Beat them off with a stick.

[gangavan]

Out around the fossil beds and down river to spray has to be the best place to catch smallmouth bass if you don't care how big they are, early in the spring the bigger (2lbs to 4lbs) ones bite if that is what you are looking for. I have gone through a pack of tube baits and a half pack of rubber worms in a day there.

 

[chris61182]

So I've never been up there, but want to someday, is that mostly bank access?

 

[joesnuffy]

i stopped by there in July on my way to Bend. fished for about an hr and didn't catch anything....... always next time.

 

[gangavan]

Yes there is a lot of access to the river. The water is nice and warm so you can walk the river in shorts and a t-shirt also it helps keep you away from the rattle snakes hidden in the bushes along the river.

 

[pdx89]

Thanks for the info.

 

[craigatkins]

any info on the monument area or the area from hiway 26 into monument. A group of us are meeting there for one night in late july on a motorcycle ride. I was there last week, looked like a nice stretch of the north fork of the john day. Thanks.

 

[Boo]

I recommend the Service Creek Station Bed and Breakfast. You can get up early, and you're 5 or 10 minutes from great fishing. Free breakfast when you get back. You can order your supper before you go out for your evening fish, and they'll have it ready when you get back.

Last time I was down there my brother and I caught well over a hundred fish in a day and a half. Lots of 10-14 inchers, and one about 4 pounds. They're smallies, so of course they fight like little demons. I use nice light tackle, and have a blast!