What an amazing resort Waterfall is. This isn't our first time but this time we brought our son and grandson and niece. We lucked out and got Will as our guide and it's worth the long trip to Alaska just to get to fish with Will. The breakfast buffet is excellent and the dinners are also exceptional. Everyone here is accommodating and friendly and the service is great. The scenery is breathtaking and we loved seeing the bears. Can't wait to come back next year. Thanks for a wonderful time. read more

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Had a great time with captain Rick in the 27 boat. The first day we caught a few fish.Not bad for a half day. The next day started slow. We moved and got our limit of coho as well as a few pinks. My brother got the biggest coho of the day, week, and month. It was his birthday. Day three we got halibut, a ling cod and a limit of yellow eye. Then we went and got more coho. Day 4 wegot half our limit of coho and then had to go back to the dock. Had a fantastic time and will be back next year. Accommodations were great also. Get ready captain Ricky. read more

We had a great time at Waterfall Resort. Everyone was great. All employees are friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to make sure everyone had a good time. They must be treated well. You can tell they are happy there. Our guide Jeff A "jiggy Jeff" was fantastic. I give him an A+! He made sure we had a great time! We met Cameron last year at a hotel taking people to Waterfall. He is the sales guy. He was great as well. We would not have gone without him selling us on the resort. He was right. It was fantastic! read more

This fishing lodge has everything dialed in perfectly. The timing, the amenities, the food. It was wonderful with one exception - the most important detail - our boat Captain, Jeff! He made us very uncomfortable and after arriving home, this seems to be the most memorable part. We were isolated with this guy for 5 days and it made a terrible overall experience. When asking questions, it was a crap shoot if we were met with a helpful answer, a combative response, or no response at all. We threw back a half dozen flounders because Jeff said we didn't want to keep those. Reflecting on this statement I realized some high-end restaurants I've eaten at had flounder. I looked up recipes online and there were plenty. On the day of departure, our lunch mates were telling us their captain (Rick) said flounder was amazing, citing a recipe of butter, lemon, capers. That left us missing out on an opportunity to try something new and fill our fish boxes. On the third day there was a misunderstanding. Jeff had taken us out to catch king salmon (outside of prime king season). You are allowed one per year and my husband had already caught one the day before. This meant catching only two fish that day! Jeff said it was, "King or bust". We told him a king would be great, but our goal was catching and quantity. It was not a big deal because we still had 6 hours of great fishing left... except Jeff became obsessed that we should have gone south for fishing not north (which didn't make sense because we did fish north on 2 of our other 5 days and got plenty of fish). Jeff went into shut-down mode and gave us the silent treatment. He mentioned three times we should go back to the resort and hit the bar. With only an hour left he asked one last time if we should go back. I was feeling defeated and disappointed and said I didn't care anymore, but the guys probably wanted to keep fishing. His response was, "OK, I will wear them out." Which meant fishing 400' deep with a very heavy jig that wore us out and... didn't produce fish. This was a passive aggressive punishment on us. The final straw was arriving back at the dock where every. single. boat. was FULL of fish. Me - ZERO. Not one single fish in 11 hours. NONE. I fished every single second, I'm an avid fisherman, and every other day on the trip I came in with plenty of fish. I spoke with the general manger, Scott. He said this has never happened before, he would talk with our captain and the owners and let me know what they could do to help. I was at the resort for 2 more days and never heard from him. Instead of just pivoting and laughing off a crappy day, the next day Jeff gave us the silent treatment for 11 hours. It was incredibly uncomfortable, unpleasant, and not worth $3000 a day. My husband waited until after the trip was over to share that he caught Jeff talking about us to other guides on the dock. Another time, he was hand signaling communication with another guide a "0" and pointing and winking, which further validated my concern that "wearing us out" meant purposely skunking our fishing day. On the fifth day, we spoke with the assistant manager, Megan. She was very nice. (Jeff popped by 4 times to presumably eavesdrop.) Megan said she would talk to the general manager. Our friend asked for a follow up. Neither manager got back to us! I'm surprised as well-run as the resort is, that both managers would not have followed up as promised. Spending 75% of our waking day with a negative experience left us with less than satisfactory memories. And, our half full freezer is a reminder of what we missed out on. read more

