After a lot of unpacking of boxes we took a week off from moving and headed to the Grande Ronde River. We thought we were timing it just right, the flow was set to drop below 1500 CFS and the fishing really picks up as the river drops. Little did we know the water would be a murky brown from intense rain. The fishing was the worst I’ve ever seen it, but getting on the river still can’t be beat.
Spring is always a nice time to hit the John Day River. Wildflowers are blooming, it greens up for a short period of time, and the blackbirds and geese fill the air. We launched at Service Creek and made our way to Clarno over the course of four days in May.
After a relatively dry winter, spring in Oregon has been pretty moist. This trip was no exception. Flows were pretty high, especially if you are interested in fishing. But the flowers were blooming and we had long stretches of the river to ourselves.
Our last stop on our 2021 tour of the John Day started the morning after our last stop ended, with an early morning launch at Service Creek. Near as we could tell we were the first boat on the river, shoving of right at 8 a.m. just beating the crowd that was showing up as we were finishing up the last bit of loading. It was a beautiful sunny and calm morning. Weather perfect, the only question remaining was were the bass biting? The short answer – yes. Perfect weather was in the forecast, fish were biting, and the crowds were cut by the permit system, which was not in effect last time we were on the river. You can try it both ways, but I’m here to tell you, the river was immeasurably more enjoyable this time around. Could we ask for anything more? Maybe, but let’s not get greedy.
