As we transition from the balmy calm of Autumn into the gales and travails of more wintery weather, the focus lately has been on the smaller-river Kings over on the coast.

While this year’s late-fall King return has thus far been mostly underwhelming, angler effort has been, at times, overwhelming.  But every Oregon “hog line” sports an entertaining mix of colorful characters.

But for those willing to tough out the sometimes volatile weather and hours of fruitless retrieves, there is still plenty of solitary backcast room to be found out there.

So far it seems that this season’s return may be defined by the drop in productivity in the near-shore ocean waters over the last couple of years.  Or maybe the big numbers will be later this time. These things are cyclical: this summer, Alaska has had great salmon production, which typically means we do not.  But for those willing to roll the dice, there will still be moments of magic to be found.