Thanks for sharing your report. I am working on landing a new job at the moment. The prospect is looking very good so far. I need to stay close to home and will not be taking any multi-day trips for the time being. I still plan to do a day fishing trip on the John Day either next Wednesday or Thursday, 8/28 or 8/29. If anyone is up for splitting gas and having a gas, drop me a note.
Yeah. If you are not in the zone for a 2 or 3 mile walk downstream at Cottonwood do not even bother. I have never caught any bass over 8 inches long in that stretch, if any were caught at all. The goat heads are hell too. I came across a family biking there one morning. Two adults, one bike trailer, and two children. They made it about 2 miles down the river trail. Every single tire was flat. Let's see, that was 10 flat tires. Even with thornproof tires, tuffies, and slime I probably still wouldn't try that one.
I have had good roadside success this time of year above Service Creek. It is a long drive, but does not require any hike in. There are lots of small fish there with the occasional pig rearing its head. I think the funnest fishing trip of my life was there. My son was about 7 years old. It was August and the temp was 110 F. Flows were so low our kayaks would have been a nuisance. We filled our pockets with plastic worms, put on our life jackets, and jumped in the river for a free float two hours before dusk. We were literally getting bites on every cast, sometimes multiple bites in a single cast if you missed one. Even small smallies can tow you around a bit when you are bobbing around in the river. Nothing big that day, but it was a helluva lot of fun.
My biggest smallie ever came out of the JD the day after in a roadside pool about 4 miles up river from Service Creek. My children and I were catching lots of small fish. I found a deep rocky run, 8-10 feet, and decided to put on a 10 inch senko to get it to drift along the bottom in that deep water. That particular size has been nicknamed Donkey D by our fishing crew. First cast with good old Donkey D and I landed a 4.5 pound smallie. It was a huge surprise and revelation after catching all kinds of sub-pounders. That was my lure for the rest of the day, saving it for the really deep runs that had enough current to feed the pigs. About ten in the morning I hooked a fish that fought for 15 minutes before even breaking surface. It was 6 pound line. I was beginning to think it might be a carp. I moved deeper to keep the pressure on and to keep it under control while playing it. It got to the point where I was literally treading water and the fish was towing me around. When I finally got its head up and skimmed it toward my son and into the net it was a 7.5 pound smallie. My best ever. I have not fished up that high again ever since. I need to do it again though. Maybe next week?
Tight lines my friend!
