The guide for 2 days on the John Day called a week before the trip and said he could not make it. After a lot of scrambling, we lined up a top gun on the coast and decided to trade fly rods for back bouncing rods. We were in early November and were going to be fishing on the back end of a pretty good few days of high water and only the second one of the season. We were hoping for a fish or two to bring home for the smoker. The guide was happy we knew how to back bounce and told us it was going to be good –
Day 2
We moved a few rivers South and were in the water while it was still dark. There were three trailers parked and 3 boats ahead of us. We floated for 20 minutes and passed one boat before getting to the “place.” Our guy pulls out the back bouncing gear and says ” I can tell it is going to be good.”
After some high water earlier in the week, the river dropped and is in great shape. We are fishing deep slots mostly cl9ose to the bank
Three of us limited by about 12:30. Crazy good fishing and the right mix of hatchery and wild fish. Without a doubt one of my best days of chinook fishing.
