In recent months, we have covered such topics as fishing techniques and local “hotspots.” Now we would like to share something that many fishing enthusiasts overlook during their fishing trips. It is the influence of hatcheries on the local fisheries. For this story, we are going to be talking primarily about our local hatchery, the Prince of Wales Hatchery Association (POWHA), which is the second oldest hatchery in the state of Alaska. What many don’t know is the sheer quantity of salmon produced from this hatchery, and how much of an impact it has and will have on our salmon fishing future.

Coho
For the past few years, POWHA has produced and released more Coho (Silver) salmon than any other hatchery in the state of Alaska. Yearly, they have been taking 5,000,000 eggs to be incubated and raised in their ponds. Approximately 18 months later, close to 4,250,000 smolt (baby salmon) are released into the wild to continue their lifecycle. By releasing this many smolt, the numbers of returning, mature, hatchery Coho to our local waters are in the neighborhood of 350,000. Commercial fishermen, approximately 60%-70%, intercept many of these with the balance going to sports fishermen, charter boats, local subsistence fishermen, or returning to the hatchery.

Chinook
Another species being raised by POWHA is the Chinook (King) salmon. In an effort to bring a local Chinook run, this hatchery began a new program about five years ago. After their first year of trying to raise Chinook, 104,000 smolt were released into local waters. Being a relatively new program, there is no scientific information on what the return levels will be for this upcoming year. However, based on Coho return ratios, everyone is hoping for an extra 9500 Chinook salmon to be swimming through our local waters in June. Since the first year of Chinook production at POWHA, the hatchery has worked at increasing egg production to 500,000 a year. One possibility of this Chinook program in the future is for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to declare increased limits within certain fishing zones, as this program has been deemed a “terminal fishery.” What this means is that the Chinook will not be allowed to spawn naturally and will only be produced by the hatchery. Unfortunately, this increase in limits cannot happen for a few years until enough data is received regarding the numbers of returning Chinook.

Local & Distant Hatcheries
We hope the information presented in this article will demonstrate the beneficial influence that hatcheries have on our local fishery. Even distant hatcheries impact our region. This past summer, we submitted the heads from hatchery fish (denoted by a clipped Adipose Fin) caught at Waterfall. The data gathered from the tagged fish established that many originated from the local hatchery; however, some were from as far away as British Columbia and Washington.

For additional information, go to www.powhasalmon.org (the website is a little outdated) or call 907.755.2231. POWHA is a non-profit organization and will gratefully accept donations.

Of course you can always contact me at 907.265.9650 or scott@waterfallresort.com.

Thanks for your interest and we hope to see you at Waterfall next summer!

Scott McKelvey
Operations Manager
Waterfall Resort
POWHA Board Member

December 15, 2009

Dear Friends,

This festive time of year and the summer fishing season have a great deal in common. They come around once each year and provide the opportunity to share special times with family and friends. With child-like anticipation, we look forward to both seasons and the epic myths that surround each annual happening. There is, however, one significant distinction for the adults. Very few fishermen are grateful to see the fishing season come to an end.

We reminisce about nostalgic events that took place during these memorable and magical times of the year. We’ve had many unforgettable moments at Waterfall. One such event took place this past summer. Dan Rowe of Sammamish, Washington had included a return trip to Waterfall on his wish list for some time. In July of 2009, this wish came to fruition with a little something extra in his stocking. Or should I say, net?

Waterfall Wish & Monster Fish!
Dan and his party were fishing with veteran guide Mark Schaefer on boat number 22. The happy group of fisherman patiently plied the waters at “Pineapple,” one of our more productive holes, for big salmon when suddenly Dan sensed something nibbling on his cut-plug herring. A few seconds later, the fight was on. Dan had hooked a 55.9 lb. hen. The big female salmon made a couple of short powerful runs. Dan thought he had turned the hen when she began ripping out line on the run of her life. Mark attempted to chase the fish with the kicker motor, but she was too fast and he had to switch to the main engine. After a tense 30-minute battle, the big hen was in the net and the celebration began.

Mark later commented that Dan had done an excellent job of fighting the fish and that Dan is a skilled angler that all professional guides would like to have on-board when there’s a trophy fish on the line. I’d say Dan’s Waterfall wish came true and then some! He didn’t even seem too concerned that his King was knocked from the top of the leader board a week later when Brian Mayberry of Sahuarita, Arizona took the lead with a 60.5 lb. King Salmon.

Family Fishing Traditions!       

