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Overview of the
1998-2007 |
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Overview of the
1998-2007 |
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May 11, 2008 Every time I write one these river reports, I think Spring is finally here. However, the weather has mostly remained colder and wet. Which is good weather for the baetis hatch and it has been excellent. The water remains very cold. Midges continue to hatch throughout the day. So all in all the dry fly fishing has been good. Nymphing has been generally good with some great days and some okay days. The weather has been so erratic that we have had many days where you experience all four seasons. Flies that we are using for nymphing are black midge pupas, brown midge pupa, size 18-20, red midge larvae, size 16, sow bugs, size 18, pink scuds, size 16-18, baetis nymph size 18 and some San Juan worms. Dries, single midge adult size 20-24, and baetis adult in various patterns size 18. April 18, 2008 In our last report, we had thought that Spring was finally here. The last two weeks have proven us incorrect. Weather has been extremely erratic which has also made the fishing inconsistent. When we have had days when the weather fronts have come in, ie., cold, wind, snow, rain, falling barometer, the fishing has gotten more difficult along with the presentation to the fish. On good weather days, especially when it is sunny, fishing improves and has been good to excellent. These trout in the Bighorn have always liked consistency in weather. Water
temperature at the Afterbay remains a cold 38 degrees.
The fly patterns we have been using are for nymphs:
red midge larvae, black midge pupae, size 18-22, orange and pink
scuds size 14-18, ray charles size 16-18, pink and tan sow bugs size 14-18
as well as Yesterday it was sunny, 70 degrees and the fishing was fabulous. The weather should get better as we are almost into May and the fishing should improve.
March
4, 2008 Well
Spring is almost here and for me it is about time.
Winter snow pack is almost at normal levels roughly 95% of average.
Personally I think that we are coming out of the drought pattern
that we have been in for the last eight or nine years.
Yellowtail Reservoir is now at 80% full which is well above what it
has been for the last several years. Normally
we receive about 35% of our yearly moisture from March 1st
through June. If that holds
true, the river flows should be coming up this year. The
current flow is 1870 cfs, which is up from this time last year when it was
1500 cfs. Water
temperatures are averaging 39 degrees on the top section of river and 2 or
3 degrees higher downstream. Fishing As
usual in March, the weather has been variable.
Three or four warm days followed by three or four cold days.
During the warm periods I am noticing more insect activity
especially midges and a few baetis but it is still early.
In the next week or two the midge activity should increase.
We have mostly been nymphing and occasionally been dry fly fishing
at the warmest part of the day with midge adults.
The nymphs we have been using are midge larvae, cream, red, black,
brown size 18-20; midge pupae, black and brown size 18-22; ray charles
(sow bug) size 18-20, in grey or tan; pink soft hackle, size 16-18 and
small pheasant tail size 20. For dry flies, a single adult midge, black size 20-24. Streamers
are working on most days depending on the weather using wooly buggers in
black, brown, white, olive and yellow and brown.
You must vary your retrieve to find out what they like.
Not all the trout there will hit a streamer, you must find the
aggressive fish.
January 2008 Since November 1st, the river flow has averaged 1650 to 1850 cfs. It has been cold and much of the moss and grass on the river bottom has been dying off. The brown trout are just at the end of their spawning cycle. Snow pack is looking very good. At 85 to 95% of average, which considering the reservoir is 84.5% full, will hopefully mean more water in the river in 2008. I have not fished the river for a month and a half because of traveling or weather being too cold. It seems every time I go on a trip, the weather gets good and when I return the weather either becomes frigid or too windy with the Chinook winds. I have spoken to a few friends who have been out on the river and they have said the fishing has been generally good. They were using nymphs, sow bugs, and midge pupae and or throwing streamers. The trout they caught were in great shape and fought well even in 39 degree water. September 30, 2007 Nymphing
is good with small sow bugs, midges, and small baetis nymphs. Dry
flies, depending on weather, there is still some black caddis hatching as
well as pseudos and midges. Streamers
will also take some fish. July 29, 2007 Flow continues at 1750 cfs. Water temperature is 42 degrees coming out of the Afterbay. We
have the coldest water in Weather has been extremely hot and we have been wet wading on most days however, the water is still pretty cold.
June 29, 2007 The weather is finally heating up. Spring was wet and cool. Current
flow is 1750 cfs. The
water temperature is still cool coming out of the Afterbay and is
averaging about 45 degrees. The We
have typical June fishing which is mostly nymphing.
Most of the rainbows have finished their spawn. The fish are eating
midge larvae and pupae, sow bugs, some scuds and April 22, 2007 The fishing has been great with both nymphing and dry flies. For nymphs we have been using midge pupae in black or brown ( zebra midge), midge larvae in lt. tan or red, sizes 18-22, Ray Charles (sow bug) sizes 16-18, baetis nymph, dark olive or black, sizes 16-18. For Dries, single midge size 20-22, black or olive, small midge cluster sizes 18-20’s (Griffith’s gnat) etc. Baetis adults (CDC comparadun or similar style). Emerger, RS2 or other style size 18. April 7, 2007 The weather has been mostly overcast recently with on and off precipitation. We have had a lot of dry fly fishing, midges in the morning and baetis in the afternoon. Productive flies have been midge pupae, size 18-22 and a midge adult, size 20-24. Baetis emergers, size 18 (RS-2 etc.), and baetis adults, size 18, CDC comparadun. March
2007 Well
it is just about Spring. We
have just opened our cabins and are ready for another great season.
