NZ, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if this past summers sport and commercial seasons in SE Ak are any indication of whats to come here, don't expect it to improve much. I fish the outside of Prince of Wales Is. which is the southern most part of the state, have been since 1990. This season was by far the worst I have seen, not just for kings but for silvers and pinks too. The state actually planned on closing the king season in mid-July due to low returns but after a number of guides and resorts threatened lawsuits, they mysteriously came up with new numbers that said there earlier predictions were low, so they not only left the season open, they increased the annual non-resident limit from 2 to 3.
You may be wondering what this has to do with Columbia river fish since I mention Alaska, but according to ADF&G, only about 4-5% of the kings caught in this area are Ak. fish, the rest are B.C., Wa. and Or. fish.
One bright spot though, although numbers were way down, there were more big fish than most years, alot of 50's and 60's, heard of a 72 and an 86.