Resort and staff were fantastic except for one, the most important one, our guide, Jeff A. ("Jiggy"). First day, a half day, Jiggy was short, gruff and barely personable. The three of us have been on sport fishing boats for 40 years from Cabo San Lucas, San Diego, Neah Bay to Seward. We can deal with short, gruff and barely personable boat captains. What we couldn't deal with is he got gruffer, quieter and more non-responsive as the 5 day trip went on. The tipping point was on day 3 when he decided on his own we would spend all day going after our now limit of only 2 Kings. 3 hours in to this quest he hadn't told us about, he revealed it to us. I then calmly explained to him we were after quantity (Silvers, halibut, black rock) not these 2 fish. The only way I can explain his response is he went into utter shutdown, non-communicative, gruffer, friendly as a rattlesnake. 2+ hours before heading in he suggested because the fishing was so bad we should go in early. Never had we ever heard that from a boat captain. We said we would fish until the end. The result, one silver, one rock fish for the whole day we had spent $3000 for. When we got back to the dock, boat after boat came in with limits.The fishing wasn't bad, Captain Jiggy had given up, for who knows why. One us went and spoke to the General Manager. No known action was taken but it appeared Jiggy was told about our complaint. Next day and last half day, same mopey Jiggy but thankfully we caught a barely acceptable amount of fish on day 4 (almost limit of silver, one black, 0 halibut) and then 2 silvers on the last half day. We then went and spoke to the assistant manager. She was nice but nothing happened. We suggested making up for the loss of fish on day 3 but she said that was illegal. Now to be clear, the day three skunking we took was not do to a bad fish day or bad fishing, it was Captain Jiggy going through the motions and hitting one blank spot after another. He did not appear to coordinate or even ask other captains where the action was. My polite response to his quest for 2 kings apparently sent him in to an emotional downward spiral. Not cool of him, and not cool we got no help from management. Very expensive trip for very crappy memories. read more

Resort was really nice... fishing excellent.. The management terrible! They sent us to the airport with 1/2 the fish we caught.. still haven't gotten the rest a week later.. apparently they can't figure out where we live.. Steve, the general manager shouted at me on the phone.. Who needs this kind of grief?? read more

Every aspect of my trip to Waterfall Resort was excellent. Being a business owner and an operations manager, I was impressed with the logistics of the resort. It seemed like every stage of the stay was seamlessly organized. The systems that management employs are almost perfect. Every employee I interacted with did an excellent job. From my perspective, there were two standouts. Captain Jeff is an excellent guide. Fun to fish with, knowledgeable and patient. Ron the bartender is a natural. Quick service and a quick wit. His stories are something to hear. You absolutely must order his Old Fashioned. The best I've ever had. I highly recommend Waterfall Resort. read more

Absolutely breathtaking experience. Salmon fishing here has been an absolute pleasure. I will be back and bring all of my family. I cannot believe the quality of the guides, the fishing, and the accommodations including the delicious food. Huge shout out to Ron who served me 300 vodka sodas. I will most certainly be back to catch the best fish on the planet. So much fun. Thanks for such a great time! All I can say is it's hard to articulate the amazingness that Waterfall offers. So good. read more

We had a fantastic time at the resort. Our captain Matt was terrific, very helpful and informative. The fishing is what you'd expect, fantastic. We brought home 45lbs of fish each. The kicker was. having whales nearby as we fished. The grounds were incredible. We walked the mile long trail to the waterfall twice, the 60 ft falls were awesome. Even after a hard day of fishing the long walk was well worth it. Everything at the lodge was well organized from arrival to departure. Yes the trip is expensive, but sometimes you get what you pay for. read more

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Can't say enough about our stay at Waterfall Resort! Fishing was amazing, Captain Sam put us on fish everyday and we caught our daily limits everyday! Staff was friendly, food was great and Townhouse had the perfect view and well appointed. We are already planning to go back next year! read more

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Stop reading reviews and start booking! THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! The staff here really make this place great. You're pretty remote but you feel like you're at a 5 star resort! They run a well oiled machine and things go off without a hitch. Which tells me there is a huge undertaking behind the scenes! I caught my first ever Lingcod up there and have been dying to get back up there for another. They did an amazing job of handling the logistics of getting our catch back home. If you can make it up for the 4th of July I highly recommend competing in the fish head throwing contest. Yes, its as gross as it sounds, but its a laugh riot and a good way to have fun along side the staff. read more

8/6/08: Second trip with 34 others from Hawaii (6 days, 5 nights), this time my wife joined the group. Weather this year was fantastic, others in the group who've been here many many years indicate that it was probably the best ever. Sunny skies pretty much everyday during the trip, very little wind (less than 10 knots) which mean calm waters with almost no swells. We even spent one afternoon in the open ocean eating our lunch with just t-shirts! Fishing this year was great, main catch were the silver (coho) salmon. King (chinook) salmon were off limits this year (at this time of the year, keeper size had to be 48" - very difficult to get this late in their season). Pink salmon were also off, best years are the odd-years. We hit the limits (six per person per day) for the silvers everyday only missing four (of the 18 maximum) the first half day. We also limited our on the red snappers (2 per person per season), ling cods (1 per person per season, 30-35" size limit) and brought home a number of black sea bass. I brought my own baitcasting reel this year, abu garcia loaded with power pro 20 lb test, great action and enjoyed it very much! more to come (including photos)... read more

Greatest vacation of my life! Do not waste anymore time book this place quick. Matt Pearson was our Captain, simply amazing. The guest staff is top notch, and the food is amazing! Bill Hartmann visited 7-6-19/7-9-19 read more