Over the last two weeks we have had spectacular weather.
It has averaged 55-65 degrees with some 70’s.
It won’t remain that warm because we are still in March, which is
a transitional weather month. We
will be getting more snow and rain as well as warm days before summer. The
river is doing well. For the
first time in three or four years, all of the grass and moss has
disappeared. The bottom is
pretty clean. This is because
the water got very cold this winter. Right
now the temperature at the Afterbay is 38 degrees, and it doesn’t warm
up much more till you get to 6 or 7 mile.
River flows have been about 1500 cfs all winter.
The snow pack is respectable- averaging 80% of normal.
Keeping in mind that we
receive approximately 1/3 of
our moisture from March into June. Yellowtail
Reservoir is 74% full, which is great for this time of the year.
The water outlook is positive. Fishing
has been very productive. We
were mostly using streamers and nymphs all winter, however, in the last
few weeks midges and Baetis have started to hatch.
These hatches are condition dependent, i.e., wind, clouds,
temperature. For dry fly
fishing use individual midges, size 20-24, and baetis adults, size 18-20.
Subsurface use Ray Charles (sow bug), size 18-20, tan scuds, size
18, midge pupae, (sizes 18-24), brown or black, midge larvae in red or
cream, quill nymphs (baetis), size 18-20 and RS-2, size 18-20.
Streamers are still working in black, brown and olive.
Sometimes they will chase and sometimes you have to hit them on the
nose. It
is the same with nymphing, depending on what mood the fish are in.
They may move for a fly or you have to put it in their mouth.
The
trout are getting more active as the water warms up and the days are
getting longer. January 2007 The Bighorn has maintained its flows at 1500 cfs throughout the fall and into the winter. Water temperature is at 39 degrees at the Afterbay. This may sound pretty cold, however, it is normal for January. Cold water is beneficial to the river in that most of the grass and weeds have died off. The bottom is pretty clean. Last winter temperatures stayed warm and not much of the grass and moss died. This Spring Season should start with little or no grass on the river bottom which could mean more insects and perhaps better dry fly fishing. The Browns have finished their spawning activity and it looked like it went well. Some anglers persist in walking on and fishing the spawning beds with disregard for the future of the Bighorn. Fortunately there aren’t many of the “slob” anglers. There are plenty of non-spawning fish to be caught away from the redds. Recently I have been fishing with streamers, nymphs and in certain places dry flies. The streamers that have been working are woolly buggers, brown and yellow, all black, all olive, and red and white. For nymphs, midge larvae and pupae in small sizes, 20-24, baetis nymphs, sizes 18-20, and pink sow bugs sizes 16-18. Dry flies: individual midges, size 20-24, and baetis adults, size 18-20. October 12, 2006 Fall is here. Weather has turned cooler. Brown trout are getting a little more aggressive. The fishing has been good. But remember, fishing is always weather dependent. Nymphing
has been productive using sow bugs, worms, baetis nymphs and midge pupae. There are hatches of baetis, pseudocloens and even some black caddis depending on the weather. Streamers will also take fish and on some days it can be excellent. Other days just okay depending on conditions and location. Although
we will be closing our cabins soon, we will still be providing guide
service throughout the winter. There
are other accommodations available in We
have several of our guides who will be remaining in We
are already taking reservations for 2007.
If you have a special guide you’d like to fish with, please try
and make your reservations early to ensure he is available. September 13, 2006 Water temperature is 50-58 degrees depending on location and weather. The river flow is up somewhat. The last few weeks it was supposed to be 1500 cfs but it was really around 900 cfs. After a gauge adjustment it is now 1300 cfs. So it has been raised. It is higher than it has been the last three weeks. Fishing has been excellent. Most days black caddis have been hatching in the afternoon and evening. We also9 have hatches of pseudocloens (small baetis) and midges. I have seen some tricos around but they are sparse and only in certain areas. For dries we have been using caddis adult size 16 and 18, pseudo adult size 20-22, and adult midges size 22-24. Nymphing has been good as well using midge pupae size 20-22, sow bugs size 16-20, caddis pupae size 18-20, and pheasant tails size 18-22. .San Juan worms are working the further you go downstream. We are still catching all sizes of fish, so reproduction has been good and the Bighorn is an extremely healthy river. August 21, 2006 Flow
1500 cfs Water
temperature is 48 to 55 degrees The
fishing continues to be excellent. There
are hatches of black caddis, midges, and psuedocloens.
However, they are weather dependent. For example, wind may affect
the hatches, clouds versus sun may also have an effect, etc.
