MEDFORD, Ore. -- Oregon's old, second-tier ocean fisheries carried the load again this year, forcing anglers to look far and deep to make up for the worst ocean salmon-fishing season on record here.

Arm-deep in the mouth of a monster halibut diving toward the deeps of Valdez Arm, angler Chris Knowles thought for a moment that it might be over. He had a vision of the halibut dumping the 12-foot ...