Is this thing on?

Date: June 17-19 2005
John Day River Small Mouth Bass Float Trip
With only one response so far (and a maybe at that), I thought maybe a
little marketing of this trip might be in order.

In the latest issue of Fly Fisherman magazine, July 2005, Dave Whitlock has
an article entitled, "Surface Smallmouth." In this article, Dave
relates,"These tough fish (smallmouth bass) are stronger, more durable, much
more prolific, and more intelligent than trout. The have an admirable and
uncompromising personality of a true gamefish, eagerly attacking the fly
and, once hooked, respond with wild, acrobatic jumps, hard runs, and a
strong, stubborn fight that earned them the reputation of being
pound-for-pound the hardest-fighting freshwater fish."

The article goes on to rate the top 30 Smallmouth Rivers in the United
States. And guess which river is the absolutely top Smallmouth river in the
land? You guessed it happy campers, it is the John Day River in the State
of Oregon.

This trip is an easy float and it would be a great river for any beginner to
run a pontoon boat upon. There are pontoon boats, for rent, available right
at the put in point..

As I mentioned, I attended a presentation on this fishery last week and
those in attendance as well as the presenter could not remember any day on
the John Day River that did not produce, at least, 30 fish per rod. 50 - 70
fish is the normal for this fishery and fishing is good all day long! I
learned that early morning and late afternoon tend to produce the bigger
fish.

But wait there's more! If you respond to this offer within the next 30
minutes (or at all), I will share with you a few secret locations, where
people tend to overlook when they make this run and the fish are larger and
more aggressive in these little know hideaways.


Happy Hacklers will have 5-7 people going as well and some are experience

With the river levels likely to be very low it was suggested, at the recent
Happy Hacklers meeting, that pontoon boats would be the best choice of
watercraft. The river is fishable down to 100 CFS but difficult to float, at
that rate, even in a pontoon. The recommended amount of flow was, at least,
400 CFS. It takes 1000 CFS to give the drift boats enough water to
navigate. (Today the river is raging at 13,100 CFS at Service Creek!)

Fishing equipment recommendation: 3wt to 5wt floating lines. If the water
level is high a sink tip line would be advisable as well. Travis, of the
Gorge Fly Shop, uses floating line pretty much exclusively because he loves
the top water action. Travis is the go to person for information on this
fishery: http://www.gorgeflyshop.com/

Flies: Small chartreuse poppers with rubber legs were suggested as the most
effective top water fly for this fishery. White poppers were his second
choice.

Wooly Buggers - Olive, black and brown size 4 to 8
Crawfish patterns
Streamers (chartreuse, olive, black, brown)
Wet Flies (Anything with marabou in purple or black seems to work well)



Camping: Very primitive and there are rattlesnakes (I grew up near hear and
I have never had a problem with a snake) and cactus (it will poke holes in
air mattresses). We are required by the regulation to bring a
self-contained portable potty. In reality one for the group is enough and,
well, frankly it doesn't get used much. But you have to have one at the
start and the end of trip. One has already been arranged by the group we
are going with.

Shuttle Service: Jana, at Service Creek, has a shuttle service and it is
$50 per vehicle. There are others as well: Donna, of Donna's John Day River
Shuttles, Fossil, Oregon (541) 763-4884 was highly recommended but I could
not reach her today to get a quote.

Location: Put in at Service Creek and take out at Clarno.

Meeting: We will be meeting at Service Creek at 7am, Friday June 17th, 2005

River Mile 155, latitude/longitude N 44 47.845 / W 120 00.489
Service Creek Stage Stop
38686 Hwy 19 Fossil, Oregon 97830 (541) 468-3331
http://www.servicecreekstagestop.com/

Water Level Reports: http://tinyurl.com/b5dzp

Contact: Chris Fanning (360) 260-5545 if you are
planning to attend this trip, please contact me soon. I will be sending out
add'l info in the next few days.