It’s go time on the Bighorn! Our Spring has kicked off and many anglers are enjoying the weather and fishing. It’s been good overall, but definitely somewhat spotty. The flows have been on the rise and projected to cap off around 6000 CFS this week. The river is cold and clear and a bit of drifting moss below 3 Mile, but not too bad! Read more...
Tag Archive for: bighorn river fly fishing
Flows are currently up on the Bighorn and will hit the 4k CFS mark by this afternoon. Definitely not ‘high flows’ by any standards, but actually getting to maybe our favorite levels for fishing the river. The only downsides have been a slight drop in water temps (was 40-43, now 39-41) and a bit of debris drifting, mainly below 3 Mile access. Read more...
The Bighorn River Transforms: Adapting to a Changing Current
The Bighorn River, Montana, has always been an approachable, consistent and easy to read river for most anglers. But sometimes a curveball is thrown, and the Bighorn has certainly been representative of that over the past few years. From dramatic water level fluctuations to earlier insect hatches, the river is demanding adaptation from even the most seasoned anglers. Read more...
It’s been a little bit since I’ve posted an update, but good news is not much has changed! The Bighorn is in prime Winter shape. Gin clear, fantastic clarity and cold water temps. The weather lately has been insanely nice, so of course more than a few folks are taking advantage of it. Read more...
The Bighorn has finally cleared and fishing is great! A few folks around, but not too bad. Our Bighorn Brown Trout are in full spawn mode so please stay off the redds!
Nymphing with BIG Sowbugs, Squirmies and Orange Scuds are still about all you need.
We’ve seen some BIG fish showing up to chase the streamer. Read more...
It’s finally turning around! The Afterbay is beginning to fill and clarity in the river is slowly improving. We’ve had some fantastic weather and great fishing the past few days and should continue to get even better!
Streamer time is here. Dredging with tips is the preferred method this time of year. Read more...
If you enjoy solitude on the Bighorn River, now is the time to be here! The weather is very unusual for this time of year. Most days are in the 40’s and 50’s, but we’re not complaining! (Except for the wind..)
FYI, the Bighorn Angler Fly shop has limited its ‘off season’ hours to Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8AM-noon or so. Read more...
Our water temps have finally dipped into the high 30’s, which is on par for this time of year. The fish seem to be adjusting to this as the fishing definitely hasn’t been ‘lights out’ by any means. Pick the non windy, warmer days and you’ll enjoy your time!
It’s mainly a nymph deal right now with the standard Winter fare – Carpet Bugs, Cotton Candy, Graveyard Midges, Zebra Midges and various other Sowbug/Midge patterns. Read more...
The Bighorn is a great place to be right now! Great Fall foliage, hungry fish and the crowds are down (most days). We’re starting to see a bit of the lake turnover after this past cold snap and the slight bump in river flow. The fish don’t seem to mind though! Read more...
It’s real close to go time folks! Increasing numbers of PMD’s and Caddis in the early afternoon signal it could break loose any day now. Water temps are in the mid 40’s early in the morning and approaching low 50’s throughout much of the lower end of the river. There are no closures or ‘Hoot Owl’ restrictions on the Bighorn right now! Read more...