John Day River Trip Details

Included / Not Included:
Included: Guiding, flies, tent with cot, meals while on the river, water and sodas(no alcohol), fly rod (if needed), and good old folklore stories of the John Day Canyon.
Not Included: Breakfast first morning (the Country Cafe at 6:00 AM Condon), hotel and dinner the evening before trip put in, alcohol, personal toiletries, sleeping bag, pillow, clothes, vehicle shuttles (approximately $60 CASH per vehicle), and guide gratuities.

Travel Logistics:
Arrival Information: To get to the John Day River you will need to make travel arrangements to Condon, Oregon. To get to Condon you can fly into Portland, pick up a rental vehicle and drive approximately 2 ½ hours to Condon.
Getting to the Lodge: In Condon we recommend staying at the Hotel Condon – 541.384.4624; www.hotelcondon.com
Please be sure to make your arrangements early in order to secure a room. We also encourage you to make dinner reservations at the Hotel Condon for that evening as Condon is extremely limited in restaurant options.
Departure Information: On your departure day you will drive from Condon according to your travel plans (see itinerary for details).

Documentation Requirements:
Little Creek Outfitters requires you to sign and submit their trip release form in advance of your trip dates.

Travel Cash:
As a guideline, we recommend bringing enough cash for staff and guide gratuities as well as the shuttle cost per vehicle (roughly $50 per vehicle). Condon is extremely limited for bank machines.

Gratuities:
We recommend a gratuity of $40-50 per person per day for your fishing guide and roughly $50-80 total for your camp staff for a three day trip. Please give these to Marty on the last day of the trip and he will properly disperse amongst the guides and staff.

Fishing Licenses:
We strongly encourage you to pick up your Oregon fishing license before arriving to Condon. If coming from Portland or Bend you can stop at a Walmart. Or you can stop in Biggs, OR at Denties (a local ice cream parlor) to purchase your fishing licenses.

The very last resort is to purchase your license in Condon at the Napa hardware store however they open late each morning and rarely have reliable licenses.

Oregon fishing licenses are also available online at the following website www.dfw.state.or.us/online_license_sales/. Anglers may prefer to purchase their licenses in advance to save time on-site. Please call Fly Water Travel if you need assistance in purchasing your license online.

Climate:
Include day and evening temperature ranges. Description of climate.

Medical Facilities:
The closest medical facility is in The Dalles approximately 1.5 hours from Condon. Guests have the responsibility to disclose any special medical, physical, or dietary needs to the lodge ahead of time.

One guide per two clients is our standard ratio on fly-fishing excursions. The guides have both CPR training and basic first air certification. Additionally, they generally have at least one EMT on each trip. They carry a very complete series of first aid kits on each boat, as well as a cell phone for emergencies only. If you have any preexisting medical condition, please let us know in advance (bee sting or food allergies, diabetes, heart conditions, etc.). It is advised that you have a current tetanus vaccination before arrival. When you arrive at the river you will have a boat and river safety discussion. You will be issued a life jacket to be used for the trip.

In emergency situations, a charter flight may be required to reach a medical facility. Guests may want to consider medical evacuation coverage. We recommend Global Rescue.

Power and Communications:
On camping trips cell service is generally not available. When staying at the Hotel Condon guests have WiFi throughout and cell phones work.

Clothing:
Steelhead Trip: As the climate is extremely changeable and a wide range of temperatures and conditions can be expected, we recommend layering clothes. Anglers should be prepared with thermal underwear, fleece/soft shell jacket, and a rain jacket. Synthetic fabrics are preferred to cotton. Be prepared for very cold nights.

Bass Trip: Quick dry pants and shorts, long sleeved quick dry shirts, shorts and shirts, sandals, bandana, hat with wide brim and light rain coat are recommended.

Laundry:
Laundry service is not available. Please pack accordingly.

Beverages/Alcohol:
Alcohol is not provided. Guests may bring in their own. Please pack liquids in plastic containers only. Except good wines!!

Tackle/Equipment List:
Waders: G.tex or 3-5mm neo. (you may want to wade wet when bass fishing), Wading staff, Gravel guards
Miscellaneous: Nippers; Fly floatant; Split shot, bb; Forceps; Fishing vest

Smallmouth Bass:
Rods: 8’ thru 9’, 5 or 6 weight rod
Reels: Any quality reel with at least 50 yards of 20lb. backing and a spare spool (for sink-tip line).
Lines: Floating line, either weight-forward or double taper and a sink tip line, HS, HD (5’ tip)
Leaders/Tippet: 7.5’ leaders with 0x-4x tippet diameter and tippet to match.
Flies: Balsa poppers; #4-8’s in black, yellow, and green; Woolly buggers; #4-6’s in black, olive, and brown; Rubber leg woolly bugger, brown and black; #6; Muddlers, natural; #4-8; Whitlock crayfish; #4; Clouser minnow, black; #2-4; Whitlock sculpin, natural: #6; Damsels; #10-14 in blue; Crystal dragon, whitlocks #10’s; Chernobyl Ants # 6; Drunken Humpies #8-10

Steelhead:
Rod: 9’-10’ rod for 7-8 weight line; Spey: 11’-14’ rod for 7-8 weight line.
Reel: Any high quality reel with a reliable drag and at least 100 yards of 30 lb. backing and a spare spool.
Lines: Floating line and sink-tip (10’-15’ intermediate)
Leaders/Tippet: 9’ 0x-2x leader and 0x-4x tippet
Flies: Purple Peril, Comet, Boss, Prizm, Moose Turd, Black Leech, Purple Leech, Red Leech, Lady Coroline, Golden Demon.

Please bring any and all steelhead fly’s that you may already have, the guides love to try new ones. Our guides have MANY flies and extra rods to share with you, they always seem to have a secret weapon in the works.