Size 16 and 18 for black caddis patterns, midges size 20-24, and
pseudo’s size 20-22. (Pseudo is a small pale yellow olive mayfly). Most
of our fishing has been with nymphs. We
are using sow bugs, caddis pupae, and midge pupae as well as some aquatic
worms. The
outlook is great for the rest of the season. August 14, 2006 Fishing has been excellent. Fish are eating nymphs all day and depending on the weather, which has been variable, caddis have been hatching in the afternoons and evenings.
July 21, 2006 The fishing is absolutely on fire. The flow has been lowered to 1500 cfs because of the continued drought, and should remain at that flow for the rest of the season. These are the same conditions we had 3-4 years ago. The fish are more concentrated; the rainbows have finished spawning and are eating well. For nymphing we have been using the usual suspects; Ray Charles, quill nymphs, pheasant tails, midge pupae, pink or tan soft hackles. Hoppers have been successful at certain times either alone or with a dropper. Black caddis have been around late in the day. We should see more of them in the next few weeks. Streamers are also working well. June 29, 2006 Water temperature at the Afterbay is 43 degrees. The flow is approximately 2000 cfs. Fishing
has been excellent for the last few weeks.
Many of the rainbows are finished spawning, and have resumed
feeding. This time of
the year most of the fishing is done with nymphs.
Productive patterns are sow bugs, Ray Charles size 16 and 18, quill
nymph baetis sizes 18 -20, midge pupae sizes 18-20, in black, brown, San
Juan worms size 10-16 in red, wine, and brown.
Occasionally we have used a hopper – dropper rig and it has
proven successful. Streamers
have taken some good fish even on sunny days.
Black has been the best color.
We have used a Teeny T200 line to keep the fly down. I
am seeing a lot of case caddis on the river bottom.
Hopefully in about a month we might have a caddis hatch. June
12, 2006 Water
flows average 2250 cfs.
Water temperatures are low to mid 40’s. Overall
the fishing is very good, especially nymphing.
Dry fly fishing is limited and very weather dependent.
You need to have cloudy days with
little wind. However,
we have been seeing some caddis hatch in the evenings. We
probably will not get the increased
flows that we received at this time last year.
Snow pack petered out and the reservoir will probably not fill.
It may be just as well because there are still many rainbows on the
spawning beds and a big increased flow would wash away some of their eggs.
Not getting more water isn’t really a negative to me because
there are plenty of big fish that can be site nymphed which is my favorite
type of fishing. Every
year class of fish are being caught from 8 inches up to the big ones,
which tells us that the Bighorn is in fabulous shape. The
flies that have been working are sow bugs, size 14-20, quill nymphs (baetis)
size 18, midge larvae and pupae, sizes 18-24, San
Juan
worms, sizes 10-16, and orange scuds sizes 14-18. Streamers
will work at times and some trout will eat a grasshopper. As
usual, I can’t over emphasize the need to be exact in presentation. If
you don’t get a dead drift with the proper depth the fish won’t eat
your fly. May 9, 2006 River flows have been averaging 2500 cfs. We may get a rise in flows around the first of June depending on snow melt. Water temperature at the Afterbay is 40 degrees. We have experienced a lot of variable weather the last three or four weeks. Sunny, warm, cloudy, cool, rainy and windy. Barometer changes and this always affects the fishing. Every day on the river, the fishing has been different. However, we have many great days of fishing. Nymphs that have been working are Ray Charles, gray and tan, size 18 and 20, midge larvae, cream and red, size 16 and 18, midge pupae, size 18 – 22 in black, brown. Baetis nymphs size 18. We have had good hatches of midges throughout the day depending on weather conditions. They have been eating single midges in 18 – 22, midge emergers. Baetis have been hatching every day in the afternoon. We have been using duns, size 18 -20 as well as emergers. I haven’t experienced much success with streamers, there seems to be too much food in the river for the fish to chase them. Please stay off the spawning beds. Studies have shown that when a person walks on the spawning beds, 80% of those eggs are lost. There are plenty of fish that can be caught that are not spawning. We need to protect the future of this tremendous fishery.
April 6, 2006 Water temperature at the Afterbay is 39 degrees. Water flow is averaging around 2500 cfs. We are in our typical Spring weather patterns. Hatches of midges and baetis have been going on for a few weeks. The volume of the hatch is weather dependent. When it is overcast you will see more bugs. Nymphing has been very productive. The top producers have been sow bugs, size 16-18, beatis nymphs, size 18-20, midge larvae, size 16-20, and midge pupae, size 18-22. Scuds and worms will also take some fish, but right now the fish are keying on smaller flies. Because the water is cold and there is so much food in the river, the trout are taking the fly subtly. If you use an indicator, set the hook if the indicator does absolutely anything. And proper depth of presentation is extremely important. River flow is 2500 cfs – should remain at this flow until May-June when we should get a bump. Water temperature at Afterbay is 40-41 degrees, warmer downstream. We
are catching fish mostly in the slower, deeper water in the mornings.
