The John Day RiverDated 8/30/10Steelies present in lower river below falls. Steelies will migrate on first fall rains upstream in larger numbers. Bass fishing has been good below the falls. Use streamer patterns to attract bass as they are predatory. Fish close to shore lines for best success. Good patterns include Buggers, Muddler Minnows, Matukas and Leech patterns. Dated 7/26/10 The water levels have fallen and fishing should be good for small mouth bass. Later in fall the river will produce some very nice steelies. Dated 7/10/10 Flows are still high from runoff with muddy appearance. Difficult for angling but should be good Dated 6/11/10 The Service creek area has been reporting a few Bass being caught. The fishing in the lower river around La Page Park would most likely be the best with Bass beginning to congregate for spawning. Here is a nice picture of the Service Creek area showing the float.  Photo courtesy of Larry Reynolds Dated 6/11/10 Dated 12/27/09 The John Day river should have excellent steelhead fishing by now in the lower reaches for the Idaho based Clearwater steelhead at this time due to higher temps and lower water conditions. The fish are present in this stretch of the river but have been reluctant to bite due to cooler than normal temps. The best areas to fish are from LaPage Park upstream. Expect cool temps with winds predominating in the afternoons with large swells in the canyon. Dated 12/20/09 The last few weeks have been icy at the mouth of the John Day river with lower than normal boat counts and fish being caught. The warmer weather should begin producing good numbers of Idaho based steelhead in the Lapage Park area if you have a boat. The best areas are between the Park at the mouth and about 2-3 miles up stream on the John Day arm.. Expect there to be cool conditiona with wind in this area . The average fish runs over 15 pounds in most cases for this fishery. Dated 11/28/09 The John Day river is doing very well in the lower reaches for summer steelies. Fly fishing above the Cottonwood bridge should be very good with the massive push of summer run steelies that moved through the lower Columbia this summer.Dated 11/12/09 The upper John Day above Cottonwood is full of summer steelies and the temps are very low. Current water levels are good providing good navigation of river. Fishing has been very good with many of the fish reported travelling the Columbia last summer holding in this area currently. Good patterns for this river would be Egg Sucking Leeches, BH Buggers, Green Butt Skunks, Muddler Minnows, Freight Trains, Purple Perils, Glo Bugs, BH Lifters, BH Stone Fly Nymphs. Lots of Private Land please be courteous to land owner as they will be gracious if asked nicely. Dated 10/17/09 The John Day river is full of summer steelhead at this time and should be considered for a visit soon. The drift from Clarno to Service Creek is usually exceptional using fly rods with many fish being caught skating dry flies. Probably the most underrated stream in Oregon for steelhead due to its distance from a populated area and access problems skirting private, public and BLM lands. Well worth the time and effort but plan your trip accordingly and allow time for your drift. The steelie fishing in this river has picked up and will continue through the fall season There is a good population of small mouth bass above the falls also and they are active all summer long. Floating this river is an excellent idea but will require the angler to make a 2-3 day journey. The water level is quite low during the summer and may require you use a raft. With cooler temps and rain on the way these steelies will be very aggressive. You may want to consider using dry flies this time of year on the John Day with a small dropper similar to a red wing black bird or medium sized october caddis pupa. Some of the best steelhead patterns for this river are the Green Butt Skunk, Polar Shrimp, Skykomish Sunrise, BH Buggers, Purple Perils, Freight Trains, BH Stone Fly Nymphs, Glo Buggs, Red Wing Black Bird, Ocotber Caddis Pupa. Visit our web site at www.blackheronflyfishing.com The web page contains live links to the weather channel and river level page of the USGS where you can see real time data about these and future forcasts on weather and river levels. Dated 8/23/09 The lower sections of the John Day River should begin to see some of the record breaking steelhead run anytime now. The lower river is typically very under fished for steelies but can be very good. This river and the lower sections are best know for their Bass fishing which is fantastic. Dated 8/9/09 The John Day River is excellent for small mouth bass during the summer months especially in the lower sections after the sun leaves the water. Plan on fishing streamers such as wooly buggers, muddlers and poppers along the rock rip rap. Most fishing is done close to shore lines with structure as this is where the bass like to ambush there prey. DATED 3/28/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. 