Alaska King Salmon report - cautious optimism

Experts say that it should be a great year in Southeast Alaska for King Salmon. The optimist views it as a chance for personal records, full freezers and sprained smiles. The pessimist sees it as a chance to miss more fish. I'm in the middle. Excited at the prospects, but not counting my fish until they are in the tote.My buddy Raf who runs Tranquil Charters out of Craig, Alaska, said the King Salmon abundance index for this year is 1.52.  Just to put it in perspective with previous years:2007 1.062008 1.072009 1.332010 1.352011 1.69Do I know what this means? Not really. I do know the past two summers have been fantastic fishing with plenty of Kings. There were days my buddy Abe and I were throwing back 20-pound fish because we were sure there were bigger fish.Of course history and projections do not mean that everyone that fishes for Kings will catch a limit. Lots of things come into play when angling, and despite what you might pay, you are still not entitled to fish. That said, hopefully you've booked a trip, because it could be a summer to remember.