Jeep® Sporting Destinations

Bighorn River, Montana

(excerpted from Flywater Interactive)

"The Bighorn sits alone, with an imperial disdain, far to the east of other Montana trout streams."

The king of the West's dry fly rivers.

And now we arrive at the undisputed heavyweight champion of western fly fishing, the Bighorn River of Montana. That, of course, assumes that the champ is crowned by virtue of having the greatest number of top-feeding big fish per mile.

On the other hand, if big fish per mile is of no particular interest to you but instead you value solitude in a dramatic landscape, the Bighorn will quickly move from champ to chump in your rankings. This is (the unimaginable Texas Hole of the San Juan excepted) the river on which you are most likely to be pick-pocketed while fishing -- it gets that close.

Why is this such an exceptional fishery? Vic Colvard who has guided on the Bighorn since 1982 doesn't hesitate with an answer. "The secret to this river is the afterbay." This afterbay is a sort of giant holding pond below Yellowtail Dam. Water from the afterbay empties into the river providing for a steady flow there.

Here you have none of the fluctuations which have caused problems on the Missouri and the Kootenai. The Bighorn truly is a spring creek tailwater with insect populations to match. This river has not only the steady flow of a spring creek but the nutritional characteristics of a spring creek as well -- an average pH of over 8.0.

The Yellowtail Dam was completed in the late 1960s and fishing in the river commenced soon after that. Then in April of 1978, the Crow tribe closed the river to fishing. A legal battle ensued which ended in the Supreme Court. The water was granted to the state of Montana and in August of 1981 the river was re-opened to fishermen. By the way, trespassing is no joke here. Wander onto Crow land and if caught, you will be fined. There is still plenty of bad blood and disagreement over who should own the river.

The Bighorn sits alone, with an imperial disdain, far to the east of other Montana trout streams. Driving over from Livingston, you might feel that you're passing through west Texas to go trout fishing. Don't look for breathtaking mountain scenery here. This is a prairie stream.

The riparian corridor, on the other hand, is quite typical of trout rivers with willows and cottonwoods running along much of the river. Also, the little town of Ft. Smith, while charming in its own way, boasts no four-star restaurants. The fly shops have adequate motels and the Bighorn Lodge (800-235-5450) on the river offers the upscale answer to the traveling angler's needs.

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The first 13 miles of the Bighorn are the most productive (and popular). Below the 13-mile access, the water gradually becomes warmer and more turbid and the fishing begins to fall off. Virtually all of the fly fishing activity takes place in this 13-mile run.

There are three access points -- Afterbay, Three Mile (Lind) and Bighorn Access at 13 miles. The Bighorn is commonly fished with a combination of floating and wading. The angler is ferried to a likely lie, disembarks and fishes the area slowly by foot.

The wading in the Bighorn is quite easy. There is quite good wade fishing on the river but the only access is at the boat ramps. The wading at Three Mile is especially good when the river drops to below 4,000 cfs, and you can wade out to the islands. Naturally, these accesses tend to get crowded.

The Bighorn is blessed with both a good fish count and a good average size. Fish up to 22 inches are not unexpected. The average fish here is an honest 16 inches -- a monstrous average. The browns that have run up from the Yellowstone outnumber the originally planted rainbows 7 to 1 or so.

Although nymphing is practiced without relief on the Bighorn, dry fly fishing opportunities are plentiful, and this is one of the great attractions of the river. Through winter into March, midge fishing is a great choice. Griffith's Gnats up to size #18 can give you exceptional cold-weather, dry fly fishing. In fact, the midge patterns will work at any time of year on the Bighorn even if other hatches are predominant.

Baetis hatch out in May, decrease in the summer and return in the fall. Covard likes to fish a #18 sparkle dun for the Baetis in the spring, and small BWO patterns (Pseudocleon) can make for some exciting moments during the fall.

During the summer look for sporadic golden stoneflies, Pale Morning Duns on low-water years (July to mid-August) and caddisflies. The black caddisfly hatch of late August and September is the heaviest of the river. This evening hatch can be startling. The biggest problem is invariably deciding when the fish is eating your particular fly from the masses. The black color of these imitations doesn't make matters any easier.

Vic Colvard likes to tie a touch of red in his black caddis patterns to help with the visibility problem. Paul Dubas of Bighorn Angler likes a Henryville Special which he feels fishes great and also stands out in the crowd. The caddis pupa is also used extensively during this time. Stay on the river right until dark for this hatch.

In the hottest months, look for hoppers and fish them along cut banks with an occasional twitch of the rod. The tiny Trico will put in an appearance in late summer and early fall. If you enjoy fishing small flies with fine leaders, this is the hatch for you. Fishing to a 20-inch brown sipping Tricos along the bank is good for the soul but bad for the nerves.

By the way, the Blue Dun is a popular Trico imitation here, and the Tricos are relatively large (#18). In hot weather, go out early -- hit the duns and wait for the spinners (around 9:00 a.m. in hot weather).

The dependable underwater patterns are generally effective on the Bighorn. The ubiquitous Hare's Ear is a good choice, as is the Prince and the Pheasant's Tail. A bit more unusual is the effectiveness of the scud or freshwater shrimp pattern. This food is available to the trout year-round and forms an important part of their diet. Locals feel that the trout are not on scud as heavily as in the past, but it is still a standard Bighorn pattern.

The Bighorn is full of aquatic worms, calling the venerable San Juan Worm into action. The soft hackle sow fished with the worm is a sort of local jig-and-pig favorite. As usual, streamers come into their own in the fall when the spawning browns become territorial.

Once a good fish has been hooked, a useful trick on the Bighorn is to take note of a landmark (a rock or tree) near one's feet on the bank, so that, if playing the fish requires scrambling up or down the river, one can return to the exact spot where the first fish was hooked. Bighorn browns often lie in pods, and this technique will result in another fish being taken with exactly the same cast.

Like most tailwaters, the temperature in the Bighorn is generally frigid. The temperature will not struggle into the 40s until at least mid-spring. During this period, dress warmly under the obligatory neoprenes. By contrast, in August the water can, for a short time, warm so dramatically as to adversely affect fishing. The river is open year-round, but the winter is, predictably, very cold.

The Bighorn is certainly one of the finest streams in the West for fishing dry flies to large trout. Were it not for the crowds, the Bighorn would surely be angling nirvana.

The Bighorn is one of 50 rivers covered in the CD-ROM Flywater Interactive. In addition to the River Profiles on each of those 50 rivers, you will find maps, photographs, hatch information, fly charts, support services, regulations and more. The Flywater Interactive CD-ROM sells for $59.95 and can be ordered by telephoning 800-692-6292. Two coffee table books, Watermark and Flywater by Grant McClintock and Mike Crockett , are also available. Or visit Flywater Interactive at www.flywater.com.

Copyright © 1996 Flywater Publishing. All rights reserved.

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