With the 4th of July holiday in our rearview mirror, the fishing season is moving quickly. The good news is the best fishing on the Bighorn River is ahead of us.
Let’s address water flows first and foremost. Flows have been hovering around 1500 cfs this entire year. We are not expecting flows to increase at all for the rest of the year. Could they decrease? Yes, it is a possibility, but not likely enough to change the fishing conditions on the river. Despite low flows, water temperatures will remain optimal throughout the upper 13 miles of the river thanks to the massive storage of water in Bighorn Lake. Water temperatures coming out of the damn just breached the 50 degree mark, which is great news for insect activity. Water temps in the 50’s are ideal for emergence/hatch activity. PMD nymphs have become increasingly active throughout the river, markedly so the past few days. We hope to see fish eating PMD’s on the surface in the near future!
Black Caddis should be close behind. Our best guess at seeing Black Caddis on the upper few miles of the river would be the last few days of July, with August bringing widespread emergences. There are already Black Caddis and PMD’s in the lower river below Bighorn Access. Fishing has been productive in the lower reaches of the river. Moss has been a challenge down there. Now is the best time to fish the lower river as warm air temperatures will make water temperatures steadily increase as you move further from the dam.
Terrestrials such as flying ants are out and about. Fingers are crossed we see trout looking up for hoppers during the dogs of summer.
Nymph fishing will continue to bring trout to the net throughout the summer months. As water temperatures warm and nymph activity increases look for fish to spread out and move into faster 
water riffles, especially during the warmest parts of the day. The river is loaded with scuds and sowbug right now. These crustaceans will remain staples of the trout’s diet. A scud or sowbug fishing as a top fly with a “hatch bug” either a PMD nymph or Black Caddis pupa will be a staple throughout the summer. Aquatic worms will produce results in the lower stretches of the river. Don’t ignore streamers on cloudy days. The summer fishing on overcast days in June was stellar. We are hoping to see this continue. Small black streamers have been producing well.
Did we mention the fish are LARGE out there! The river has an unprecedented number of Brown and Rainbow Trout over 20 inches, waiting for a well presented offering.
The fly shop is stocked with the best flies and gear. We have a few openings still left for guided fishing and lodging. Call the fly shop for up to the minute information. We are open 7 days a week from 7 to 7. Hope to see you on the water! 406-666-2375
