Early Summer Report

Fishing continues to be outstanding on the Bighorn.  Flows have dropped to around 6500 cfs and look to stay there for a while.  Temps in the 80’s this next week should get some of the upper elevation snow coming down from WY, so we will see what happens.  

For the subsurface guys, fishing has been pretty awesome.  Wading remains a bit difficult, but there are a handful of spots to get out of the boat.  Floating is definitely the way to go right now.  Nymphing with a double sowbug setup is still king.  Carpet Bugs, SH Ray Charles (Tan, grey 14-16), Standard Ray Charles (Pink, tan, grey 14-16) and Softhackle Sowbugs (tan, pink 14-16) are all for sure bets right now.  Start your rig with at least 2 BB’s and +/- from there. Afterbay to Mallards, it’s all really good.  Still a small amount of vegetation in the water closer to Bighorn Access, but nothing close to what is was a month or so ago.  

This is also some of the best streamer fishing of the year that we will see.  Strip it as fast as you can and hang on.  Big stuff, little stuff, they’re eating all of it.   Expect a ton of chases and a handful of committing fish.  It’s just typical for this time of year and water levels.  Lil Kim’s, Screamers, Sex Dungeons, Meat Whistles.  Black, tan, white, etc…  Take your pick!

A few fish here and there eating Baetis in the afternoons, but nothing too consistent.  A handful of caddis are around as are a bunch of beetles and flying ants.  If you find some fish looking up, they have not been too tough to fool.  

Our fish are in great shape and fighting like crazy with the increase in water temps and surplus of food.  Crowds are also pretty minimal right now, so this is a good time to check out the Bighorn while the rest of the rivers in the state are blown out.  

Categorised in: Fishing Reports

This post was written by Bighornangler