In the afternoon some fish are moving up into the faster water, riffles,
shelves, drop-offs, etc. The trout are in excellent condition, we
have only caught a few skinny Browns, (still recovering from the spawn). The
dry fly fishing is starting to pick up. We have had some good
hatches of midges and baetis, depending on wind and weather, and the
fish are looking for the bugs. They will eat midge adults and
pupae. For baetis they have been eating duns and emergers. For
nymphing, they have been taking sow bugs (Ray Charles) size 16-18,
Baetis Nymphs (wonder nymph) in olive, Quill nymph (olive), midge
larvae and pupae in black, red, gray, as well as worms and tan scuds. At
the risk of being redundant, make sure your nymphs are dead drifted near
the bottom. The key to successful nymphing is depth and drift. February 2006 The
Bighorn is in great shape. Flows have averaged 2500 cfs for
months. If you wish to check the flows you may click on the
Interesting Links section of our web page at www.flyfishingthebighorn.com.
Brown trout have completed their spawn in January and from my
observation it looked like it was successful. It was fabulous to
see some of these huge browns that are usually pretty elusive, doing
their thing. Fishing
had been very good all winter, using the usual sub surface patterns --
scuds, sow bugs, worms, midges, and streamers The
fish are in excellent shape because of the food mass as well as the
temperature of the water. It is still 41 - 42 degrees. We
have not had any deep cold spells but we have had moisture. Snow
pack is approximately 92% of average which is very good for this time of
year, considering we receive the majority of our moisture from March
through May. Our
loyal customers know that we always strive to give maximum value on your
trip. We have always kept the prices of our guide trips, lodging
and meals below what the competition was. However, this year we
will have to increase prices for our guided trips for a variety of
reasons. We are NOT increasing the rates for lodging or meals. Our
fly prices will also remain the same. All of our competitor’s
have raised their prices because of the cost of doing business.
Fuel, shuttles, and guide costs have risen this past year. In
order to keep our guides happy and competitive, we have had to make this
difficult decision. Guided float trips will be $395 for 2 anglers,
$325 for a single. Trips will still include a hearty river lunch
with beverages, flies, tippet and instruction. For
those of you who stayed with us, you know our cabins have wonderful
amenities such as satellite dish, full bath, fridges and of course the
best view of the Bighorn with a deck on the back of each cabin to sit
and enjoy a drink and watch the sunset. We
strive for excellent service, maximum value, and hope all our anglers
have the best possible time here. October 9, 2005 River flows
have been steady at 2500 cuffs for the last couple of months.
Water clarity is a little off because the Water flows are about 2500 cfs. Water temps are between 55-58 degrees. July 2005 Due to the Spring runoff (snow melt), the Bighorn did experience higher flows starting in June. The flow maxed out at 7200 cfs but was 6500 for a couple of weeks. This helped flush the system removing much of the silt. Nymphing was spectacular during this period. We had some 100 fish days. The flow has now stabilized around 2500 cfs. We have begun to get PMD’s (pale morning duns) and black caddis, and hoppers are working well. Nymphing is very good with the usual scuds, orange size 16 and sow bugs size 16. Worms also work in some places as well as caddis pupae, PMD nymphs, midge larvae and pupae. Presently the river is in tremendous shape and fishing well. I personally caught a 26” 8 lb. brown on Wednesday at an undisclosed location on a size 16 Ray Charles. Looking forward to a great August, September and October. June 2005 Late
Good
news!!! We are having
an above average moisture year. The
snow pack was above average in the Wind River Range (118%) of Spring
fishing has been good and should get better.
Most of the rainbows have finished their spawn and are starting
to feed again. Nymphing
has been the predominant angling method although there are still some
midge and baetis hatches depending on the weather.
Streamer fishing has also been good for those so inclined. There
is a tremendous amount of food in the river including scuds, some sow
bugs, baetis nymphs, aquatic worms, midge larvae and pupae.
The fisheries biologist has recently stated that the growth rate
for these trout is 7-9 inches per year.
Top flies are orange scuds, size 14 – 20, baetis nymphs (quill
nymphs) size 18, midge pupae size 18-22 in all black, black and brown or
red. As
usual the secret to catching bighorn trout are the 3D’s,
Spring
has come early to Dry fly fishing has been tremendous for the last week or so. Plenty of midges hatching every day and baetis on most days. The trout are eating single midges, small clusters, midge pupa, baetis dunns, emergers and later on spinners. This should continue into May and maybe beyond. Nymphing has been productive using small scuds, sow bugs, midge papa, midge larva and baetis nymphs. Streamers are working as well. I
attended an inter agency water meeting on Wednesday April 6th.
The reservoirs in As it always does, it comes down to how much moisture we receive in the next 75 days. My guess is even if we don’t get a flush we may get higher water in June. The Bighorn will still fish as well as last year with many big fish caught. The trout that were 8-10 inches last season will be 15-19 inches this season. Their growth rate is 8-9 inches per year. There is no river like the Bighorn!
