Expect a large number of king salmon to return this summer
It is time once again to look into the salmon fishing crystal ball, and while anglers were flush with a record-sized pink salmon return last season, it looks like this summer will be the crowning "Year of the Kings."
More than 650,000 king salmon, the largest and most prized of the salmon species, are expected back to the Columbia River.
That equates to about 234,000 more than last year, and will be one of the largest returns since 2002.
"There are a lot of chinook out there in the ocean, and we're predicting a very good year of fishing," said Doug Milward, the head state Fish and Wildlife coastal salmon manager. "The commercial trollers off Westport have found good numbers of fish, and so have the trollers south of Leadbetter Point (off the mouth of Willapa Bay)."
Fisheries managers said the troll fishery was so good that it closed Saturday, and they c ...