2 day float on the John Day.

[the_admeral]

My buddy invited me to go on a two day fishing trip down the john day, and I could not say no. This would be my first float down the John Day. We Launched at Cotton Wood Bridge at 7:30am saturday morning.
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The weather was off and on rain in the morning. Then the sun burned out the clouds and it was beautiful out. The water was right above 5,000 cfs. Not very many hazards on the water.(click on pic to see bigger.)
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We fished all day and arrived at Snake Camp at 3:30pm. Lots of time to drink beer and cook dinner. (fish taco's):D
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Sunday we packed up camp and were on the water at 8:30am. The bass were biting pretty good. The water temp was 54 degrees. I would say 4 feet visibility. Green grubs were the ticket. There were sections on the river we had a fish on every cast. 3.5 pounds was the biggest fish. Luckily I was the one who caught it. You can see on the last picture how nice it was. It was a great trip and I can't wait to go again.

[arkansasbasser]

That looks like a lot of fun. I want to do that. I'm thinking of trying the Umpqua. How many fish do you think you caught?

[the_admeral]

How many fish do you think you caught?

3 of us caught 75+ each. The other guy fishing didn't catch much. He wasn't in my boat so I don't know what he was doing wrong. I had on a 3 inch grub. Any color of green. What worked best was watermelon green with red flake. Small jig head so you don't get hung up so much. Just cast. Let it fall. Pick it up, and reel slow. I'm hopefully going again in the middle of June.

[BassinJay]

that looks like a blast, thanks for the story!!! id like to do that float someday!

[dragon67]

Have to love the Johnday, lots of fish. Looks like the weather wasn't too hot, how was the temp at night? Any good size smallies?

[bassnbass]

that's my kinda of fishing trip :applause:

[the_admeral]

Have to love the Johnday, lots of fish. Looks like the weather wasn't too hot, how was the temp at night? Any good size smallies?

The night temp was perfect. about 50 deg. Most fish were 1-2 pounds. Not very many at all over 2 pounds. But I did catch one that was 3.5 pounds.

The float was very easy. You could do it solo in a pontoon. It is very beginner friendly. No white water. Just watch out for the rocks. I know there is some white water up river at Clarno. We didn't want to worry about that. :cheers:

[Tar Heel]

3.5 is a really good fish for the River! I sure whish they wuld innstitute a more agressive trophy fishery plan for the river, as I'm afraid folks tend to keep the bigguns, toss the little ones back. Be that as it may, a fantastic float for scenery, fishing and camping.

[the_admeral]

3.5 is a really good fish for the River! I sure whish they wuld innstitute a more agressive trophy fishery plan for the river, as I'm afraid folks tend to keep the bigguns, toss the little ones back. Be that as it may, a fantastic float for scenery, fishing and camping.

In my opionion, I personally think that there are allot more trophy size bass in that stretch of the river then you think. They are just smarter and in different location. Thats why they are hard to catch. The one I caught wasn't even close to the bank. We did release her. She was obviously FULL of eggs. I tried not to bonk any big belly's.

[Tar Heel]

Probably so, and I have only floated upstream of there, but I don't think the river changes much until it becomes a lake. I have seen more than one kid grinnin' ear to ear holding a 3lb dead smallie for the camp fire, and I sure don't have the heart to say anything about keeping only the small ones. It is fun to keep a few 10-13" fish per trip and cook em up stream side.

[sucker]

As I remember on the John Day you can only keep the small bass (under 12") and one over 17". I may be remembering this wrong so need to check the regs.

[the_admeral]

As I remember on the John Day you can only keep the small bass (under 12") and one over 17". I may be remembering this wrong so need to check the regs.


The section we floated was below cotton wood bridge.

• Smallmouth bass, 5 per day, no more than 1 over 16 inches.
• Smallmouth bass between 12 and 16 inches must be released unharmed.
• Open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead the entire year

So that's 1 over 16 inches you can keep. Not bad, considering that some release the bigger ones.:applause: