Bighorn River Fishing Update October 11

Things are looking good on the Bighorn.  The water clarity has dramatically improved over the past week.  There is a bit of color, especially on the upper river, but once you get down below 3 Mile, clarity has been pretty good (3-4′) and will only improve with the cooler weather ahead of us.  The only obstacle we will deal with the next few weeks will be the grass clearing out of the river, which presents its issues in some regions of the river.  Overall, fishing has picked up and only gets better from here on out.

The nymph and streamer fishing is by far getting the most fish these days.  The entire river has been fishing well, so pick your favorite section and go!

Here are some of our top pattern picks this week:

Nymphs – SJW’s in Wine and 2 tone colors, SH Sowbugs (Tan, Pink 14-16), Orange Twisted Scuds, Flashback scuds (12-14), Carpet Bugs (tan, grey (14-16), Ray Charles (tan, grey 14-16).

Streamers – Thin Mints, The Grinch (top pick right now), Pete’s bugger, JJ’s, Slumpbusters in black and olive

Not too much for the dry fly crowd.  We’re seeing good numbers of Tricos and Psuedos and even a handful of Caddis.  This should get better with the water clarity improving.  The Fall Baetis in November will be worth coming out for this year!!