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.

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

One Reason Why 80% of Our Guests Return!

Waterfall is the only resort in Alaska with an on-site Alaska Airlines Representative. While our guests enjoy the Waterfall experience, our Alaska Airlines representative personally will reconfirm your airline travel itinerary and departure information for your return trip home. On Departure Day, our representative will check you in with your seat assignment/boarding pass, and your luggage and fish box claim checks. Upon arrival at Ketchikan airport, your luggage and fish boxes will go behind the scenes and be loaded onto your flight. All you need is your carry-on luggage and boarding pass. Our guests appreciate this worry-free convenience that allows them to by-pass the Alaska Airlines Ticket counter at Ketchikan Airport and proceed directly to Security.

Airlines Supervisor

Hawaiian Ti Leaves tied to Ken Abe's Boats.

Colleen Cockrell, Hospitality Supervisor

Andrew Kikuta and his KOD, 44.2 lbs. 8/1/09.

Ken Abe’s annual fishing adventure to Waterfall brought in 4 KODs for his group from Hawaii. Hawaiian Ti leaves tied to their cruisers had many guests wondering about the significance of this tradition. It’s simple. Ti leaves bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. And it certainly did for Queen of the Day/Week Cynthia Meyada, 42.9 lbs. 8/3/09, and King of the Day/Week/Month Andrew Kikuta, 44.2 lbs. 8/1/09. Cynthia and Andrew took the top 2 places in August. Akira Watanabe, 31.5 lbs. 8/4/09, and Mark Mayeda 18.9 lbs. 8/5/09 each won KOD.

Queen of the Day, Cynthia Meyada, with her 42.9 lb. King. 8/3/09.

RE: Catch of the Week, Randy Thomas & his 40.1 lb. King. Caught 8/16/09.

From Lou Jennings, Scottsdale, AZ:

To All,
Got to see and meet Randy and his “King!” I had a puny 20 lb’er…

Most of all, the service, cuisine and outfitting, were tops! Captain Scott Doherty is a great outdoorsman and ambassador for the Waterfall experience.