John Day river ?

[SteveBush]

Hello, All. I'm doing the Clarno/Cottonwood bridge float in late April. If water levels are somewhat high can the fishing still be good? When does the fishing (bass) get good on that river? What is the recommended bait/lure? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Steve

[BassMan]

Steve, I have never been to the river that early but you might want to call the service creek stage stop, for info on the water levels etc. I fish that area around the beginning of July and do very well. The lures I use consist of......

Topwater: I fish these in early morning before light and at dusk. I have caught fish in the middle of the day on topwater though.
Rapala skitter pop's
Rebel POP-R's
booya buzz baits

Plastics: these will catch fish any time of the day.
Outlaw baits 5" ripple worms
Outlaw baits 3.5" firetail tubes
Outlaw baits 3.5" glitter tube
GYCB 3-4" grubs
GYCB 3-5" senkos

That is what I use 90% of the time. Hope this helps some.

http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/

-jb

[Joss]

Bassman,

I will be there the end of June or maybe the middle. Is there any special color on the tubes or how they are rigged. I suspect a Texas rig works just fine. I am going to try top water with my fly rod as well. Any info would be great thanks, and have a good trip.

[BuKuBass]

Check out the dates and lures used on this list:
http://www.in-fisherman.com/interactive/trophy/ma2003/index7.html

Read thru these fishing reports from Mah-Hah Outfitters:
http://www.johndayriverfishing.com/fishingreports.htm

[SteveBush]

Great info...thanks to All.

Steve

[goosegunner]

The guides usually use saint patties day as there kick off weekend.The fishing will be slow but the ones you do catch will be big.I fish alot of carolina rigs early in the year.

[hunter9]

i catch them off of 3inch grubs and tubes. These Bass are so hungry it won't matter water color you use.If they can see it,they will bite it.

[Bat-Ray]

You will probablly not catch as many fish as you would a month or two later, but as already said, some of the bigger fish are caught early. I suggest fishing plastics as slow as you can. very,very, very, slowly. Dont be afraid to let them sit on the bottom. Have fun!

[retaliate]

It might be ok by the end of April this year, since the precipation has been unusually light so far this year, but usually the end of May or early June is better.