Padishar Creel wrote:
I heard on the radio today that Oregon has between 19% and 23% of the normal
snow pack for this time of the year. More bad news is that the freezing
level is going up to 10,000 feet and it will be raining this weekend melting
even more. Since the John is not a tailwater fishery and the levels are at
the mercy of the farmers, snowpack and rainfall, we may be in for some
challenges for out trip in June.

We may want to aim for a date as early in June as possible if the snow
situation stays the same. Although late May, early June is the most
crowded time of year (even in normal years, hard boats have a hard time
much later than that), it may be best to err on the side of caution...

JR

If present weather conditions continue (very little snowpack) I'd
plan on late in May or even a bit earlier....

Stan

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 18:41:17 -0800, JR wrote:

Padishar Creel wrote:
I heard on the radio today that Oregon has between 19% and 23% of the normal
snow pack for this time of the year. More bad news is that the freezing
level is going up to 10,000 feet and it will be raining this weekend melting
even more. Since the John is not a tailwater fishery and the levels are at
the mercy of the farmers, snowpack and rainfall, we may be in for some
challenges for out trip in June.

We may want to aim for a date as early in June as possible if the snow
situation stays the same. Although late May, early June is the most
crowded time of year (even in normal years, hard boats have a hard time
much later than that), it may be best to err on the side of caution...

JR

(Stan) wrote in
:

If present weather conditions continue (very little snowpack) I'd
plan on late in May or even a bit earlier....
We may want to aim for a date as early in June as possible if the snow
situation stays the same. Although late May, early June is the most
crowded time of year (even in normal years, hard boats have a hard
time much later than that), it may be best to err on the side of
caution...

JR

....I have written Arrowhead Adventures asking those folks what their
advice would be given the low snowpack this year. Don't know what the
reply will be, but hey, it can't hurt to get feedback from the experts. I
ran across an interesting place in Fossil, OR called the Service Creek
Stagestop who will pre-position your vehicle where you want it and begin
the float from their establishment. If you want pure luxury on a float of
the John Day, Arrowhead Adventures only charges $995 for a 3 day float,
providing everything except a sleeping bag and your personal items.
(http://www.arrowheadadventures.com/bass2.html) and the outfit at Service
Creek is (http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/index.html) I am really
pumped on going this year and could make it in either May or preferably,
the 1st week of June if conditions allow for that. (and I get resettled
in my house by then) I have posted a picture of a John Day river smallie
on abpf, this guy would put a serious bend in my kpos! :)

Frank Church

I'm heading up to the PNW Sportsman's Show in Portland this week.
Usually, there is a John Day guide or 2 there. I'm going to pump them
to see what they think about the best time to go this year....


On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 11:24:40 GMT, Frank Church
wrote:

(Stan) wrote in
:

If present weather conditions continue (very little snowpack) I'd
plan on late in May or even a bit earlier....
We may want to aim for a date as early in June as possible if the snow
situation stays the same. Although late May, early June is the most
crowded time of year (even in normal years, hard boats have a hard
time much later than that), it may be best to err on the side of
caution...

JR

...I have written Arrowhead Adventures asking those folks what their
advice would be given the low snowpack this year. Don't know what the
reply will be, but hey, it can't hurt to get feedback from the experts. I
ran across an interesting place in Fossil, OR called the Service Creek
Stagestop who will pre-position your vehicle where you want it and begin
the float from their establishment. If you want pure luxury on a float of
the John Day, Arrowhead Adventures only charges $995 for a 3 day float,
providing everything except a sleeping bag and your personal items.
(http://www.arrowheadadventures.com/bass2.html) and the outfit at Service
Creek is (http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/index.html) I am really
pumped on going this year and could make it in either May or preferably,
the 1st week of June if conditions allow for that. (and I get resettled
in my house by then) I have posted a picture of a John Day river smallie
on abpf, this guy would put a serious bend in my kpos! :)

Frank Church

As expected the few guides I spoke with at the Sportsman's Show agreed
that May might be the best time to go this year. A lot will depend of
course on how much (if any) last winter/early Spring storms we get out
here......