The holiday season and fishing season are all about tradition. We have many families that choose to celebrate their fishing season at Waterfall, year after year. One group of extraordinary anglers is the Porter Family of Newport Beach, California. Gretchen, Roger, Jennifer and Heather have been coming to Waterfall for 20 years. On July 16, 2004, Gretchen and Roger were fishing with their good friends Tom and Julie Rielly on boat number 2. Their guide, Devin Rowe (no relation to Dan), well known for tracking down big King Salmon, had taken them to the “Rockpile.” The mission that day was to harvest one of the trophy kings known to frequent this legendary fishing hole. At 9am Gretchen, while power mooching, got a big strike. The fish immediately dove about 75 yards and then swam furiously toward shore and the safety of a kelp bed. Devin skillfully maneuvered the boat to prevent the fish from becoming entangled in the kelp. Gretchen wasn’t sure what she had, but she knew it was big and powerful. Gretchen, whose walking around weight is about 90 pounds, gradually tired from the strain of reeling and told Devin they needed to land the fish soon. After about a 30-minute struggle, Devin netted the 79.2 lb. King Salmon. This broad-shouldered bully, who measured 53 inches long with a 36-inch girth, still holds the record as the largest King ever taken at Waterfall.

Apparently the apples didn’t fall too far from the tree. Jennifer Porter caught a 53.2 lb. King that was the largest of the month for August 2007, and Heather Porter was Queen of the Day on August 10, 2007 with a 30.7 lb. King. Roger Porter, patriarch of this angling clan, began this amazing legacy when he bagged a 65.7 lb. King on July 7th, 1997, which just happened to be the largest King Salmon of that season. How’s that for a family fishing tradition!

As you can see, both “Holiday Seasons” create timeless memories that we all cherish. But fishing season does have one or two more advantages; we don’t suffer through nearly as much depression or anxiety over fishing, and you can always choose your “Fishing Family.”

Happy Holidays and remember there are only 173 shopping days until Opening Day at Waterfall Resort!

All the best,
Steve

Gretchen Porter (right) & her 79.2 lb. Resort Record Catch! 7/16/04!

Waterfall Cannery

Waterfall Resort Announces YouTube Fishing Video Contest Winner

Waterfall Resort announced the winner of its first YouTube Fishing Video Contest. Rich Lighten of Riverton, UT received 1,937 views on the Waterfall YouTube Channel and won a $3,600
3 night / 4 day all-inclusive fishing package to the Resort located on Prince of Wales Island. Guests experience spectacular Alaska scenery at its finest on the 45-minute floatplane flight from Ketchikan to Waterfall Resort.

“We created a viral marketing campaign for social media sites that included YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, then accepted fishing videos from June until the end of October,” explained Chuck Baird, Marketing Director for the Resort. “We decided early on not to limit the contest to videos shot at Waterfall. We wanted to open up the contest to any fishing related video from anywhere in the world. Anticipation was high to see the variety of videos we would receive. And we were not disappointed. We received over 100 entries from all over the United States.”

Joel Rayden, Waterfall’s Marketing Manager, described the process of selecting the four finalists as exceedingly difficult. Rayden said that the Resort had received so many creative videos that choosing the top four was quite complex in that it was enjoyable to preview the videos but not so easy when it came time to make the cut to the final four.

Once selected, candidates instructed family and friends to view their videos, and the video with the most viewers would win the Waterfall Sportfishing Package. Lighten, who has fished Waterfall for several seasons, heard about the fishing video contest before his 2009 trip to the Resort and brought his camcorder as well as his son, Geoffrey, with him. Lighten knew from all of his past Waterfall “trips of a lifetime” that he could and would capture an extraordinary moment out on the water. Once his video was up on YouTube, Lighten got busy and put his heart into virally promoting it. Lighten admitted that he is absolutely thrilled that he won the trip and is looking forward to fishing Waterfall in 2010.

Always at the forefront of technology with GPS Systems, Furuno fish finders, radar and long-range communications for its fishing fleet (the largest private fishing fleet in Alaska), Waterfall welcomes the opportunity to embrace the social media. Baird said, “The fishing video contest is only one of the many interactive tools we employ to connect with the world outside of Prince of Wales Island!” When asked if there would be a second fishing video contest, Baird replied, “Absolutely! It will be right up there with our annual $100,000 King of Kings Salmon Tournament and King Salmon Jackpot Challenge. You can count on it!”

Waterfall Resort already has preparations under way for dual 2012 celebrations. Waterfall Cannery, once the largest salmon cannery on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, began its canning operation in 1912. Then in 1982, Waterfall Cannery was converted into Waterfall Resort, a sophisticated sport fishing resort. Waterfall looks forward to the 2012 season to celebrate both the 100th anniversary of the Waterfall Cannery and the 30th anniversary of Waterfall Resort and expects that many guests will return to participate in the special events.

Waterfall Resort, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Group Reservations:
Small to Large Groups Receive Personal Service!

