John Day River Report

I had an amazing trip to the John Day river for bass this week.
I was planning on going in June, but the Junuary cold/wind/rain front ruined my plans.
I had a free day on Monday- I drove up to service creek Sunday night & slept in my car.  I floated from wooden bridge to service creek, which is about 5 river miles.  The flows were ~500 cfs.  Service creek stage shop performed the arduous job of shuttling my ride for 5 miles.  It must have been really hard because they charged me $45 to do it
The bass fishing was fantastic.  I caught 40 fish, though this was my first time down the river and I know that experienced anglers get 100+ a day.
Best lure was a topwater popper- cast, tug, then let sit.  Bass HAMMERED it.  Including my new personal best 18.5" smallmouth!!  Lots in the 12-14 inch range.  Amazingly 6" bass hit a 3" lure, and still fight as hard as their big brothers.
Other great lures:  Rebel wee craw, rapala floating f7.
The curly tailed jig that is so oft quoted as the go to lure didn't work for me.  I tried 1" and 3" with 1/8 and 1/4 jig heads in chartreuse and orange.  I think the bass were targeting higher in the water column.  I caught a sporadic fish with these, but when I worked the same water with a popper or floating crank bait, I got tons more action.  Also the deep wee crawdad did not work (again I think too deep).   Spinner bait used a few times without effect, but not tried enough.
In terms of the river flows, the riffles are a bit skinny at 500 fcs.  I ended up dumping in the middle of a rapids when unavoidable shallow rock caught the underside of the kayak.  The river flow immediately pushed the kayak sideways, pushed it over, and dumped me.  I guess I could have walked down on the side of this particular rapids right before the bend in the river near service creek.  No harm done, just some bruises from going down the short rapids in the water and a water bottle lost.
I don't want to sound heretic but a float tube may be better this time of year.  The mirage drive was very nice though on the flat stretches especially with the afternoon wind.
I was the only float angler on this stretch of river that day.  There were a few bankies, and some guys spraying invasive weeds.
It was a beautiful day, and amazing fishing.

Thanks for all the previous posts about the John Day.  I read them very carefully before going.  The knowledge of the group has been VERY helpful to me.  Even though I don't post regularly I have benefited extremely from the collective experience.

I'm missing the ORC today due to work (totally bummed, been looking forward to that since joining the forum last year), hope to get it next year.  Good luck to everyone out there!

Great fish! I love topwater bass fishing. I have been itching to do this... I might have to jump on this nice weather and go this week.

How long did you end up fishing?  Thanks for the report!

Great fish! I love topwater bass fishing. I have been itching to do this... I might have to jump on this nice weather and go this week.

How long did you end up fishing?  Thanks for the report!

About 6 hours
check john day flows here:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?14046500
Currently 300 cfs @ service creek, getting skinny!