spot we found was awesome and unique, as were the clouds, fog and shades of light.  I had brought a couple of Romeo & Julieta Cuban cigars that we smoked one evening by the fire.  It went perfect with the Sailor Jerry's spiced rum.   One afternoon at a camp,  I got a piece of cedar and started whittling away to make a fishing gaffe and club for Chris.  I had found a nice piece of caribou antler for him that I had in my storage back home and lashed it to the wood. As it looked a little like the dorsal fin of an orca, we dubbed it the "Orclub".  It was not all about salmon...  we caught and ate some rock fish, greenlings and black bass.  I did catch a ling cod, but it was on the small side so I there threw it back.  Chris,  jigging with a huge Norwegian lure,  brought up to the surface some massive rock fish, probably at 18lbs... but it  got away, not that we would have kept it as there would have been enough meat on that to feed half a dozen people.

Finding a feather that I put on the stern of his yak,  I  baptized it as "Black Feather" 

After having spoken to a few people about the hazards of Cape Scott,  (the most northern tip of Vancouver island that separates the mighty Pacific from the entrance to the straight between the island and the coast) I suggested to Chris that maybe it would be better if he skip it, as it is the most challenging part of the entire island, even for expert kayakers, which Chris or myself are not. The marine forecasts that we listened to daily on his VHF indicated very strong winds for the next several days in that region.   He could easily start from Quatsino Sound,  which could be accessed from Port Alice, up a long inlet and only a half hour drive from Port Hardy.  So we changed plan and he would accompany me back to Port Hardy.

We returned across the channel to the long beach campsite where we had spent the first night and luck had it that after paddling 4 days against north westerlies, the wind started blowing a strong south easterly,  head on to where we wanted to go.  A heavy rain fell as well.  For me however,  I didn't mind because I am always amazed at the variety of conditions, the palette of greys, the constantly shifting fog and clouds.  The wind subsided and the salmon started jumping again.  It is always thrilling to see one jump and seconds after casting to that same spot, bang! you catch it.  They were mostly Pink salmon but Chris got a Coho that we had for dinner.  The rest were catch and release,  which we even caught casting from the beach.  It rained heavily that evening, but we were under a tarp with a small fire and Sailor Jerry.  The last morning, as the fog lifted with streaks of sunlight on a calm surface, we saw and heard a large pod of orcas cruising a few hundred metres off shore.  As we were returning to town, this time we could catch and keep up to four salmon each, which we did by either trolling or casting as they jumped, which they did, the whole paddle back.  Once at the port's boat launch,  I cleaned the fish, bought a cooler with ice and had about 30 lbs of salmon which I would later vacuum pack and freeze back home.  We drove to the small town of Port Alice, got a B&B,  and had a beer in the local pub.  Chris was able to recharge some batteries and check out some of his video footage.  I drove him to the boat launch at 7 am the next morning, a little envious of his amazing trip ahead of him,  gave him a big hug and looked forward to hearing all his stories in 6 weeks time.