1/24/09 Provided that the river is running clear or green this would be an excellent fishery to checkout. Plan on experienceing some very cool temps. Take your stanleys ice off and go prepared to catch fish as there should be plenty of fish above the falls now. 12/11/08 The Oregon dept of fisheries says that the fishing in the John Day mouth and above has been very good the last few days. About 40 fish caught for 25 boats during the last sampling. These fish are of larger than normal size being that they are mostly destined for the Snake and Clear Water rivers. Typically this fishery will last till late January or February but the weather in this area can be very dicey as far as wind and snow. Check the weather out before travelling. 12/4/08 The fishing on the lower river has remained good and the angling pressure has decreased due to a few less fish and many people not wanting to travel to this more remote location. The best way to fly fish the lower river is to fish it like a lake using sinking fly lines like Teeny T series to get down. The best sizes are the T200 and 300 which will get down in the fishes face at 12-15 feet. Many of the big B run fish will be leaving this area in mid January if all things hold true and head towards the Clear Water river in Idaho. 11/20/08 The fishing in the John Day River has remained good and provides the best fishing oppurtunity in the lower reaches where Clear Water B run steelies are hold up. This is a boat show but can be interesting fly fishing if prepared using sinking heads and fly lines. 11/06/08 Same as last time for report! Just more fish in lower river. Many fish destined for Idaho Clearwater River. DATED 10/25/08 The majority of Steelhead and salmon have moved above the Jon Day dam this month with just over 50,000 fish since the 1st of October. This is the prime time for the river to see Idaho based fish congregating in the lower river. Fly fishing the lower river using a floating fly line can be quite good around the Cottonwood area. Access is available at Cotton wood due to the John Day being a navigatable river allowing access up to 10 feet above the high water mark. The fish should be pretty well congregated in the area around the Cottonwood Bridge and water levels should be down. A nice cloudy day would be perfect for fly fishing the John Day as these fish can be spooky. Areas above this can be accessed using permission from land owners. We recommend you secure permission in writing with the land owners name, address and telepohone number and dates for access or criteria for access. 10/12/08 The lower John Day River should be picking up for hatchery steelies in the area below the lower falls trolling plugs from boats and using bubble and jig techniques. The main body of these fish usually move into the area around November1st and leave after February 1st depending on water levels. This area can also be fished for the large b run steelies headed for Idaho using a sinking fly line starting with a intermediate and ending with a type 6 sink or Jim Teeny T 300 and streamer patterns in this area. These fish like to hold off the upper park below the falls in about 15-17 feet of water. The best time to fly fish these steelies are in the mornings. A larger fly rod like a 9 weight would be a good idea since some of these fish can run into the high teens. Successful fly patterns used in this area are the egg sucking leech, wooly buggers, muddler minnow patterns, string leeches, matuka patterns, popsicles, aluetian queens, dean river tigers, bunny leeches, steelhead mojos or any other pattern that offers excellent breathing qualities in the water. 10/3/08 The steelie fishing in this river has picked up and will continue through the fall season There is a good population of small mouth bass above the falls also and they are active all summer long. Floating this river is an excellent idea but will require the angler to make a 2-3 day journey. The water level is quite low during the summer and may require you use a raft. With cooler temps and rain on the way these steelies will be very aggressive. You may want to consider using dry flies this time of year on the John Day with a small dropper similar to a red wing black bird or medium sized october caddis pupa. Some of the best steelhead patterns for this river are the Green Butt Skunk, Polar Shrimp, Skykomish Sunrise, BH Buggers, Purple Perils, Freight Trains, BH Stone Fly Nymphs, Glo Buggs, Red Wing Black Bird, Ocotber Caddis Pupa. Visit our web site at www.blackheronflyfishing.com The web page contains live links to the weather channel and river level page of the USGS where you can see real time data about these and future forcasts on weather and river levels. |