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As one happy angler bobbed up and down—in rhythm with both the gentle
rocking of the seas and the rod pulsing in his hands—the next hooked his own
chinook chromer. “Could it be?” I voiced internally, just as a third rod
slammed down under the mighty strike of another king.
With open-mouthed amazement, I watched as the whirl of
activity increased, our companion boat initiating the complex dance of
fishermen otherwise known as the quad hookup. Four anglers, four
simultaneous king salmon. A pair of these sea lice-laden freight trains
broke the 35-pound barrier, while the other two each eclipsed the 40-pound
mark.
Only smiles were left once the action had abated, leaving
one thing abundantly clear—on this June day, beneath this perfect Alaska
sky, there was no place any of us would have rather been than fishing from
Waterfall Resort on Prince of Wales Island.
Hors d’oeuvres
The trip had gotten off to an extremely promising start.
Our party, consisting of my co-publisher Melissa Norris and her husband
Wayne, my mom Sue Weiner, our family friend Sue Watson, and myself, headed
for Ketchikan from Anchorage on June 1. Upon arrival in Ketchikan, we
promptly spent two half-days and another full day fishing for king salmon
with Ray Chaikin, owner of Eagle Creek Lodge, and Kevin Beck, the captain of
the lodge’s boat, the Frieda Mae.
In our short time on the water, we landed a total of 25
fish, with the largest a 30-pound-plus buck that nailed the spoon so hard
the rod butt struck me in the head as I moved to retrieve it from the
holder. For 30 seconds or more, that supercharged chinook stripped line from
the reel, leading to visions of a 40 or 50-pound behemoth. Thusly warmed up
and perhaps a little spoiled by the kings of Ketchikan, did we stand a
chance of finding even more success once we’d arrived on Prince of Wales
Island? You bet.
 The
Main Course
As soon as you step off the floatplane at the Waterfall
Seaplane Base, expect to be greeted by the lodge’s staff. You’ll be helped
off the plane while someone grabs your gear and moves it to your cabin. At
the lodge’s general store area you’ll be assigned quarters and a boat, and
then there’s only a quick stop to be outfitted with rain gear and pick up
any licenses and stamps you may need before you’re off to your first
half-day on the water.
Thirty minutes at the lodge, and it’s already time to go
fishing? Now that’s my kind of place!
After our flight from Ketchikan, Melissa and I joined
Chuck Baird, the marketing director for Waterfall Resort, and Peter Ottsen
for our first excursion. We were scheduled to fish for a few hours before
dinner—a strategically planned warm-up designed to get your blood pumping
over the area’s outstanding fishing possibilities. “We had one day last year
when we brought in 12 kings over 40 pounds and four were over 50,” Chuck
told me on the boat ride out. He needn’t have said another word.
Scott McKelvey, Waterfall’s head guide, was our captain.
Upon arrival at our fishing hole, we were introduced to a technique called
power mooching, where we simply mooched with cut-plug herring while Scott
slowly moved the boat across good water with the kicker motor. It proved to
be quite effective, as Melissa and I each quickly hooked and landed a salty
king. Both were in the 20-pound class, average fish for the area, but great
to see within the first hour of fishing. Before we returned to Waterfall
resort that evening, we had boated our limits of halibut and
caught-and-released a lingcod on the high end of the 30 to 39-inch slot
limit set for their retention in these southeast Alaska waters.
Prince of Wales Island is part of the Alexander
Archipelago in the southernmost portion of the Alaska panhandle. The region
is dotted with a multitude of smaller islands, and the many bays, points,
passages, and channels combine with extreme tides and the surging ocean
currents to create phenomenal habitat for millions of baitfish. The baitfish
in turn lure an abundance of trophy-sized salmon, halibut, yelloweye
rockfish, and lingcod, which have made the area a world-class angling
destination.
We soon discovered the basis of that legendary reputation
for ourselves, as our first full day of fishing set the bar for a Fish
Alaska saltwater trip. Not only did Wayne, Melissa, Chuck, and Peter
experience a quad hookup on king salmon, but they were hooked-up times-four
on halibut and yelloweye rockfish as well. They also boated a limit of
lingcod. Did I neglect to mention they did all that and still returned to
the resort by 2:30 p.m.? What an awesome day of fishing. While nowhere near
maintaining the blistering pace set on Scott’s boat, we too experienced our
share of good luck. Fishing with our own Waterfall captain, Colin McCrossin,
my mom, Sue, and I returned with a handsome catch of three kings, six
halibut, and one lingcod.