Each season, many special-occasion groups come to Waterfall for the Legendary Sportfishing. Business groups reward their employees with Corporate trips, and personal groups come to Waterfall to celebrate Father’s Day, Graduations, Family Reunions, Anniversaries, etc. Many of these business and personal groups return annually. Corporate groups return knowing that Waterfall oversees the details. Family Reunions look forward to celebrating in our large Lagoon Saloon. Waterfall also hosts Fishing Tournaments designed as fundraisers for charities. For group reservations, call Mike Dooley at 800-544-5125.

Colleen Cockrell, Hospitality Supervisor

Sportfishing par excellence is all about location, location, location! Strong tides prime the deep waters surrounding Waterfall Resort with millions of baitfish that attract annual returns of trophy-sized salmon, halibut, red snapper and ling cod. The historic cannery turned Legendary Sportfishing resort is located on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, 63 air miles west of Ketchikan. All fishing gear, rain gear, and fish processing are included in your Waterfall package.

Brian Mayberry, Sahuarita, AZ, with his 60.5 lb. King caught 7/24/09!

This past summer, Waterfall’s Marketing Manager, Joel Rayden, supported a fundraiser at Lake Cachuma –20 miles east of Santa Barbara — for a local PBS radio affiliate. While enjoying the festivities, Joel grilled up some of the salmon and halibut that he had caught at Waterfall shortly before the event. The savory aromas drew in several Santa Barbara County Sheriffs! Joel very kindly shared his fish taco feast with the Sheriffs who enjoyed every delicious bite.

Sgt. Walton, Joel Rayden, Sheriff D. Allen

Feeling akin with nature
Southeast Alaska remains a timeless and unchanged wilderness

By Pete Ottesen
June 24, 2009 12:01 AM
Recordnet.com

KETCHIKAN - In a brief, 75-minute flight from Seattle, outdoors adventurers are transported to an isolated wilderness surrounded by water. Here in southeast Alaska the landscape is punctuated by misty fjords that spike the clear sky and abundant wildlife - soaring bald eagles, breaching humpback whales and feeding Chinook, the king of salmon.
The center of this great wild place is Prince of Wales Island, where bears, whales, sea lions, black-tailed deer and eagles overwhelmingly outnumber humans, and things don’t seem to change. Poke around the rocky cliffs and promontories, and mountain-covered forests of Sitka spruce, hemlock, cedar and pine, and you feel akin with nature in a timeless place, where wild creatures still are in charge.
Exciting, unexpected encounters with wildlife actually are common. Just when and where, well, you just never know.
A four-day stay at Waterfall Resort, a self-contained wilderness lodge on the west side of Prince of Wales Island, afforded a glimpse of the severity of nature and the symbiotic relationship between 50-foot, 40-ton humpback whales, bald eagles and a small marine bird, the rhinoceros auklet. We had just boated a 26- and 32-pound Chinook salmon when auklets suddenly began to fly past, dive and herd tiny candlefish into a massive, chaotic heap. We stopped fishing, the activity was so intense.
The birds forced the tiny fish - key parts to the food chain - into a dense ball of silvery, undulating bait that actually rose above the ocean’s surface with fish that thrashed on top of each other and out of the water. Bald eagles took advantage, 16 in all, swooping down and grasping fish in their talons, eating them in flight and returning time after time. A trio of whales appeared, too, as if a dinner bell had been called and seined the water with their massive snouts held perfectly vertical about 8 feet out of the water, as they pushed through the candlefish.
Creatures, large and small, worked in unison. The carnage lasted just minutes. Then, the rodeo ended and calm returned. Whales dived out of sight, eagles rested atop nearby spruce trees and satiated auklets preened in the sun, having done their jobs.
“That’s how nature works,” said Colin McCrossin, who has guided these waters for 12 years. “Here, nature rules, and we’re just observers.”
Many visitors are attracted here to catch for four species - salmon, halibut, lingcod and yellow-eyed cod that abound in the nutrient rich waters. But strict conservation regulations mean people come here to do more than simply fish. There are countless islands, coves and inlets to discover and hiking trails into the rain forest. Tall cedar totems are eminent witnesses to the first peoples of the island and striking saw-tooth mountains, pushed up by glaciers eons ago, outline the incredible vistas.
Years ago, Waterfall was a cannery, the largest salmon packing outfit in the southeast. The clapboard warehouses and cabins have been retrofitted into a resort where eagles and black bears still abound in the remote setting, reached only by a 45-minute float plane ride from Ketchikan.
Prince of Wales is the third-largest island in the U.S. with more than 990 miles of shoreline, where there are remnants of deserted canneries and rural villages worth exploring such as Claig, Klawock, Coffman Cove, Hollis and Hydaburg that exist on tourism, fishing and timbering.
Contact outdoors columnist Peter Ottesen at (209) 546-8269 or pottesen@recordnet.com.