February 14, 2005 So far this winter, we have experienced milder than average temperatures. We had some cold the last half of December and about three weeks of January. February has been above average with many days in the 40's and 50's and some in the 60's. The brown trout finished their spawning about the third week of January. It seemed to go very well without too much intrusion of anglers. Both the rainbows and browns are in excellent shape, fat and sassy. Water temperature is a little above normal. It has been 40-41 degrees coming out of the afterbay and 42-43 at Thirteen Mile. Over the last four or five years, it would be 38 or 39 degrees at this time. There have been Baetis (olives) hatching in the afternoons on the top three miles of the river. Usually we don't see this until the last half of March. I have been on the river three times in the last week. One of those days was my first guide trip of the year. The fishing has been pretty good in the deeper, slower water, especially tailouts and deep holes. We have been using sow bugs size 16-18, orange scuds and tan scuds size 16-18, midge larvae in red, black and cream in 16-18, midge pupae in red, black and cream size 16-20. We have caught fish from 10" to 23". All of these trout are in fine shape as a matter of fact 25%have been jumpers. There is plenty of food in the river. The latest growth rate figures released by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks for the Bighorn are an astounding 8-9 inches per year. As you may know, I am the current president of the Bighorn River Alliance. We have been meeting with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the Bureau of Reclamation regarding a river flush this March. Due to the length of the drought, with its low flows the river bottom has accumulated silt deposits as well as areas along the banks of dead vegetation. We believe that this has harmed the aquatic insect population, particularly the mayflies. There are still plenty of crustaceans (scuds and sow bugs), aquatic worms, midges, and some baetis in the river. However, the hatches of Pale Morning Duns, Little Yellow Stones, Tricos, and Caddis have been weak or nonexistent. A flushing program would make sense in order to remove sediment from the areas where these insects exist, hatch, and lay their eggs. It looks as if the snow pack doesn't lessen, we could get the flush. By mid march we should have the decision. The hydraulics of the flush would be similar to the program on the North Platte River in Wyoming. Most of the cleansing is accomplished with a big initial pulse . The entire flush would be 48 hours. If there is enough water, it could be done twice. It would start at 500 cfs In one hour it would be 3000 cfs By the 6th hour it would be 5000 cfs and last for 9 hours Then dropped to 4000 cfs for 3 hours Then to 3000 cfs for 6 hours Declining to 500 cfs over the next 20 hours This flush will be monitored and studied by Bureau of Reclamation, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the Bighorn River Alliance. We will be measuring the downstream movement of silt as well as the effects on the fish and providing data for potential future flushes. If this happens, it should clean silt, mud, dead vegetation and make for better hatches as well as easier wading in some areas. If it doesn't happen, the fishing will resemble last year which was some of the finest fishing I have ever experienced. Either way, you can't beat the Bighorn.
October 2004 Overall 2004 was a great season of fishing on the Bighorn. The fish were bigger and badder then ever. SUPER TROUT. It was a mental and physical battle to land these fish. Many were hooked for a second or two until your line came shooting back at you without flies. I have never seen so many anglers with sore shoulders at the end of the day. Many trophy trout were landed. Many weighing in at over 5 lbs. And the largest was 28" somewhere between 9 and 10 pounds. These SUPER TROUT are fish that most anglers never see, let alone catch, in their lifetime. The Bighorn is the place to test your mettle against what I believe are the toughest trout on Earth. As the season progressed, we observed more and more smaller fish in the range of 3 to 12 inches. This bodes well for the future health of the river. These little ones eat voraciously which is why the growth rate is 6-7" per year. I tried to avoid places where the small fish lived (grassy, slow, shallow areas) in order to get my clients the BIG ONES. As we got into the end of September and October, it was more difficult to catch as many big fish. The reason being many of the smaller fish became a little bigger and expanded their territory to the entire river. They are more aggressive to the fly than the BIG FISH are. Even with dry flies you had to go through some small fish in order to catch some big ones. With all these smaller fish in the water, streamer fishing has been pretty good and will only improve as the Brown Trout get more aggressive before spawning occurs in November and December. They spawn late on the Bighorn because the water remains relatively warm late into the Fall. I have even seen some spawning in January. The grass and vegetation is beginning to die off. The flows are the highest they have been all year. Our moisture levels have been good, and the water flowing to the irrigation ditch has been shut off. The way the weather patterns look we could finally receive our normal or better snow pack this year. The reservoir system that feeds this river is looking good. Boysen, Buffalo Bill and Yellowtail are all on the rise. We had a cooler than average Spring, Summer and Fall, which helped with the drought. Combine this with a healthy snow pack and we could see a lot more water next year. The Bighorn River Alliance is working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to try and implement a river flush program, similar to the plan at work on the North Platte in Wyoming. We will continue to try to make the Bighorn better than it already is. We want to thank everyone who wrote comments and tributes to our friend and guide, Bob Turner, as well as those who contributed to the Memorial Fund. Bob will be forever missed by his friends. His ashes were spread in the River and his spirit will always be here. We sincerely thank you for your business and we look forward to seeing you next season. We have already accepted quite a few reservations for 2005. If there is a special guide you would like to request or specific dates that you would like to fish, please call us to arrange your Bighorn vacation.