The typical day of fishing at Waterfall Resort begins with
king salmon, since the other species of targeted fish are usually pretty
willing to bite. Year-round populations of feeder chinook are available in
the waters surrounding the island, but it’s the pre-spawners of spring and
early summer that are truly prized. There are virtually no king salmon
spawning streams on Prince of Wales, however. The vast majority of these
mature fish are caught while feeding heavily along the surf-swept coast as
they continue towards mainland Alaska and their natal streams.
King gear at the resort is currently comprised of G•Loomis
GL-2 rods and Daiwa SG27LC Sealine reels with line counters. The line
counters were an extremely helpful feature, as after the captain had
targeted the position of the fish in the water column, you could maximize
the chance of hooking a hungry king by ensuring your bait stayed in the
mooching zone (typically from 60 to 140 feet). To complete our mooching rig,
we used red colored four-ounce banana weights in cooperation with a unique
double-hook setup, which is designed to maximize the spin on the cut-plug
herring.
After mooching for kings, we shifted our efforts to the
ocean floor and the bottomfish that lurk down there. While some of the
waters around Bucareli Bay are known to occasionally produce a 200-pound
barn door, the Waterfall skippers usually target the smaller or “chicken”
halibut (10 to 30-pound class) in 120 to 200 feet of water. These smaller
halibut make for great eating and can actually be quite a fight on the
salmon gear. And they’re abundant—not a day went by without us boating our
limit. Waterfall Resort encourages the release of 100+ pound halibut in an
effort to conserve the resource.
The fishing for yelloweye rockfish and lingcod was done on
offshore pinnacles that dropped to as much as 300 feet. Since the limit of
lingcod is one per day, the Waterfall strategy is to catch your limit of two
yelloweye first and then drop to the lower portion of the pinnacle for
lingcod. We didn’t want to take the chance of killing a lingcod if we
already had a limit of them, so it was important to get the rockfish first.
The fishing is fast and furious for these species. Within
30 seconds on many drops, we were fighting a lingcod or yelloweye. We jigged
a 16-ounce leadhead grub using Seeker Classic Series rods and Penn Senator
reels. The stiffer rods are necessary for a 16-ounce jig and were also
useful in fighting the large bottomfish. One of the highlights of the trip
occurred on day four while Scott guided Wayne and I on a hunt for these
species. I ended up hooking a fish while jigging that I thought was a decent
lingcod, but to my amazement, it turned out to be a very large yelloweye.
Waterfall Resort posts a big-fish board for all the species they target, and
the rockfish, at 20 pounds, 2 ounces, was the biggest yelloweye caught so
far that season.
Once the coho arrive in numbers, the salmon focus at
Waterfall Resort immediately turns to silver. While we didn’t get to
experience the resort’s silver fishing firsthand, their season does extend
through August, and we’d have to guess the coho angling there is as
outstanding as it is throughout the rest of the region.
Side Dishes and Dessert
A rugged, yet breathtaking landscape characterizes
America’s third-largest island. Several freshwater streams amble through
deep U-shaped valleys carved by glacial ice and offer their own bit of
angling opportunity, some of it among the best to be found anywhere.
Numerous peaks tower above the scene, looking down on a terrain blanketed in
Sitka spruce and western hemlock, with some red and Alaska yellow cedar, red
alder, and shore pine interspersed as well. A muskeg carpet covers the
ground, consisting of sphagnum moss, ferns, blueberry and huckleberry
bushes, young evergreens, devil’s club, and lichens. And bordering Ulloa
Channel on the western coast of this scenic marvel lays a finely honed
fishing machine, Waterfall Resort. Each vacation at this resort may indeed
be tailored around catching fish, but the thrills certainly don’t end there.
At Waterfall, a scenic hour-long boat ride to the fishing
grounds begins each day. Your transportation is currently a 25-foot Almar
with a 225 HP Volvo Penta diesel inboard/outboard and a Mercury 9.9 HP,
four-stroke kicker motor. The boats are equipped with heated cabins,
suspension seats, and the full compliment of fish finding and navigational
equipment. After cruising through some truly spectacular scenery, you’ll
find yourself fishing at spots with names like “Pineapple,” “Big Roller,”
and “Shaft Rock,” where the action can be every bit as satisfying with a
camera as with a rod and reel.
