Mid 50′s now through Sunday. Starting to see some Midges and BWO’s eaten on the surface. Streamers, Nymphing, Dries… Doesn’t get any better!
Come on down! It’s as nice as November gets!
We’ve got the best deal in town on Flies, Lodging, Meals, Shuttles, Guides, and Drift Boat Rentals. Give us a call toll free at 866-658-7688 or our local number at 406-666-2233.
Below is a link to the proposed modifications to the operating plan for Bighorn Lake / Yellowtail Dam. It is rather confusing but the general idea seems to be a step in the right direction as they are listening a bit to the fisherman and realize how much flows affect fishermen below the dam. With reservoir levels at 98% at the moment they need to make room for the snow by keeping flows up throughout the winter. Most likely we’ll be staying at the current flow of 3,500 cfs.
2012 Proposed Changes to Bighorn Lake Operating Criteria
We’d love to hear any of your comments on our Facebook Page
With the cooler weather and low lows we’ve been having the water temp has dropped and proceeded to clear out much of the grass that had made fishing the upper reaches a little difficult.
Nymph fishing has certainly improved and streamer fishing has gone off the charts and the fish finally know that winter is approaching.
Nymphing with midges has become more productive and red and black midges in size 18 have been best with a lead fly of a firebead sow bug.
Streamer fishing with Olive and black streamers has been best. Your smaller streamers will get more takes, your larger streamers will get a lot of nips from the little guys but will definitely draw out the big guys.
Give us a call for the most up to date reports. 406-666-2233 or toll free at 866-658-7688. for lodging, boats, guides, and meals.
Jim Plante and his buddies came rented one of our boats and stayed with us and he’s got his photos and report on his blog, The Salty Riffle. Check him out and his great Bighorn photos.
It rained in town last night and the hills have their first coat of snow for the year. We’ll be getting our first frost tonight as the forecast shows a low of 26 degrees. The days are very nice still and a great weekend is coming with temps getting back up into the 60′s.
The cooler temps are welcome though and the cool down in the water should make streamer fishing even better. Right now it has been day to day as to whether the main channel trench or the banks were more viable for streamer fishing. With cooler temps it should swing that to just the main trench for all but the warmest parts of the day.
Nymphing remains consistent with sow bugs still being the main bug of choice. Midges are starting to work more each day as the water cools.
We are starting to see a few fish rise but again, with the cooler temps, we should see BWO and Midge hatches start shortly.
The water is a bit chalky from the turnover in the lake but the fish don’t seem to mind.
Come on out and rent a boat or get a guide, stay the night and rent a room.
Give us a call 406-666-2233 or toll free 866-658-7688.
We have finally gotten a cool down for the past week or so and water temps are slowly dropping. We still have unseasonably high water temps and the water is above 53 degrees. This means the fish are still fairly spread out. But with the colder nights we are seeing more fish move out of the riffles and into the inside seams and some of the deeper holds.
Nymphing remains to be productive with special san juans, and sow bugs. Midges are on the rise and zebras and red thread midges are working.
Streamers are working very well and using a sink tip line helps tremendously. Now that water temps are lower the fish holding on the banks will be fewer as well as in the riffles.
Trico’s have gone away for the most part, we should start seeing midges and bwo’s pretty soon with the cooler temps.
It is a couldy day today but the 10 day forecast shows nice weather in the 60′s.
Streamers are on fire here on the Bighorn. The weather has cooled, we’re getting some clouds, and the fish are getting hungry and perturbed!
The best part is they are not just on the banks, in the deep runs, or in the riffles. They are everywhere! Having the fish spread out like they are right now in these higher than average water temps means that it is a lot easier to find them.
Having a sinking line, either full sink or sinking tip helps. Right now a 150 grain or 200 grain line is the best all around line to get at the trout in their various holds. Wade fishing with streamers is a little tough because you have to keep moving a fair amount, unless you can find a deep run to keep swinging through. While drifting, concentrate on the riffles and banks, but throw it upstream at a 45 degree angle and let it sink into those deeper longer runs and give it a really fast retrieve, it is pretty hard to strip it too fast right now as these fish are aggressive and willing to move.
Nymphing is a little tough due to a little floating grass but is still effective. Trico’s are still present every morning, but with these cooler temperatures they may not last long.
Come rent a boat and pound streamers all day, or better yet get a guide and get a chaperoned streamer run with all the big nasty streamers provided. We have rooms too! Give us a call and we’ll get you all taken care of at some great unpublished rates.
Things are good on the Bighorn. The upper 6 or 8 miles are pretty grassy, so nymphing up there just requires clearing the moss off your flies every couple casts. But we’ve been having great dry fly fishing on the surface in the morning on tricos and black caddis in the evenings. Hoppers continue to work very well throughout the mid-day.
Many of the guides have been floating Bighorn to Mallards, or Mallards to Two-Leggins. Try Bighorn to Two-Leggins for a good long hopper float (or streamer float).
Water temps are still in the lower 60′s but the cooler nights are helping a bit. It is warm here still, the rest of the week is in the mid 80′s and yesterday we saw a high of 92…
Streamers continue to be successful, again a little tough on the upper stretches due to the grass but the trout are really chasing and eating them well even before we get into our streamer season. Fall is looking great and while the grass on the upper stretch is a little tough it is not as bad as most years and there is lots of clear water to fish.
Stop by the Bighorn Angler for all the right flies or call us toll free at 866-658-7688 or 406-666-2233. Need Guides, Want to Rent a Drift Boat, or Need Some Lodging? We do that too!
The Pick-Sloan plan, which created the Yellowtail Dam that created this great fishery, was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944. It was a plan aimed mostly at enhancing the land of the west’s value by creating water supply, irrigation, and power generation. The secondary goals were stream pollution abatement, sediment control, and best of all: recreational opportunities. It was a massive plan spurred by the dam building era in which dozens of dams were created on dozens of Missouri River Tributaries such as the Bighorn River.
While dam building is a contentious subject these days it sure has created some of North America’s finest trout streams.
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