July 2004 For big trout, the Bighorn is fishing as well as I have ever seen it. Because the water has warmed up a bit, the fish are fighting even harder, behaving like Steelhead with screaming runs and jumps. The average client is landing about 50 % of the fish they hooked. If you fish carefully by making precise dead drifts, dissecting the area to be fished, and using the correct flies, you can hook 40 fish per day average size 19 to 20 inches. Many hookups will be on trout bigger than that which you may only get a brief glimpse of before it busts your leader. If you do react correctly, you can bring some of these fish to the net. In the last three to four weeks, we have landed trout 24 to 28 inches and 6 to 10 lbs. If you know of another river anywhere like this, please let me know. As far as hatch activity, I’ve seen a few pale morning duns around but nothing major yet. There have also been a few black caddis hatching late in the day but it is still sparse. However, there are an abundant amount of cased caddis on the river bottom. That bodes well for the caddis hatch. There are some fish rising every day to midges and on cloudy days to baetis
June 2004 The river flow has been bumped up to 1500 cfs from 1300 due to snow melt incoming flow to the Reservoir. This will help the fish and the angler. May was busy on the river, with all the changeable weather fronts we had, the fishing was difficult but rewarding at times. We had two weeks of cold, rainy, weather with some violent, windy, electrical storms. This made the fishing a challenge at times, however we struggled through the slow periods of the day, and waited for the fish to eat. When they did eat, it was like some of my relatives at the "all you can eat buffet." Excluding the little fish 6-11 inches we caught occasionally, the fish were healthy and from 17-23 inch tackle busters. Mostly the fishing has been subsurface using orange and pink scuds size 14-18, sow bugs size 16-18, quill nymphs size 18-20 (baetis nymph) and midge pupa size 20. There was some dry fly fishing around but it was spotty. The predominant hatch was midges in the sizes 18-22. There were times when the fish were eating size 30’s which is all but impossible because even if you could hook them, you can’t land these fish on such a small hook. I’ve had these fish straighten out nymph hooks. There are still some baetis around on overcast days and if you know where to go you will find takers. Yesterday we did well on streamers (wooly buggers) even though it was a bright sunny day. This was encouraging because the trout were very aggressive coming to the fly. With proper technique, knowing the spots to pick and being stealthy, it is possible to hook many big fish on the Bighorn. However, if you are sloppy with presentation, wade too deep, you will struggle. Fish fighting and landing techniques are as critical as they were last year. At the risk of being redundant, if you don’t fight these fish correctly, you will lose them. Moving downstream with the fish in order to get leverage is the most important tactic. To again quote Ted Williams, the baseball great, " direction and angle of pressure is more important than amount of pressure." We are looking forward to great summer and fall fishing April 2004 The river flow has been consistent throughout the winter at about 1500 cfs. Much of the moss and grass has died off as usual and the river bottom is pretty clean. We had a fairly mild winter except for January which was frigid. I did not have one day on the water that month. Water temperature got down to around 38 degrees at the Afterbay which is about normal for winter time. This week the water temp was 42 degrees at three mile access. The snow pack started off well but tapered off in February. March has been dry but the weather has been extremely mild. Most of the month has been 60 degrees or above with one week in the 70’s and low 80’s. Historically we receive most of our moisture in the Spring. As a matter of fact it is raining right now. Over the winter my guide friends and I caught some impressive trout. There are still many big fish in the Bighorn. It remains the place to be for the chance to catch trophy Rainbows and Browns. Early Spring fishing has been good. We have been enjoying profuse midge hatches for the last two weeks. This should continue for the next couple of months. We have been using small midge clusters and individual midge dry fly patterns. Baetis have started to make an appearance. The hatch should get stronger into April and May and maybe June. Nymphing has been steady using tan, orange, and pink scuds in sizes 16 through 18, as well as a variety of midge larvae and pupae sizes 18 through 22 in black, red, brown, and cream. Streamers are also attracting fish. The trout are in excellent shape and fighting as hard as they did last year. This week I noticed some male rainbows cleaning gravel waiting for the females to show up. The spawning should begin pretty soon. We have been in discussion with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks trying to post the spawning beds in order to keep anglers from destroying the eggs. These eggs are the future of the Bighorn River fishery. We need to protect them. Let’s make people aware of this and try and educate any anglers who may be fishing these delicate areas. The forecast for this season is positive. Our hope is for higher flows and more moisture in the region. We should have the same "big fish" angling as last year, with the Rainbows fighting like Steelhead and the Browns as tenacious as ever. Spring Fishing Tip During a midge hatch, swinging a soft hackled midge pupae and stripping it back slowly after the swing often out produces just dead drifting a midge dry fly pattern.
