Hi Maniac,
I floated from Hwy 17 to Bay Creek Saturday and Sunday. The river is low, getting lower, and according to the Ranger at Bay Creek, will probably be closed by the first week of June. We dragged a little, but not too much (in kayaks).
I've never seen tubers on this stretch of the JF, but there were plenty of canoes Saturday, especially the stretch between 17 and Rhymers. From Rhymers to Bay Creek we saw less then a dozen canoes on Sunday.
The fishing was good for mostly small smallmouth. We caught a couple about 14", but most were under 12". Any kind of small (4" - 6") plastic worm worked - motor oil was best, then white, grape, black. Yum crawdads killed them. Caught a lot of goggle eye with a dp teeny Rebel craw.
Have fun.