John Day River Plans anyone?

Hi guys,long time lurker, first time starting a topic.Floating the John day river and fish for smallmouth bass has been in my mind for a while but my experience is limited as far long floats and overnight camping out of a kayak.My fishing buddy  bought a kayak a few months ago and he also would like to float this river.We are thinking of doing this sometime in June,so,I have some questions, is anybody planning to go to the John day around june?and wouldn't mind a couple people tagging along?,the two of us could pull our own weight and could share expenses.
if not,is there any recommendations you could make for first timers at the John Day?
Are there any shuttle services available in the area?,I have searched but the info seems a little outdated.
Which section is better for beginners or which would you suggest.
I know this is a very question loaded post but please bear with me,I'd really like to do this float this year and I'll really appreciate all the help I could get.

Thanks

Hi guys,long time lurker, first time starting a topic.Floating the John day river and fish for smallmouth bass has been in my mind for a while but my experience is limited as far long floats and overnight camping out of a kayak.My fishing buddy  bought a kayak a few months ago and he also would like to float this river.We are thinking of doing this sometime in June,so,I have some questions, is anybody planning to go to the John day around june?and wouldn't mind a couple people tagging along?,the two of us could pull our own weight and could share expenses.
if not,is there any recommendations you could make for first timers at the John Day?
Are there any shuttle services available in the area?,I have searched but the info seems a little outdated.
Which section is better for beginners or which would you suggest.
I know this is a very question loaded post but please bear with me,I'd really like to do this float this year and I'll really appreciate all the help I could get.

Thanks

With the lack of snow on this side I would check water levels first.the bass are there regardless but in June if flows are low it could be more challenging.

 Here is a thread about a trip a few members did in 2013 that might be of interest to you.
http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=11001.0#top

 Lots of good information here.

Roughly two months till you float, I think thats a bit too tight of a schedule to be well planned out in.

I would suggest spend this year planning and prepping. Get all your gear worked out, meals figured out and maybe even wander over to the John Day and prospect some areas, and talk with the local shops for tips on shuttling.

I did a float in 2012 down the Willamette for a week. It was actually scheduled for two weeks, but a death in the family pulled us off the water early. I spent a year solid preparing for it, and we had no issues whatsoever.  Even with the unexpected things that crop up on adventures like this, we had a the means to get through it without injury due to planning ahead and having the right gear with us.

I would live to kayak camp down the John Day sometime as well, but this will have to wait till I get through some of my other adventures first.

The John Day River is a great river to float.  We do several trips each year.  If you have never floated it, especially in a kayak I would suggest to try camping and just doing a day trip or two so you have minimal gear.

The river has several rapids that have pretty good chance of flipping if you are not prepared for them.

There are lots of areas on the upper river for day trips such as Service Creek to Twickenham or near Spray to Service Creek.  The lower river is even more scenic but also more remote requiring longer floats.

There are several shuttles in the area of Service Creek.  I have used J&Z Shuttles out of Spray 541-468-2182.

Water level is going to be a big deal this year, so earlier will likely be better than later.  We often do day trips in May or early June and over nights in Mid June but that may have to be moved up this year.

BLM requires an online permit for either day or overnight float.

Hope the float works out, you will love it and the fishing is a blast.

If you've done any backpacking, camping out of a kayak will be a breeze.  Load part of your gear in a big dry bag behind your seat, load the rest of your gear in a couple of smaller dry bags in the front hatch, and you're good to go.  You can carry way more gear in a sit-on-top kayak than most people are willing to carry while backpacking.  The trick is to restrict yourself to only a little more than you would carry while backpacking, so you don't overload your kayak.  Don't try to bring a chair, a table, a big two burner white gas stove, a Coleman lantern, a big cooler, An eight-person tent, a couple of twelve-packs of beer, etc., etc.  Go backpacking style.  But do bring a "Crazy Creek" style nylon camp chair, so you can sit in comfort.

Because you haven't camped out of a kayak before, I suggest that you take a couple over overnight shakedown trips.  Find a section of your favorite fishing river which has some public land or an island where you can camp.  On Saturday afternoon, fish your way down to the camping spot, set up camp, and spend the night.  On Sunday, pack up and fish your way to the takeout.  A couple of these trips will help you figure out what you need to bring, and how to pack it.  You may need to carry less fishing gear than you do on a day trip so you have room for your camping gear.  Be sure to put all your gear in dry bags and strap it into your kayak, so you won't lose any gear or get your gear wet if you flip your kayak.  You may decide to buy some different dry bags or camping gear.  These overnight trips should be both fun and educational.

Make it a point to do overnight practice trips when the weather is marginal.  One of the skills of backpacking or kayak camping is to figure out how to be comfortable and have a good time in crappy weather.  I bring a 10' x 12' nylon tarp on all kayak trips, so we can hang out and cook under it, sitting on the ground in camp chairs.

Once you get your camping gear figured out, the biggest hassle of doing a kayak camping trip may be assembling the food for the trip.  You can buy excellent backpacking or kayak camping food at your regular grocery store.  Go light, and bring food which doesn't need refrigeration.  You can eat very well on a kayak camping trip without bringing a large volume of food.

