May 23: We took two couple today: Ed and Karen Barrett, and Scott and Shirley Brown of Smelly Jelly. We have been using Smelly Jelly since 1991, and catching more fish because of it. They offer a fine line of product for all types of fishing and species. Our favorite for years has been Craw/Anise in the liquid, and Anchovy. We mix the two together when the water temp is over 65. We use their paste on the fly fishing line just above the fly. We use their paste and liquid on the steelhead lures, but wash the lures with Joy lemon after each trip. We use the Shrimp and Anchovy paste just above the fly for fly fishermen. If you need more testimonials, go to the Cabela's online, look up Smelly Jelly, and then click on testimonials (29 five star ratings). One of bass fishing biggest problems is when the tournament guys find something that is working they will disguise it. Like, by putting Smelly Jelly into another bait attractant container. I know this for a fact, because some of the pros I work with have told me so.
It was another day of tough fishing. The water temp has dropped 9 degrees in the last five days and the fish are still in shock. It was 35 in Fossil at 5 AM, 54 at the river, the water was 50 degrees, running 5050 CFS (snow melt run-off), 6-7 clarity, but very clear morning. Shirley caught the first fish at 8:30 and We had 4 fish by lunch, and Karen had boated a nice 17" fish. The sun was doing its job and the water warmed up a bit, and the group caught 20 bass in the afternoon. The gals won the tournament with 14 bass, and the guys had 10. Scott pulled out his secret weapon in the afternoon, XXX Craw/Anise Paste and their boat started catching fish.

May 22: Today I had multiple Master Angler fishermen, Chris and Kath Copeland and Chuck Kunde returning to catch the big ones, but Mother Nature had other plans. It was 39 degrees in Fossil at 5 AM, 49 at the river, 50 degree water, overcast and rainy, and the river was running 5090 CFS with 4-5 clarity at the put-in. Kathy caught the first fish about 8 AM. The morning went "okay" with 7 fish, but the dirty water caught up with us, and the clarity went to 7-8. We boated 9 fish all day, and tried most everything. Good fishermen, tough day of fishing, next year they will get the big one!

May 21: Had three great guys today with returning Master Angler Chris Truesdale and Jeff Earls and Wayne Warren, 503-319-4447. It was 36 degrees in Fossil, 49 at the river, was was 48 degrees, running 6270 CFS, overcast, and 6-7 clarity. First fish was caught by Jeff at 7:50, and they had 6 fish by lunch. They ended up with 19 smallies and Wayne caught a nice 18 1/4" Trophy, but the big fish of the day went to Chris with the last fish of the day, 30"+ Summer Chinook, caught on a Spinner bait. Great guys, I'm looking forward to our trip next year.

May 19: This was the annual Painted Hills Beef trip with one of the founders of Painter Hills Beef, Mehrten Homer, and their two feedlot operators: Doug Maag of Vale, Or; and Keith Pearce, 509-531-3995, with Simplots in the Tri-City area. Painted Hills Beef is the meat we use, and is served in finer resturarants all over the USA and Hawaii, and found in grocery stores accross the country also. It was going to be a tough day of fishing on the river, but the big fish are on the bite and they wanted to take a chance, and go for them. It was 39 in Fossil at 5 AM, 68 at the river at 10 AM, water had dropped in temperature back to 57, running 5900 CFS, 7-8 clarity, and overcast morning. Doug had come to Fossil through John Day, and said the river was running dirty from John Day and dirtier through Dayville (where the South Fork comes in). It was meeting cleaner water at Kimberly from the North Fork, but too much dirt to even it out. First fish was at 8:30 and Doug landed it. We had 3 fish by lunch time, and the river was getting dirtier. They eneded up the day with 8 fish, and Keith boated two Trophy smalmouth bass that were both 18 3/4" in length. Tough water, great guys, great food (Painted Hlls Beef pot roast), and lots of great stories. The river peaked out at 6200 CFS last night, but is still dirty and the snow melt has dropped the water temp. The fish will adapt to the lower temp and the water should start getting cleaner if we don't get too much rain. The grounds already wet, so any new rain tends to run off dirt. If the freezing level stays down the rains won't melt the lower snow, and cool the river off. Good News, doesn't look like the monsters have gone on their beds yet, but within a week there will be a good chance they will.

