Though deer-hunting season is now beginning, Your Scribe chooses to look back on the fishing campaign of recent months.

And as a giddy optimist, I will include as many positive thoughts as I can.

Good: It has been very encouraging to read that salmon might return to the Kennebec River, which could mean they will migrate to the Sandy River where my cabin is. It goes without saying that I will not catch a salmon, but the thought that the beloved game fish might return is exciting.

Bad: Several readers of "Cabin Country" say that the rivers and lakes are being overfished. This was in reference to my (highly anecdotal) research suggesting that deer are being overhunted. It does seem plausible that the lakes are being overfished, despite trends toward catch and release. When is the last time you heard someone say the fishing was really great at Sebago or Rangeley?

Ugly: I continue to catch lame species such as yellow perch and sunfish, while others catch brook trout and brown trout in the Sandy. Full disclosure: I fish in the deep, slow-moving water from the river bank, rather than fast-moving, boulder-strewn whitewater a half-mile downriver.

Good: The state continues to stock many rivers and lakes of central Maine with several species of trout. In theory fishing should be decent each year as a result.

Bad: State biologists are concerned that certain fish are being inappropriately introduced into waters in which they don't below. An abundance of perch, they say, will threaten the habitats of more "desirable" species such as trout and salmon. Of course, I seem to only catch (and inadvertently maim) the "undesirable" fish, so I consider myself an asset to the environment in this regard.

Ugly: The last few times that I have ventured down to the whitewater to attempt to catch trout, I have turned over the canoe. My son and bowman, Drew, was greatly amused by these dunkings but I didn't think they were funny. Still, if I want to catch better fish next season, perhaps I should improve my canoeing skills as well as those pertaining to fishing.

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