Before you head out on a multi-day John Day river trip, be sure that you have done enough day kayak trips on similar rivers that you have developed the kayaking skills required to kayak the John Day river safely.  You don't want to have a kayak wreck in a remote portion of a multi-day trip. 

Get a good map of the river, figure out how many miles a day you need to cover to do the trip in the desired number of days, and locate possible camping spots towards the end of each day.  Then be sure that you maintain about the necessary mileage each day.  You don't want to get to the end of the trip and realize that you need to make 30 miles the last day in order to get out in the number of days you scheduled.

On the John Day, you should be able to set up a river shuttle with a couple of phone calls.  Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, hiring out the shuttle is the way to go.

Yaktastic's and Nobaddays' comments about river levels are good ones, particularly this year.  Talk to a couple of fishing guides about when the water levels on the John Day are usually good for floating and fishing, and get their predictions about when the levels are likely to be good this year.  They make their living by floating the rivers, so you can be sure they're thinking about this issue.  And if river levels drop like a rock or shoot way up due to rain, be prepared to move your trip to a different date.

Last summer I did a four-day kayak fishing trip on the Selway and a six-day kayak fishing trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon.  These were low-water trips on whitewater rivers.  I posted pictures of these trips at http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=13913.0 and http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=14090.0 .  You may get some ideas about kayak camping gear and camping style from the pictures of the Middle Fork trip.

If you're familiar with minimal impact backpacking, then you're mostly ready for this float.  The JD has a lot of rules around ensuring that the river remains wild.  No fires.  Pack out your poop.  etc.

Nearly all of the rapids are Class II or lower and your biggest issue is finding a good campsite.  The lower river has some nice stretches and a little more water.  With the low snowpack this year, you may find yourself dragging thru a few shallow areas.

There are several shuttle services available depending on the section of river that you want to float.  Simple google searches will direct you to the right places.

Bring a good water filter, a broad hat and be sure to have a good selection of lures with lots of each.  There's nothing worse than finding a pattern that brings you a fish on every cast only to run out of that one pattern.

-Mark- 

If you're familiar with minimal impact backpacking, then you're mostly ready for this float.  The JD has a lot of rules around ensuring that the river remains wild.  No fires.  Pack out your poop.  etc.

Oh yeah.  Packing out your poop.  Set forth below is an explanation of how I pack out my poop on multi-day kayak trips.  It works very well, and is way cheaper than commercially-available "Wag Bag" type of systems.  The description is a bit out of date, but I'm too lazy to retype it.  For example, I use a Stearns screw-top dry bag to transport my poop, but that dry bag is no longer being manufactured, so you'll need to find something else.  Reader alert:  this posting may not be suitable reading for those with delicate sensibilities.  Here's the description:







Here's a couple pictures of the system.  Note: no actual poop was used in the making of these photos.





Two changes I would suggest: double-bag each poop to be sure that no odors leak out, and don't bother with the disinfectant.  On long trips, to save space I burn my toilet paper in a rocky area below the high water line and crumble and sweep away the ashes.

Rock climbers use a PVC pipe setup that would work just fine as well.  One of those pet food lockers would work great too.

Well this thread turned into a load of crap fast.

Like it or not, in order to do most multi-day float trips in the lower 48 states, you need to be prepared to carry out all your poop.  So having a good poop collection and transportation system is as important as having a good sleeping pad.

A little story about that:  I did an unsupported kayak trip down Loon Creek to the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho, and then 50 miles out the lower half of the Middle Fork.  It was the first unsupported kayak trip for one of the guys on the trip.  There isn't much room in many whitewater kayaks for gear, and after stewing about how best to utilize the limited space in his kayak, this guy decided to bring a great big can of freeze-dried backpacking food, which was really inconvenient to pack in his kayak, instead of bringing a sleeping pad.  Bad decision!  He got little sleep, and was not a "happy camper."

Thanks to all who replied, I will probably take more time to prepare for the trip and hopefully do it by the end of summer .
I have a Malibu S12 that will probably have enough room for the basic stuff I need.I'm going to stuff it with some pool noodles for the trip

Thanks again.

You could make it really easy by getting a friend with a drift boat or white water raft.  Lots of room then.

I'd really like to make a float of this river as well.

You could make it really easy by getting a friend with a drift boat or white water raft.  Lots of room then.

I think that unsupported kayak trips are simpler, more elegant, and more fun than raft supported kayak trips.  Once you do a practice overnight trip in your kayak, you'll realize that it's easy.  And once you have your gear figured out, the only difference between an overnight trip and a multi-day trip is that you're carrying more food.  If you have the kayaking skills to handle the modest rapids on the John Day, I say, do an unsupported kayak trip this summer before the water craps out.

I'm going to dia practice overnight trip in my kayak first.I live in Federal Way and plan to paddle from Redondo beach to Saltwater State park with only the things I'd need in the JD float.