May 17 & 18: The "Fishers of Men" Annual Tournament was a busy time this year. Pastor Dr. Sam Benson, 253-820-2383; Nate Benson, 253-330-7753; Ken DeMaria, 253-370-8105,and Don Guthrie
were the fishermen this year. It was 47 degrees in Fossil on May 17 at 5 AM, 71 at the river at 11am, 60 degree water, 3980 CFS, 4-5 clarity, and overcast. The first fish was caught by Don at 7:50 AM, and they ended the day with 121 smallies and Sam Benson had a Master Angler, 20 1/2" X 13 beauty. Don was the leader with 50 fish for the day. Day Two would end up with three more Master Anglers. Ken DeMaria had two: 20" X 13" and 21 3'4 " X 13 1/2". Nate Benson had one very big one, 22" X 15". It was 49 degrees in Fossil at 5 AM, 57 at the river, the water was 60 degrees, 4510 CFS, 5-6 clarity, and rainy. First fish was again Don at 7:40 AM. They ended the day with 150 smallmouth bass.
the Champion was Ken DeMaria with 86" for his five longest fish. The Most Fish was won by Nate Benson with 78 for two days. Great bunch of fellows, good fellowship, and they're coming back at the same time next year. Lookout Bass!

May 16: I took a great bunch of folks from the Sisters area today: Dr. Scott Weems DVM, daughter Brenna Weems, 541-549-1709, and Wendy Chiles, 864-723-7992. This was free trip, because last year we blanked out on an early smallmouth/steelhead trip (Fish-On guarantee for regular priced full day trips). It was 50 degrees in Fossil at 5 AM, 60 at the river, water running 59 degrees and 3800 CFS, 3-4 clarity, on a mostly clear morning. Brenna caught the first fish at 8:30 AM, but it was 10 AM before we had a good pattern going for the day. They boated 24 fish by lunch and Brenna had a Trophy 18 1/4" fish. Things got much better after lunch and Wendy boated a very fat 18 1/2" Trophy in the afternoon. They ended up with 58 fish. Scott boated 10+ fly fishing with a top water slider Sneaky Pete from Gaines flies, Wendy had 23, and Brenna had 25.

May 14: took a short trip today with my wife, Linda, and Uncle Jim from Placerville, CA. It was 38 in Fossil at 5 AM. 62 at the river at 9 AM, water was 57 degrees, running 3800 CFS, 4-5 clarity, and very clear and warm. I lucked into the first fish at 9 AM at the put-in while showing my Uncle how to fish a spinner bait. They ended the day with 9 fish each, and unfortunately some very small fish were biting our very big baits. Great day on the water, with lots of sunshine and my first day in a swimsuit and tank top. The river is getting clearer, but it was raining in the Bridge Creek area when we took off the water.

May 12: took Linda and Granddaughter, Emily, today. It was 33 in Fossil at 5 AM, 58 at the river at 9 AM, water was 54 degrees, running 3849 (up 1200 CFS over two days ago), 8-9 clarity, and very clear skies. The heavy rain that hit Monday morning has sent it's dirty water down river, and turned the river very muddy. It is probably worse below Bridge Creek, and tough fishing from there to Cottonwood. The water got cleaner as the day went on in the Service Creek section. We launched at 9 AM and Emily got the first fish at 9:50 AM. They ended up the day with 10 fish, but no monsters. The DINKS are definitely alive, well, and hungry. The Outlaw Baits 5" Ripple Worm, on a 1/4 oz Texas set up worked the best when covered with Smelly Jelly Craw/Anise.

