by Jon Duke, December 01, 2005

Great fishing, beautiful scenery and some very fine food. Its got all the makings of Heaven on earth. Recently, I had the opportunity to go fishing with Steve Fleming on the John Day River. Steve and his wife Linda own Mah-Hah Outfitters in tiny Fossil, Oregon. The two specialize in offering fishing trips for smallmouth bass on the John Day River in the high desert of Eastern Oregon.

If you have not fished for smallmouth bass before, you have got to give it a try. These are aggressive, hard fighting fish that make good runs and tail-walk on the water when hooked. Three of us went fishing for them in September and caught over 100 bass. Now Ive got to admit, many of these fish are small, but there are some real big ones too. We caught two that measured between 18 and 19 inches and weighed around four pounds. In fact, the one I caught was by far the biggest smallmouth I have every caught and released.

Speaking of which, Steve is really good about catching and releasing the bass in this river to grow bigger. He mans the oars of the driftboat that takes you downstream and takes the time to really teach you how to catch fish here. I have caught my fair share of bass before, but I learned as much about smallmouth bass fishing in one day with Steve than I learned on my own in several years. Whether you are an experienced fisherman or a novice, Steve will be able to get you into some fish.

There is more about this trip than the fishing though. The scenery is just plain beautiful. There are very few people in this part of the state. In fact, we didnt see any other anglers all day. We did see lots of pretty country though, as well as deer, osprey, herons and waterfowl. In fact, on the way to Steves place we saw over two hundred deer in the fields adjacent to the roads we traveled on. We also saw a few pronghorn and Elk are also abundant in this region.

In addition to the views, the wildlife and the fishing, there is also some very, very good food to eat. Steve brings coffee, water and soda for you on the trip and cooks lunch for you along the way in a dutch oven that is heated over coals he has in the boat. When it was lunch time for us Steve beached the drift boat on a gravel bar, set up a portable picnic table with chairs, and invited us over from fishing to eat. What a meal it was. Roast beef, stuffing, carrots, potatoes and gravy. I have got to admit, fishing trips dont get much better than this.



If you are interested in a full day of great fishing and delicious eating in some beautiful country, give Steve and Linda a call. You can reach them at 1-888-624-9424 or visit them on the web at www.johndayriverfishing.com.