Let’s Go Fishing!
by Stuart J. Faber
BizTravelers Choice
Winter 2009

Ever since I was a toddler, I loved to go fishing. Today,
many fishing holes are overcrowded or fished out.
But every trip to Alaska yields enough fish to throw
a huge party. This year, I spent a few days in Ketchikan, then
hopped on an Otter floatplane charter with Promech Air for the
flight to Waterfall.
Waterfall is nestled on the shores of Prince of Wales Island,
an area of clear, cool deep water which attracts hoards of salmon,
halibut, red snapper and ling cod. In the early 1900s, what is
now the resort was the largest salmon packing plant and cannery
in the region.
Many
of Waterfall’s
buildings,
which are now
used for guest
cabins, recreation,
a general
store and
fish processing
plant, were
constructed in
the 1930s for
the cannery
operation.
As I stepped out of the Otter, I was immediately taken with the
timeless aura of this resort
Although Waterfall is a resort for the serious and dedicated
angler, the impeccably trained staff caters to all levels of angling
expertise. And they wasted no time uniting us with the fish.
Moments after the floatplane reached the dock, we were escorted
to the registration office where we picked up our fishing licenses
(pre-ordered and waiting for us), obtained our boat assignment
and were directed to the gear and tackle room to pick up our
boots and raingear-from there to the boats.
These Coast Guard certified guides are not just college kids
who seek guiding jobs in the summer. Most of these grizzled
guys have been working at the lodge for over ten years. They
have intimate knowledge of every fecund fishing hole in the
region.
Soon we were over a halibut habitat. As the guide activated
the fish finder and deftly maneuvered the boat back and forth
over the hole, we hooked up with one fish after another.We
barely had time to take a break for our specially packed lunches.
By the time we gleefully returned to the dock, each of the three
fishermen in my
boat had his daily
limit.
Approximately
one hour
each day was required
to navigate
to the best fishing
holes. Along
the route were a
variety of companions
including
humpback, orcas
and grey whales.
The tackle provided by the resort is the best quality the
industry has to offer. The GPS and fish finding electronic equipment
were also first class.Throughout the trip, we never had an
equipment breakdown.
Our catches of the day usually included the limit of six
silver salmon, aka, Coho, ling cod and two halibut. Many record
size catches are brought back to the dock. My August trip was
too late for the run of king salmon which populate the waters
from May to mid-July
HANGIN G OUT
Accommodations are more than comfortable. Neat-as-apin,
full housekeeping cottages and deluxe suites have large,
shiny bathrooms and are furnished with comfy beds and an array
of cozy-country furniture.There are no phones or TVs in the
cabins-but who needs them? At night (and it does not become
dark for most of the summer), take a stroll and see the waterfall
that supplies water to the island (the tap water is better than
any bottled water), commune with the resident black bears, tell
fish stories at the friendly bar-or, as I did, go to sleep right after
dinner.
Food is fabulous at the resort. The morning starts with
freshly baked rolls and breads, breakfast meats, yogurt, cereals,
flapjacks, waffles and eggs of every description. The supper
buffet is always
stocked with
freshly caught
king crab, juicy
grilled prime
steaks, an
elaborate salad
bar and a variety
of other soups,
pastas and hot
dishes. For dessert,
homemade
cake, pie or an
ice cream sundae.
HOME WIT H THE BOUNTY
At the end of each day as we returned to the dock, a crew
was waiting to process our fish. Our catch was placed in a tub labeled
with our names. Immediately, the fish were transported to
the processing shack where they were professionally cleaned and
carved into filets, then flash frozen. On departure day, we did
not have to worry about the shipment to our homes. The resort
has an in-house Alaska Air Lines representative who tagged our
boxes of fish, presented us with baggage tags and a boarding pass
and we never had to handle the boxes until we arrived at our
hometown baggage claim area.
I think about Waterfall every day. The fishing was great, the
scenery was stunning and the accommodations were perfect.
For reservations and information on Waterfall Resort,
contact 800/544-5125 or www.waterfallresort.com or wfreservations@
kpunet.net. For more about Promech, call 800/860-3845
or info@promechair.com.

Waterfall Resort

On-Site Alaska Airlines Representative

*Alaska Airlines On-site Representative
*Location, Location, Location
*Trophy-size Fishing
*Fleet of Custom Cruisers
*$100,000 King of Kings Tourney
*4-star Meals & Accommodations
*1:1 Guest to Staff Ratio
*Historic Cannery
*Off-the-charts Wildlife