May 10: My day started at 3:30 AM with a very heavy rain upon the roof. It quit raining at 11 AM and turned out to be a pretty nice day, but a very wet morning. Today i took Don Miller, Mt. Vernon, OR and friends Justin Russell and Kevin Steinmetz of Pendleton. Great bunch of guys, and Don has many Master Angler smallmouth to his credit. It was 41 in Fossil at 5 AM, 44 at the river, and the was was running 52 degrees, 2600 CFS, 2-3 clarity, and raining hard. It snowed on us on our trip to the river from Fossil, but these were die-hard fishermen. Justin caught the first fish at 7:50 AM, and they boated and released 14 fish by lunch. The weather eased up and the sun came out, and so did the little fish. They ended up the day with 46 smallies, but the BIG story was the returning steelhead going back to sea that Justin hooked. It took almost 10 mintues to get this tough Buck in, and let him go. He is the kink of fish that gives the John Day River it's reputation for their Native Only steelhead runs. The river went up only 400 CFS with all the rain and dirtied up just a little bit, so it should be fine to fish. the DINKS are very active and hitting the plastic baits pretty hard. FISH ONE!!

May 8: Took long time client, friend, and many time Master Angler (2006 Largest Catch and Release west coast In-Fishermen angler) Roger Jarvis and his daughter, Alena fishing today. It was 38 in Fossil at 5 AM, 49 at the river, the water was 49 degrees and running 2990 CFS, 1-2 clarity, and slight overcast. Roger caught the first fish at 8:40 AM, but the spirit of competition was in the air and Alena was leading 6 to 2 at lunch time. Roger caught a spawned out male steelhead headed back to the ocean just before lunch. It sprinkled right after lunch and then the sun came out and warmed things up. Alena ended the day with 15 bass to Roger's 7, and was the Champion. She also hooked a returning steelhead, but it made a mighty jump and threw the lure. Great day, and the confirmation of another good fishermen. It just doesn't get any better.

May 7: I took two longtime friends, Claire Fulenwider and Harriet Forman, on a Pure Fishing Trip (1/2 day). The weather was "okay", but the sun never came out of the overcast sky to warm the water up. It was 30 in Fossil at 5 AM, 47 at the river at 8 AM, water was 49 degrees and running 2930 CFS, 1-2 clarity, and overcast. We spent the first part of the trip looking for a big fish and throwing big baits. Harriet caught the first fish at 8:25 AM, and said she was glad to get the first fish, but hoped this wouldn't become a "Vitamin Day", one-a-day (it did for her). We finished up the short day with 3 fish, and saw deer, geese, ducks, horses, a small cattle drive, lots of small birds, lots of rafting groups, and good conversation.

May 6: I took longtime friend, Master Angler, and good fishermen Doug Rauen today. It was 37 in Fossil, 44 at the river, water was 47 degrees and running 2960 CFS, 1-2 clarity, and overcast with sun breaks. Doug caught the first fish at 8:26 AM, and had boated 4 by lunch. But the morning story was in the two salmonoids Doug boated. He caught a nice steelhead, and then on the very next cast he caught a summer Chinook coming up. Go figure! Doug was only after the big ones and threw big baits all day. He ended up with 5 more smallies for a total of 9. the water warmed up to 49 degrees and the air temp after lunch was 60 degrees. We threw a Trout Rapala in honor of Doug's long time fishing competitor, Dan Hawkey, who couldn't make the trip because of surgery, but NEVER caught a fish with it. So Doug 9, Dan-0.

May 5, 2010: today Skip Geer took James Grimes, 360-579-7969, and long time friend Kevin Howard out for a day of fishing on the river. Skip has been guiding for Mah-Hah Outfitters for 10 years, runs Mayville Flat shooting Preserve (two 1280 acre preserves), 541-384-4705, guides archery elk and deer, guides rifle elk and deer, farms, and is an all around great guy and guide. It was 32 in Fossil at 5 AM, lightly snowing, 3030 CFS river flow and a slight dropping river. They boated 23 fish in the morning, but got better after lunch and boated 24 in the afternoon. James caught a nice trophy bass, 19 1/2 inches long, and ended up with one more fish than his long time friend Kevin. I'm not sure how their betting game came out, but James had to be at least $1 up, AND the bragging rights for a year (the TV ad would call that - PRICELESS). Nice job catching!

May 1: I took long time friends Chris Copeland and Kirby Hess fishing today. I took them in early March last year, and we had a "fishless" day. So they were back for their free trip. We guarantee "Fish-On" on our regular trips, or the next trip is free. We're off to a great year this year, and have not had any off with our clients, on the regular full day trips, get skunked (plus some really nice huge smallmouth this year). It was 40 in Fossil at 5 Am, 50 at the river, water was running 51 degrees, 3810 CFS and falling, 4-5 clarity, and a slightly overcast morning. Chris caught the first fish at 7:45 AM, and Kirby was close behind him. They ended up with 16 fish by lunchtime, and as Kirby said he was 9 times better than last year (he had 9 at lunch). A heavy cold-front and wind gusts came in at lunchtime, and slowed the fishing down, but they ended up with 25 smallies, and they each boated one over 15". They could have caught more fish, but they were only going for the big ones and using big fish techniques.
We talked about the big fish being ready to spawn a couple of weeks ago, and they were with 55-59 degrees water temperatures. But, the big rain storm on April 20 and 21 ran lots of snow melt into the river and dirty water, which lowered the temperature and stained the water up. It's hard to predict, but it will be a couple of weeks before the big fish head for the spawning beds. So, now is a good time to catch the huge pre-spawn fish, and we boated and released 4 last week.

April 30: I took Steve Fletcher on his second day, and friends Larry Duckett and Randy Johnston, 541-969-8834. It was 27 in Fossil at 5 Am, 44 at the river, the water was 51 degrees, 4380 CFS, 5-6 clarity, and a very clear day. Randy caught the first fish at 7:55 AM, and they had 6 fish by lunch. There was a slight cold front that came in and the bite died for awhile. We ended up with 12 fish, and Randy reeled in a very nice 19 1/2" in the late afternoon. It was a great day on the water, and lots of great stories were shared.

April 29: Was a cold and windy day on the John Day River. I took Master Angler Steve Fletcher, and a great Father/Son Team of Brad and Nick Staub, 541-281-2150, of Tulelake, CA. It was 34 in Fossil at 5 AM, 48 at the river, the water was 50 degrees, 4880 CFS and dropping, light overcast, and 7-8 for clarity and getting cleaner. The first fish did not come till 11:15 AM and Brad brought it in. I started to get the feeling that this one lure would become important. I'm down to 8 lures of one type that they don't make anymore, and trying not to lose any more. There were a couple of hangups and breakoffs involving this one lure, but we got it back each time. Well at lunch time we had boated 4 fish. The weather got cooler and the wind really started to blow after lunch. We ended up the day with 12 fish. Oh, that lure I was telling you about, Brad caught a Master Angler 20 1/2" X 14" toad with it. Yah when the last of the eight is gone it will be a sad day in my house.

April 28: took long time friends Kevin Howard and Doug Greenlee, 503-869-7163, on the river today. The river came up, but was still fishable. It was 35 in Fossil at 5 Am, 48 at the river, was was running 50, 7-8 clarity, slightly overcast, 4370 CFS and rising. Devin caught the first fish at 9 AM and by lunchtime we had 5 smallies, with Doug boating two fat Master Angler smallmouth bass, 20 3/4" X 13 3/4" and 21 3/4" X 14". They were great fish, and Doug did a great job fishing for them and bringing them in. It was warm at lunch, and then turned cool and a slight rain. It was tough fishing in the afternoon with the water getting dirty and higher. Doug hooked another toad just above the take-out, but lost it after a short fight. Shoot that would have made three in one day!! Kevin and Doug have fished together for a long time and they were lots of fun to be with. Hope Kevin buys Doug another Birthday trip for next year!

April 27: took old client and Master angler Dan Ross, 503-784-4936, and his friend Steve Kirsop. It was 48 in Fossil, 57 at the river, the water was 51 degrees, 3780 CFS and dropping, 6-7 clarity, and overcast. It was raining in Fossil, but dry at Service Creek when we got there at 7:45 AM. Steve caught the first fish at 9 AM. About 10:30 Dan hooked into a fish that gave a little fight until it got to the boat then it went nuts on us. Dan made a couple fo great moves and I netted the second biggest smallmouth bass I've ever seen, 23" X 16 1/4". It was an absolute hog. We had 6 fish by lunch, and it was warm and the sun was shinning. Then about 3:15 the heaven opened up and it poured on us. they ended up the day early with 10 fish, 5 each. Great fish for Dan, and a wet time for all!

April 25: I took long time friends from the Mount Vernon, Oregon area: Don Miller, Dave Fronapel - 541-932-4977, and Red Iler. These guys are all good fishermen, and a fun bunch to be with on the river. It was35 in Fossil at 5 AM, 48 at the river at 7 AM, 51 degrees water, 4070 CFS, 5-6 clarity, overcast, and a dropping river. Don caught the first fish at 7:55 AM, and they boated 16 fish by lunch, and Dave had a Trophy 18 1/4" smallie. A front came in and shut the fish down early in the afternoon, but the fellows ended up with 33 smallies. Don lost a huge fish at the take-out when it jumped out of the water. Red said " it was too bad" (inside joke).

April 24: took past Master Anglers Mike and son, Mark (503-580-1856), Sliper today. It was 38 in Fossil at 5 AM, 52 at the river, and the water was running 51 degrees, 5160 CFS, 7-8, and overcast. Mark caught the first fish at 8:30 Am, a Master Angler smallmouth bass, 20 1/2" X 13". They boated 10 fish by lunch and the sun came out and it got warm. They ended up with 16 smallies and the river was getting cleaner by the minute. Should be good fishing for a while.

April 22: Took Don Miller of Mt. Vernon, and Jeremy and Brandon Russell of Hayden, Idaho fishing today. The river blew out yesterday evening and went to 7000+ CFS, which is the highest flow so far this year. It was running dirty, and lots of loose grass in the river. We went on over to the Private Largemouth Lake and had a great day in the sun and clean water. They boated 39 fish and young Brandon was the winner with 16 fish. The river is headed back down and on Friday at noon around 5000 CFS, temperature dropped back to low 50's, and cleaning itself up. Should be "okay" to fish this weekend, and very nice weather. Good Luck!

April 19: Took friends from Olympia, WA, Art O'Neal and Emmett Dobey today. It was 41 in Fossil at 6 AM, 64 at the river at 10 AM, water was 54 degrees, 4010 CFS, 8 clarity, and a very clear day. We launched late today and Art caught the first fish at 9:40 AM. We had 3 by lunch and ended up the day with 11 smallies. it was a tough day of fishing with the water turning off-color in the last two days. Even though the flow is not particularly high for this time of year, it is the highest so far and picking up dead grasses from the river bank and pushing them down river. The slow Carolina rigs in the slow water flats worked the best. The water will continue to rise and get dirtier for a while. I'm looking for my lucky "rabbits foot" for the next trip.

April 18: took a new boat owner, John Tremper, on a 1/2 day trip: Service Creek to Twickenham. He just bought a brand new 18" Clackacraft Max, and wanted to see the section with a guide on his first trip. He's one of our clients, but owns property in the Spray area and plans on doing some fishing on his own this summer. He agreed with me, Clackacraft Max is the easiest boat to row he's ever been in. I've rowed them all, it is it far and above the BEST for the John Day River. Only problem is the bottom only has a 100 year warranty, yeah like I should worry about that!

April 17: We ran a half-day trip in the Spray area for six fishermen, three Father/Sons teams: Dale and Brock Pellow, pellowfamily@comcasat.net; Gary and Connor Woolworth; and Ron and Michael Strobe. The water was coming up and the highest so far this season at 3060 CFS and rising to 3600 while we were on the water, 68 degrees at 2 PM, 54 degree water, 6-7 clarity, and slightly overcast. It was the young men against the Dads, and the youngsters won by two fish. The score 2-0, yes it was a tough day but the young guys hung in there and Brock Pellow caught a huge Master Angler smallmouth bass, 21 1/2" X15 1/4" on a spinnerbait against the bank is a slow water bank area. Nice job Brock!!!

April 16: Beautiful morning, 36 degrees in Fossil, 48 at the river, water running 54 degrees, 2560 CFS, 5-6 clarity. Took friends and good fishermen Todd Mulvaney and Mitch Crouser, both of Damascus fishing today. Todd caught the first fish at 7:45 AM and they boated 24 smallies by lunch. Todd caught a nice 16 3/4" beauty in the bunch. They boated another 36 in the afternoon for a total of 60 smallies. Yes, the dinks are active and the big fish will be spawning soon. Jigheads with Outlaw Baits 5" Ripple worms in all the colors were working when covered with Smelly Jelly Craw/Anise. The warm water has turned the fish on.

April 14: Meet Ed Larson and step son, Mark RafFnson, at my house in Fossil at 6 AM. Two great guys who fish together for a week once a year. Mark is from Lake Elsinore, Ca, and Ed is from Culver , Or. It was 29 in Fossil, 40 at the river, and the water was running 51 degrees, 2230 CFS, 2-3 clarity, and very clear and sunny. The weather was much improved over the last two days of stormy weather. Mark caught the first fish at 8:20 and they had boated 8 smallies by lunch time, and March had a nice 17 1/2" fish in the bunch. The air temp was 74 right after lunch and the water had warmed up to 55 degrees. The little fish (90 % of the population) are coming active, and the biggest fish will probably go into their spawn during the next week. This is one of the earliest spawning conditions I can remember. They ended up with 23 fish, and most were caught on crankbait, but everything was working.

April 12 & 13: We ran an overnight trip with five good friends: Dan Hawkey, Craig Dewey, John Stilwell, Joel Dvino, and Bill Luettgerodt. They were great guys and we went out to the Private largemouth lake for two days of fishing and camping. The weather fronts were coming in every 2 hours, and we could see it raining/snowing all around us, but only sprinkled on us during the days. Monday night was different, it poured late during the night but we stayed dry. Skip Geer, Mayville Flat Shooting Preserve, was the other guide and he squired the pontoon boats around the Lake, and tried to figure out what the bass wanted. The Lake water was 58 degrees and very clear. They caught fish, but the fishing was slow, and the biggest fish was 19 inches. Great bunch of guys, and hopefully they will come back next year.

April10: I went to the airport in Condon and picked up Dean and brother Lamont Miller, 503-651-3126, and Dean's brother in law, Tobin Cooley. Great bunch of guys and good fishermen. It was 20 in Fossil at 5 AM, 42 at the river, the water was 48 degrees, 2020 CFS, 4-5 clarity, very clear morning. Dean caught the first fish at 9:35 AM and they had 5 fish by lunch. Lamont caught an 8 pound carp, steelhead, and a Master Angler Smallmouth bass 20 1/16" X 13 1/2" in the afternoon. The group ended up with 14 bass and a great day on the water. I took them back to the airport at Condon and they took off at 7 PM and headed back to Aurora.

April 9: What a difference a day can make. Today, I took Steve Fletcher and Brad Bell. It was 19 in Fossil at 5 AM, 32 at the river, 48 degree water temperature, 2040 CFS, 5-6 clarity, and not a cloud in the sky or a breath of air moving. It was calm all day and Brad caught the first fish at 8:20. We had 4 fish at lunch, and ended the day with 9. Slow day of fishing, but a beautiful day on the water.