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 03:21:10 GMT, "gary" wrote:

I'd be interested I could even rent a drift boat, but have not experience
rowing. Someone would have to do that.



"Padishar Creel" wrote in message
...
Just putting my toe in the water, but would there be any interest in a
John
Day River, Oregon smallmouth float trip clave thingee? (I believe we can
rent rafts/pontoon boats for such an event, but I will need to check, IF
there is any interest, this is a calm float thing with very few rapids, so
canoes work well too) A few of us Oregonian types may be pursuaded to act
as Clavemeisters for such an experience.

Here is a taken from a website about the fishery: Beginning in the Blue
Mountains and flowing north to the Columbia, the John Day is the second
longest free-flowing stream in the U.S, and is protected as a "Wild and
Scenic" river under the Oregon Scenic Waterways Act. In 1971,
Seventy-five
Smallmouth Bass were introduced to the river. Since then, they have
flourished! The John Day River is arguably the best Smallmouth Bass water
in
the country. The season is at its peak from late May to early August; it's
quite common for anglers to hook 75+ fish per rod per day. Fish average
from
8"-12", with larger fish in the 18"-20" range.

Chris

I posted a picture on ABPF of a stream in the upper John Day River watershed
along with this comment: This small stream holds some improbably large trout
and this picture was taken in January 2005. Normally, this stream would
have anywhere from 1 to 4 feet of snow on its banks this time of year. I
believe we are in for a very low water spring/summer here in the Pacific NW!
So perhaps the earlier we can do the John Day River Clave thing the better?

Chris

"Padishar Creel" wrote in
:

I posted a picture on ABPF of a stream in the upper John Day River
watershed along with this comment: This small stream holds some
improbably large trout and this picture was taken in January 2005.
Normally, this stream would have anywhere from 1 to 4 feet of snow on
its banks this time of year. I believe we are in for a very low water
spring/summer here in the Pacific NW! So perhaps the earlier we can do
the John Day River Clave thing the better?

....kinda looks that way now Chris, keepin' my fingers crossed.

Frank Sr.

"Stan" wrote in message
...
I'm heading up to the PNW Sportsman's Show in Portland this week.
Usually, there is a John Day guide or 2 there. I'm going to pump them
to see what they think about the best time to go this year....
----------
Stan, did you find out anything about the best time for the John Day
especially since we may be facing a low water year?

Chris

Is this trip still being planned????


On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 11:24:40 GMT, Frank Church
wrote:

(Stan) wrote in
:

If present weather conditions continue (very little snowpack) I'd
plan on late in May or even a bit earlier....
We may want to aim for a date as early in June as possible if the snow
situation stays the same. Although late May, early June is the most
crowded time of year (even in normal years, hard boats have a hard
time much later than that), it may be best to err on the side of
caution...

JR

...I have written Arrowhead Adventures asking those folks what their
advice would be given the low snowpack this year. Don't know what the
reply will be, but hey, it can't hurt to get feedback from the experts. I
ran across an interesting place in Fossil, OR called the Service Creek
Stagestop who will pre-position your vehicle where you want it and begin
the float from their establishment. If you want pure luxury on a float of
the John Day, Arrowhead Adventures only charges $995 for a 3 day float,
providing everything except a sleeping bag and your personal items.
(http://www.arrowheadadventures.com/bass2.html) and the outfit at Service
Creek is (http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/index.html) I am really
pumped on going this year and could make it in either May or preferably,
the 1st week of June if conditions allow for that. (and I get resettled
in my house by then) I have posted a picture of a John Day river smallie
on abpf, this guy would put a serious bend in my kpos! :)

Frank Church

(Stan) wrote in :

http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/index.html

....good question Stan, I was sort of depending on our western hosts for
updates, although if I don't find a house pretty soon I can see where that
would interfere with taking a week or two off to fish out there. Also, if I
can make it happen, if the "clave" doesn't come off for some reason I have
entertained the idea of booking with the outfit I mentioned who will know
the current river conditions.

Frank C.