Kermode Bear

Jack James was the manufacturer and retailer of Radiant Lures for decades. These were used in Saanich Inlet fishing, as well as other places, and more recently the company changed names to Super Tackle. Matt James, Jack’s son, retails the tackle on his site www.superflea.ca. I asked Jack about the spoons he once had that would glow for hours in the dark, as in a far longer time than other glow lures. 

He sent me home with a few packages of current plankton-sized and halibut-sized hootchies from Super Tackle. Once charged with a light, or even a small LED flashlight, they do indeed glow almost all night long. I put two packages on my bookshelf, and if I wake in the night, there they are glowing away. What this means is that the lures will indeed emit glow for as long as the lure is fishing at depth, not simply for five minutes, as older versions of glow used to do. You should pick some up for your winter fishing that is done at depth beyond the visible spectrum.

Here is an image of some of the Super Tackle hootchies, quite colourful:

Now, to deviate a bit from fishing, in this case Saanich Inlet, when I was sleuthing through the collectibles in Jack James house, there was a wonderful painting of a spirit bear and I took some images of it. It is quite large, perhaps 2 X 3 feet.

Here is what Jack had to say in a note to me when I asked about the painting:

“In 1942-43, during the war – I went to school, grade 7 and 8 at South Park School. Every day after school my best friend and I walked through Beacon Hill Park on the way to beach comb at our log fort in Torpedo Bay. On the way, we stopped at the Kermode Bear’s (Spirit Bear’s) cage and fed her an orange.

To get her to eat these oranges, in the beginning we rubbed our stomachs in a circular motion, to show the bear they were good to eat. After a number of times, this bear, when it saw us coming, would stand up at the cage bars and copy this motion. We had difficulty getting these war-rationed oranges from our parents.

I took pictures of this bear named Ursus Kermode, from Kermode Island, which was captured by a Mr. Kermode with a cub bear. The cub died in captivity in the late 1930s. I sent the picture I took with an old box camera and asked my son to do the new medium in art on his Gilcee (could be, Giclee, as I wasn’t sure of Jack’s hand writing) machine.

He put the picture in his machine and got some outdoor background work. He machine printed his new art medium work, and coloured it as you see. As the colouring paint is very expensive I paid him for it. This magnificent art work is done on Everlasting Canvas. It will last forever. 

I sell my son’s art works, and have sold dozens over the past few years! Matt sells art works on his website. I have a small framed one for sale for $100; however, the one you took the picture of is $5000. 

During our beach combing, the US navy and RCN practiced dropping depth charges off the Victoria waterfront. Many fish and other sea creatures floated up and we often took fish home to our surprised mothers. One day, I dragged a large octopus home – and got grounded for a few days!

Thanks for the reminder of this Spirit Bear. The Island it came from has been renamed..”

Here is the image of the beautiful processed painting: