Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

98 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

oppressive heat over the Columbia

Plateau will have begun to moderate;

it should be nearly 10 degrees cooler

in the day and quite nearly that

again at night. Hot still, but the edge

is off. Evenings are bliss and nights

are relaxed and contemplative with a

hint of the season to come.

And as for the rest of the residents

of Dodge, I don’t know where they

Recreational opportunities on the John Day expand in fall as upland bird seasons open.

The author and his pals use the river to chase pheasants, chukar and quail when not fly

fishing for wild steelhead. (STEVE THOMSEN)

are but they sure as hell aren’t

there. Reason being, the water level.

By September the river will have

dropped significantly from the 1,200

cfs or so of early summer to perhaps

300 or 200 cfs or less. Kayaks and

canoes are the best choice then,

perhaps with a small to midsized cat

in support with a couple of hombres

aboard to assist when she bottoms

out and to pole the boat off the rocks

that it will inevitably hang up on.

For some of us this is a deal breaker;

for others it’s the price of getting the

adventure we want. We saw plenty of

dove on the wing in June, so hunting

them and chasing bass would make

for a great combo float this season.

While September is a little early for

steelhead, they are not far down the

road, with the first runs arriving in

October. By then irrigation will have

stopped and water drawn off into the

hay and alfalfa fields will raise the river

to a more comfortable level for boaters,

and along with that and the steelies,

will come another wave of fishermen.

THE JOHN DAY is 284 miles of free-

flowing river, sans dams, the second

longest such in the continental states.

Nearly half is designated Wild &

Scenic. And more far-thinking people

and agencies are hard at work now

to ensure a quality experience for

generations to come. The Western

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