There are many things about fishing that are important, but having expensive, high-end gear isn’t one of them.

I was reminded of this Sunday while silver fishing at Deception Pass in Puget Sound. At one point in the proceedings, I found myself needling my son about his spinning outfit. He had bought the whole she-bang, rod, reel and line, for 17 bucks. I told him that if he was going to be serious about fishing, he ought to get a good bait-casting outfit, like the one I was using.

“When we went fishing last week, who caught the only fish, Dad?” he asked.

DECEPTION PASS, Wash. — A respectable number of silver salmon are expected to return to the Skagit River this month and in early October, and many of them get there by way of Deception Pass.

This narrow, turbulent waterway in Puget Sound was named by Joseph Whidbey in 1792. It happened during Capt. George Vancouver’s epic survey of Northwest waters, a task that took him all the way to Cook Inlet.

On Monday of this week, while fishing for silver salmon on the lower Kenai River, I boated a silver salmon. This fish was on the small side, about seven pounds, not one of the 10-pound-plus silvers that usually arrive this time of year. Nonetheless, it had special meaning for me. Except for a few tired pink salmon, it was the first salmon I had caught in the Kenai River this year.

I’ve fished the Kenai only three times this year, a record low for the 40 years I’ve been fishing it.

This time of year, the harvest season, is my favorite. There’s something about putting away food for the winter that makes me feel happy, secure and satisfied.

We Alaskans are fortunate to have the opportunity to harvest many wild foods. Thanks to a friend who likes to hunt caribou and dipnet sockeyes, the Palmer house has plenty of red meat and sockeye salmon this year.