We always appreciate the enthusiastic letters we receive from guests re-capping their fishing adventures at Waterfall. Captain Joe Cotter, a professional guide and Charter Captain, Miami Beach, FL, sent us this description of his action-packed days at the Resort:

As a professional fisherman in Miami, I am always looking for a way to escape the summer heat while at the same time finding a good bite someplace a little further north. Usually this consists of fishing in Boston with my father, Bob, but this past July, I was fortunate to make my way up to Alaska in search of some salmon and and halibut fishing. Waterfall Resort let me know I was in for a hot bite and a beautiful scene right from the get go. After a quick 45 minute seaplane flight from Ketchikan, we not only saw beautiful evergreen cliffs falling off into calm seas, as well as whales and bald eagles, but also we caught our limit of 24 silvers (coho salmon) and a king salmon on the first bait dropped in the water. The next three full days and the final half-day offered more of the same. On the second day, we encountered a lingcod bite that just wouldn’t quit. Using a one lb. bullet-head jig with a white plastic worm tail, it quickly turned into a competition of who could catch the most lings on one drift. We ended up keeping our limit of upper end slot limit fish while releasing over thirty lings up to 45 lbs. In 5 days, our boat caught over 80 silvers, 8 king salmon, 40 lingcod, 12 yellow-eyed rockfish (snapper to the locals) and 30 halibut. Although we had some great action, the other boats off the dock really trumped us on the trophy fishing weighing in many halibut over 100lbs. with one over 200 lbs. In our short stay, we saw three 50+ lb. kings and weighed in with many more between 30-50lbs. Many of our fish were released unharmed, while another good portion ended up frozen, vacuum packed and shipped home for many good meals. My trip is already in the works for next year and I can’t wait to see if we can top this past trip.

My thanks to all of the crew at Waterfall, from the excellent chefs, to bartender Ron and a special thanks to a real professional guide, Riz!

Steve’s Sidebar: Joe started fishing seriously for stripers and blue fish around 12 years ago, then switched to tunas and sharks around ten years ago. He became a pro in 2004. Lately, he has been kite fishing for sailfish and other species in Miami, and wahoo and marlin fishing in the Bahamas for the past 3 years. Joe and his dad, Bob, finished second in the second leg of the 2007 Bahamas Wahoo (Tuna) Challenge.

Bob & Joe Cotter, Miami, FL with 2 of the many fish they caught at Waterfall.

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