It’s only a little over a week now before the general firearm deer season opens Oct. 14.

This year, unlike many in the past, hunters have to take a lot more things into consideration before heading out.

With the large amount of fires on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, you have to consider the amount of open land is going to be greatly diminished. There are bound to many roads closed to access even though most of the fires are contained and this could scare a lot of hunters away.

I am going to risk it and head over to Winthrop for my “once-a-year vacation” as my wife likes to put it.

If you’re in the area stop by and say hello. Our group stays at the Goat Creek Sno Park just east of Mazama and I sure do enjoy good stories around the campfire.

Another thing to consider is the extremely dry year we are having.

This is going to impact a lot of areas and could have a dramatic effect on the deer themselves. Reduced body weights to small antlers are some of what could be expected. Food sources, so prevalent last year, are going to be scattered around the country side which also spreads out the deer as well.

For those of you who like to hunt the island you should do fairly well. The problem is finding an area to hunt but if you hunt either sex of deer, this improves your odds dramatically.

If you have already been out or deer hunting is not your thing, then you can look forward to the first part of the duck season to open at the same time.

Coffee and quackers

A week or so ago I thought it was going to be a cold winter, which is great if your are a waterfowler because it gets the ducks and geese out of their northern breeding grounds, but this last week of warm weather has got me wondering.

Still it is a great feeling sitting in the duck blind with a hot cup of coffee waiting for legal shooting hours to arrive. The whistle of wings over your head and the sound of ducks and geese talking in the sky are the things that motivate some of us to get up before the moon sets and pray for wind and rain.

Cohos still no shows

I wish I had an answer to where the coho are but I am wondering — just like most of you.

The Samish River is still producing a few bright kings but most have started to get ugly.

The Skagit River has rewarded a few patient anglers with some coho as well. Drifting ghost shrimp or casting spoons from the bank are some popular techniques.

Pass Lake has produced some nice fish as the water temps drop and trout become more active. I saw a nice picture of a 21-inch German brown taken out of there last week.

Speaking of German browns, with the water temps dropping, Cranberry Lake should start seeing some nice fish as well. Some will be taken on flies like wooly boogers, but a large amount of them can be taken trolling a night crawler real slow through some of the deeper areas on the east side of the lake.

Until next time be safe, be seen and I will see you in the field. Please send reports, pictures and suggestions to me at whidbey_fff@yahoo.com.