I had an amazing time!!! If you want a real out door Alaskan experience come here to fish!!! Our guide was Brian , he was new to the resort but was an outstanding guide and had an awesome attitude I couldn't of hoped to get a better "fisher guy" !!! They have it all ,great staff , fun fishing , great food , bears , tiny deer that eat outta your hand and lots of eagles , plus being on the water watching wales jump and otters play was totally amazing . I'd like to hope I'd be able to see that once more in my life . Thank you ;) read more

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Just got back and I can't say enough!! This place is a well oiled machine and I mean that in all the best ways. The system from the time you arrive to the time you leave is timed to perfection.You float plane in to an amazing property that seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Enjoy that flight, take in the scenery, it's stunnning but nothing like what you'll experience once you land. Deer roaming, bears at the waterfall, fish jumping in the water and Orca whales cruising by.. The staff is one of a kind, everybody is helpfull, friendly, kind and all seem to be happy to be there. Kandice helped me book this trip and I can't thank her enough. Ron the bartender kept the cocktails flowing and set the vibe for an awesome night. AND... how can say this.. CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN.. J.O.C.. You my friend are an awesome human my brother. Led us to the fish and made the journey one I will never forget. KETCHACALI BABY!! Look forward to seeing you next year.. read more

Vacation means different things for different people. For some, laying on the beach sipping Mai Tais is ideal. Others spend 50 straight hours awake, running around Vegas. Still others visit museums and cultural centers, absorbing the highest expressions of their vacation destination. As for me, I'm spending two vacations this year within spitting distance of the Artic Circle. This was the first of those. Waterfall Resort exists for one reason: to put you as close as possible to some of the best fishing on the entire planet. The food is decent, at best. The accommodations evoke an older HoJo. But the 1-to-2 staff to guest ratio exists for a reason. While you are here, you will spend 80%+ of your waking time with bait in the water, waiting for the inevitable hit. I am not really a fisherman. An angler. But I got invited on this trip, and went with the flow. The result? I'll never be able to fish in ordinary lakes and streams again. Our 4 person boat typically KEPT almost 20 fish per day. We landed 30 or more. On several occasions, we motored up to a spot, I dropped my line in, and got a bite before the bait hit bottom. Several times, all 4 of us had a fish on the line at the same time. It's hard to compare the fishing here to other places, because I've never even heard of anywhere with fishing like this. I ended up with the boat's biggest fish, by just a hair: a 26.8 pound king salmon. Not to shabby for someone who hasn't a clue what he's doing. My share of our boat's fish came to 80 pounds, which Waterfall gutted, custom cut (steaks out of king salmon, fillets for everything else), shrink-wrapped, froze, packed, and sent the fish along as checked luggage with me. Yet another "dirty job" Waterfall made sure I didn't have to do. We fished in and around the Interior Passage islands, and out at sea. The scenery was so amazing, I won't insult it by trying to describe it. They should have sent a poet. At night, my contribution to the trip (two bottles of scotch and a box of cigars) kicked in, as we sat outside in the crisp air and told stories from the day, recent experience already passing into mythos, fresh memories clearly well on their way to lifetime stories. One more amazing experience from the moveable feast that is my life. And somehow, my lingering response is, how can one be amazed, grateful, and unsatisfied, all at the same time? read more

My son and I just visited Waterfall Resort a few weeks ago. It is the most unspoiled location I have traveled to and I have traveled extensively. We saw Bald Eagles, Black bears, Humpback and Killer whales, Otters, and an abundance of fish! The flight from Seattle to Ketchikan was only an hour an forty minutes. Then, we took a forty minute float plane ride to the resort. We fished within minutes of our arrival. Our guide Mark was great, we loved the food, the service exceeded our expectations, it was a great time. As to the fishing: My son caught the (for the season to date) 4th largest Coho weighing in at 10.4 lbs. One of the other people on our boat caught a 40 lb King! We also brought in our limit on Halibut and Ling. I highly recommend Waterfall read more

We were fortunate to visit the Waterfall Resort. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. We had seen the website and had conversations with previous Waterfall guests. We were prepared for a pretty amazing fishing experience. And when we arrived by float plane (= exciting) we saw an entire flotilla of Waterfall and competing fishing resort boats that were also indeed prepared for an amazing fishing experience. The weather, not so much. Which is perhaps the only thing I can think of that the staff can't do anything about. The resort is equipped with tactical rain gear for a reason. The Kings were in abundance. All guests I'm sure landed their limit. Our boat even caught a Halibut. Which we released, but it sure was a fun battle. Wildlife sightings from Toads, Deer, Bear, Eagles and Whales became the norm by day two. A staff member gave us a ride to the namesake waterfall. It was incredible to see so many Salmon trying so hard to swim the falls. Simply abundant nature. You could easily forget about fishing and just bring your camera. The resort has a few different price points for lodging. We stayed in a cabin, which was rustic, but fine for us. The bar on property was really fun at night. There is also a single tee box driving range with a surprisingly well kept green. The breakfast was early, but excellent. Box lunches made to order on board and dinners were excellent. A fine fine stay with no complaints. read more