If you’re looking for a crystal ball into king salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska for the upcoming season, ocean productivity in the waters off the Northwest and British Columbia is a good place to start. Cool water regimes prove much better for survival of juvenile salmon and, thankfully, that’s where the north Pacific appears headed again. All indications are that a La Nina is developing, which won’t be great for the weather this winter in the Northwest – more rain, more snow, cooler temperatures. The silver lining is higher ocean survival for the young king salmon that will eventually make their way into the Gulf of Alaska, grow to maturity, and migrate past Sitka as maturing adults. It will still be months before official forecasts of next year’s king salmon runs come out. And, we’ll wait until April to get the abundance index that determines our regulations. Best guess right now is for things to be as good as or better than they were in 2010. Stay tuned.