JD,

Sorry to hear such unfortunate news... I had some similiar things happen a few years back.. Very stressful environment.

Two keys to successful King fishing: (1) depth, and (2) leader length.

As UM suggested, start early, early, early morning. I will usually be on the water 1/2 prior to twilight (this is the light gray to black skies). The returning fish will usually migrate in the upper 80 feet of water- so 30-80 feet is a good start. Increase leader length by at least 10 inches or so... About an half hour after sunrise, I don't waste time, I drop down to the bottom. Although fish can be anywhere in the water column, the majority will head deep near the bottom. Who knows, you might even pick up that 20# BM this time of year- so kill two birds with one stone and fish the bottom 10'. Last year, all but three of my Kings were taken from the bottom 10'.

I wouldn't worry about finding bait- migrating Kings generally do not feed. As far as lure or bait. If you use bait, find the biggest available and troll slowly. This time of year, I especially hate bait because of the Barkers... I like big lures that make a lot of noise... Pi$$ those fish off and they'll hit.