At any time on the waters near Prince of Wales Island, you
might spot puffins, sea lion rookeries, porpoises, and many types of whales,
including Orcas, the most widely distributed of all cetaceans. The world’s
only remaining population of gray whales is located off the coast of western
North America, as well, where they undertake a 13,000-mile round trip
journey from Alaska to Baja California, the longest migration of any mammal.
Though they’re another species considered rare throughout the world (it’s
estimated there are no more than 5,000 left), the humpback whale can also be
regularly seen in these bountiful Southeast Alaska waters. On our trip, we
were treated to the sight of a humpback in nearly full breach, an
outstanding display that still has us talking.
On land one can occasionally see Sitka blacktailed deer,
wolves, mink, and martens, as well as the black bears making their way to
the island’s salmon streams. Birds common to the area include loons, herons,
kingfishers, Stellar Jays, terns, and especially, the majestic bald eagle.
More bald eagles are concentrated in southeast Alaska than anywhere else in
the world. In the latter part of the season, you can even hear the call of
migrating Canadian geese splitting the air. The waterfall that gives the
resort its name is no more distant than a leisurely hour’s walk by beach and
boardwalk. It’s the main water source for the resort, and some of the
original pipes, running parallel to the boardwalk, can still be see on the
way to the falls.
As far as history goes, Waterfall Resort is chock full of
it. In the early 1900s (back when each boat would be sent out with a carrier
pigeon onboard, to be released only as emergency communication), Waterfall
was the site of one of the most productive salmon canneries in Alaska. Many
of the present buildings that stand now were constructed in the 1930s as a
part of a major expansion; then in 1973 the old cannery and surrounding 34
acres were sold to the Des Moore family and converted into the Waterfall
Cannery Resort. In 1980 Waterfall Group, Ltd. purchased the operation and
all of the buildings were renovated.
Now, in addition to the 24 guest cabins, 10 lodge rooms,
and four condos, there is a fish processing facility, a general store, a
dining facility, and the “Lagoon Saloon,” where guests can relax and enjoy
some first-rate views of Tongass National Forest. If the day’s trophy fish
have been particularly feisty and further relaxation is needed, a masseuse
can be scheduled through the resort’s hospitality staff.
A nightly buffet offers choices spanning the spectrum of
culinary possibility. From fresh halibut dishes and homemade soups to New
York strip steak, we’d routinely eat well after a good day’s fishing. Fish
processing is included at the resort as well, and your catch will be
cleaned, vacuum packed, frozen, and then boxed to make the return trip with
you. Waterfall’s onsite Alaska Airlines agent can even tag the fish boxes
for you, after reconfirming your flights and providing seat assignments. It
all adds up to a convenient, and almost luxurious, fishing destination.
Our After-dinner Report
All told, we landed 12 king salmon, 30 halibut (while
releasing many small fish), 13 rockfish, and eight lingcod on our trip. On
day three of our stay, a man from New Jersey landed a 49.9-pound king
salmon, setting the new high-water mark for the largest fish of the month.
When we left, Wayne’s 41-pound king was the seventh largest of the month.
I was pleased with the variety of fish available, the
excellent king salmon opportunities, and the ability to catch halibut within
five miles of land in reasonably shallow water. I was also very impressed by
the professionalism the Waterfall team displayed in all areas of their
operation, and with the punctuality of the fishing fleet.
The experience was especially unique for my mom and Sue,
who had traveled from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to fish with us in Alaska.
Afterwards, Sue’s favorite memory remained the humpback whale. “The sea
lions were incredible,” she said, “with hundreds of them laying out on the
rocks, but I just can’t get over the whale. It had a head larger than a
Volkswagen!”
Apparently, my mom never did get her sea legs, as she
later told me. “The rooms are always moving,” she confided, speaking of
Waterfall’s white clapboard guest accommodations, “but the resort is still
great. And of course, halibut fishing rocks.”
Marcus Weiner is a publisher of Fish Alaska magazine. He can be reached at
info@fishalaskamagazine.com. Wayne Norris is the operations manager for Fish
Alaska, where his photography regularly appears.
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