Intruders in Beartrap Bay, and Our First Prawn Catch

Tuesday, June 29

Beartrap Bay, 34 miles northwest of Cordova at the end of Port Gravina, is described in one of our cruising guides as the “jewel” of Prince William Sound.

But in fact, it is a treasure chest of jewels … a cove encircled in a symphony of waterfalls cascading down every possible crevice like strings of pearls draped loosely over the mountains, magically dropping bead after bead into the water.

It was raining and misty with wisps of low hanging clouds suspended against the summits when we motored into the bay, feeling very much like we were intruders in this private sanctum of wildlife and fauna … escorted in by a couple of sea otters who by appearances were practicing synchronized swimming.

Five minutes after dropping anchor a gathering of three eagles appeared on shore, and within 10 minutes there were close to a dozen gathered there … must have been happy hour!

We quickly noticed there was perpetual movement in the water … salmon jumping around us everywhere … sometimes a foot into the air. If only Jim Plona were here to see this! We of course dropped a fishing line, thinking this would be a no brainer ... but the fish were more inclined to play jump rope with the line than take bait. Nothing!

Despite the rain, I was determined to at least catch prawn. We had a special recipe from our friend Lincoln that involves mixing prawn pellets with a can of cat food, a can of mackerel, and a certain amount of salmon oil (might as well buy them dinner while we're at it!) … which I stuffed in special bait boxes that attach to the prawn traps. We threw on foul weather gear and headed out looking like real fishermen, in search of 300 feet of water where we dropped the traps … about 4 miles from where Engelenbak was anchored.

The next morning we hooked our electric line hauler onto the dinghy and headed back out to check our traps ... with mixed blessings. The line hauler is a mechanical contraption that tows in the 300-feet of line, and I was thrilled when the traps finally made it to the surface ... our FIRST prawn catch … only 13 but it was a start! And like a savage … I mercilessly ripped the heads off each prawn … saving the tails in the bucket ... and that afternoon we had a delightful prawn appetizer!

But there was one complication to our prawn euphoria …we lost the steering on the dinghy and had no choice but to use the oar as a rudder to steer us the 4 miles back to Engelenbak.

Not wanting to spend the rest of our vacation without a dinghy, we pulled anchor the next morning and headed to Valdez in hopes of repairing the steering.