February 2004 How to Catch the Fish of a Lifetime (Bighorn River Conditions) This report is written in response to the negative information and gossip that I have been hearing about the Bighorn River in Montana. Maybe some of you are hearing this as well. Please let me explain. Over the past four to five years, Montana and most of the Rocky Mountain west has been in a drought. This has caused hardships and worse for the trout of many of these western waters. Due to water shortages as well as the demands and allocations of farming and ranching, many rivers and streams are experiencing dangerously low flows which makes some of them unfishable by late summer. This is not the case on the Bighorn. Although we have had lower than normal flows, there is enough water in the system to support a very healthy population of trout. Granted, we do not have the fish density that we had in the 1990’s (8,000-10,000 per mile), we do have plenty of fish for the size and depth of the river. And what fish they are! Here is where my consternation comes in. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department has published fish counts that are absolutely erroneous. They have stated that while electro-shocking last year, they only tallied 800 brown trout per mile. They said they couldn’t collect enough rainbows for an accurate count. They also could not find any small fish (6"-10") in the river. After I read these figures, I confronted a Fish, Wildlife and Parks official at a Trout Unlimited Meeting in Billings. I basically told him that he was talking through his hat. I stated that 80% of the trout we were catching were rainbows and they were all healthy. I also told him that because the water was so cold that most of the brown trout moved well downstream further away from the dam where the water temperature was warmer. We also discussed the smaller fish in the river. I stated that there were many smaller fish being caught in the slower, shallow, grassy areas of the river. He said that, " We know they are there, we just cannot get our motor boats into these areas to shock." They published these false figures anyway. The fishing public reads these numbers and says, "Why would we come to the Bighorn, it doesn’t have any fish in it." Well, I will tell you why you should come to the Bighorn. The average fish we caught last year was 18 ½" and tough as nails. We had days last year where most of the trout caught were 20+ inches and weighing 4-5 lbs., with the fighting ability of a steelhead. There are no trout like this anywhere else. I call them SUPER TROUT and there are plenty of them. Any one who fished with us last year can attest to that. Because of the size and strength of these trout, they cannot be caught by accident. The proper techniques and flies must be used. Sloppy fishing is not rewarded. These fish didn’t get this big by being stupid. Yet even beginners, people who have never touched a fly rod before, have been successful with the correct techniques and guidance.. Therefore, if you want to catch large, powerful trophy trout, then make the Bighorn your fishing destination of choice. And just maybe catch the trout of a lifetime. River Update The river is looking good right now. The flow is at 1500 cfs. Water temperature is 39 degrees at the dam. The brown trout finishes their spawn in January. When I was on the river in December, there were many browns on the spawning beds doing their thing. This is very important for the future. We have had a lot of snow this past week and the snow pack is looking pretty good with most of our moisture yet to come. I am looking forward to another fabulous year on the Bighorn.
Overview of the 2003 Season Year End Report Overall we had a very good season. The drought that the West has been in for four years lessened a bit. This is great news for next year. The reservoir behind the dam went from 60 feet below normal all the way up to 7 feet below normal. So far this fall, we have been getting good amounts of moisture in the Wind River Range and Shoshone drainage in Wyoming, as well as here in Fort Smith. If we get a normal snow pack this winter we shouldn't have any problems with low water next year. Higher water would clean out some of the silt and moss and allow big hatches again. I am positive about next years' fishing. We weren't catching the big numbers of fish that we had in past seasons, however the fish we caught were all very big, healthy, and hellacious fighters. These trout fight to the death and they are never ready to come in. The average fish was 18+ inches and fat with many over that size. (To check out some of these fish, look at our web page in the Photo Album section.) The biggest fish we landed was an 8 lb. brown. I know that we hooked and lost many fish equally as big or bigger. We had 1x heavy nymph hooks straightened out, leaders broken, and even busted fly rods on these trout. At the risk of sounding like a blow hard, I've never seen trout like these. You clients that fished here this season, know what I am talking about. This is the big leagues of trout fishing. We didn't have the amount of hatches that we normally have because of the low flows and cold water temperatures. On some days when we did have a hatch, most fish ignored the bugs. I think this was because of the profuse amounts of scuds, sow bugs, and other food organisms on the bottom. There are always some trout rising on the Bighorn but they were in difficult places such as glassy, low water where it was tough to get close to them. Many of them were cruising and it wasn't easy to pinpoint them. Because of the conditions, they were spooky and we had to use long leaders and be extremely stealthy. You had to be art the top of your game. From my point of view, the fishing this year was as good as any place on the planet. Where else do you have a shot at a "lifetime trout" on every cast, where the average fish can kick your butt and be into your backing in five or six seconds, and make you chase him downstream a couple of hundred yards to net him?
