Holy cow it’s October, and although I plan on doing some fishing for fall kings down in the Hanford Reach, when October arrives I start thinking about steelhead fishing. I checked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife the other day and they figured that we were going to get about 85 percent of the 15,000 we got last year. However, as of earlier last week we got a very nice spike in the steelhead numbers and were over 14,600. We may have a good steelhead season yet. It is the first time that I have really got excited about it. There will be some issue this year, of course. The fires of last summer could cause real problems on the Methow. Rain will surely cloud the river and a down pour could see slides. I am going to keep my fingers crossed for a mild fall to see us into winter and avoid problems. I sure like drifting the Methow. The main stem Columbia could be very good this coming season. I expect the Pateros area to be productive and the Bridgeport area better than last season. We’ll see, but I have high hopes.