As we approach the month of October, I wanted to check on the steelhead counts over Priest Rapids Dam. Last year, the Methow River opened to fishing for hatchery steelhead on October 9th. Also, there was a point at which the upper Columbia main stem opened to fishing for steelhead, a little later on, from above Rocky Reach Dam to Wells and even further upstream, but not in the area of Bridgeport. As I recall, anglers had very good success the first week of the season on the Methow and then it dropped off sharply. Persistent anglers caught fish above the bridge in the mouth of the Methow and in a few spots downstream from Pateros. Looking at the numbers this year, it appears that the fish are a little behind schedule, but I am not giving up hope that we will be able to fish for steelhead in these same areas this season. I particularly wish that the area above the mouth of the Okanogan River would open so we could fish at Bridgeport. This is where my wife and I spent many days in years past fishing with bobbers and jigs. She absolutely loved it.