Steelhead Outfitters

Single day floats begin at Cottonwood Canyon State Park and end ten miles downstream at Starvation Lane, and they typically run dawn to dusk. The John Day has the largest summer steelhead returns in the Columbia River Basin; steelhead fishing begins in mid-October and lasts through November, depending on weather and flows, and these fish readily take a swung fly, with many anglers liking to skate them up before water temperatures cool below fifty degrees. Spring and summer are smallmouth bass season, topwater being the draw, and overnight trips are limited but available in June. Five to seven weight rods with floating or intermediate lines are the tools; rods, reels and flies are available, and a modest lunch comes with a day trip.