August 2003 The flow is at 1510 cfs. It has remained around that number since mid-June. Water temperature is about 44 degrees at the Afterbay. It warms up to the mid 50’s by the time it reaches 13 mile. Overall, the fishing is with nymphs. However, we are taking some fish on top with grasshoppers, a few caddis, and midges. The caddis are spotty but I am seeing more of them every day. I have seen a few pale morning duns around but they have not come on strong as of yet. Last year it wasn’t until the end of August that they steadily hatched. The nymphs we are using are: orange and pink scuds, size 16-18, tan soft hackle sow bugs, size 16-18, black quill nymphs, size 18-20, caddis pupae, size 16-18, midge larvae and pupae in a variety of colors, size 18-22, worms in red, tan, wine and orange, size 12-18. I have heard a lot of rumors and griping about how the river is fishing. Also, on the Internet, there is some negative talk about the river. The straight dope is that people are coming to the Bighorn, not using guides, not adjusting their terminal tackle, not getting dead drifts, and not fighting the fish properly when they do hook up. These trout are big, average fish is 18 inches with many over 20 inches, they didn’t get that big by being stupid. With the proper techniques, we are catching many fish and all our clients are happy with the fishing. The key is to make adjustments on the river as to where the fish are and what they are doing, and to be at the top of your game. We are the predators out there. If you want to catch big, feisty rainbows and browns, there is no other place to be right now. June 2003 Good news! They have increased the flow of the river a little bit and it has been a very positive thing. The trout have responded and are eating better in the last few days. The rumor is...that we will get even more water by the end of the month. There are plenty of big fish around as evidenced by our catching in the last few days a 26 inch rainbow and a 26 1/2 inch brown on nymphs. We also caught a 25 inch rainbow on a dry fly. These fish were all in the 6-7 lb. range. The average fish being caught on the river is 18-18 1/2 inch, healthy and hard fighting. We have been using baetis nymphs, small scuds, worms, midge larvae and pupae. There are still baetis hatches on overcast days as well as midge hatches every day.
This fish was caught by
Dave while on the river with Michael.
May 2003 The last four or five weeks, fishing has been up and down. This is mainly due to the fluctuations of the weather. The fishing has been different almost every day. We went from heat in April to rain, cold, even some snow, sleet and hail in May. It has effected the fishing, because it lowered the water temperature several degrees. It now seems that the weather has stabilized and the fish will get into their routines. For nymphs we have been using quill nymphs (baetis) black and olive, sizes 16 and 18. Midge larvae sizes 18-20-22 in red, black and tan. MIdge pupae in 18-20 in black and brown. Scuds size 16-20 in orange, pink and tan. Sowbugs size 16-18 in gray and cream. Occasionally the San Juan worm is working in red. For dry flies, baetis in 18-20, various patterns are working. Midges size 18-22. Individual midges in black and griffith's gnats. The most important ingredient right now is stealth. By that I mean, taking your time, making precise casts with good mends. To catch the most fish, you need plenty of slack in your drifts. The more slack the better. I like to fish with manageable slack, enough to get a good drift but not too much that you can't set the hook. The fish will not eat flies that are dragged. When you make a bad cast fish it out. Don't rip it out of the water to make a second cast. The trout are spooky, which makes things more challenging. For dry fly fishing, we are using leaders at least 18 feet long. They won't eat if they see your fly line. With all the moisture we have had and a very good snow pack, we should be getting some added flow to the river in a couple of weeks. This will settle the fishing some. We have been catching many big fish but also losing some big ones. They are very tough hombres. I have seen some six to seven pound fish, hooked and lost in a matter of seconds. March 2003 Our snow pack is way up from last year, many areas of our watershed are reporting 100% normal snow levels. That is excellent news. Historically we get a majority of our moisture in the Spring. Therefore we should have better river flows than we had last year. Presently, the river is flowing in the 1300 cfs range. That should increase steadily in the next month or two. With more water we should have higher water temperatures which will mean more insect activity and rising fish. Speaking of the fish, they are bigger and stronger than they were last year …and those of you that fished here last season know what I am talking about. Every fish in the river is a challenge. A few days ago, a client hooked a fish and we thought it was the mother of all rainbows by the way it screamed off line, ran downstream then upstream. It turns out it was a 16" rainbow with an attitude. The water temperature is around 38 degrees coming out of the dam, which is cold. It warms up about 5 degrees by the time you get to the 13 mile access. We have had cold weather and a lot of snow which has kept the water temps low. The weather has finally broken and we have had some nice early Spring weather which should warm up the water. There are midges around and I am seeing baetis occasionally, if you look and observe you will see some fish rising. This will increase as things warm up. Most of the fishing is with nymphs using scuds (orange #16-18) and tan soft hackles, size #16-18, midge larvae and pupae (tan, black, red size #18-20). Streamers are working on overcast days with brown-yellow, white, olive, and black being the producing colors. Overview of the 2002 Season December 2002 As of December the fishing is very good. River flow is a legitimate 1300 cfs which is actually higher than what it was most of the summer. Water temperature is still in the 40’s.Snow pack in Wyoming is looking pretty good. It is almost at normal. The brown trout are just finishing up with their spawning, rainbows are very active downstream of the REDDS (spawning beds) eating tan sow bugs, size 16 to 18, pink and orange scuds, size 14 to 16, and baetis nymphs (pheasant tail and quill nymphs) size 18 to 20. There are some insects hatching. Midges and baetis, especially baetis on the overcast days. You can still find fish feeding on the surface but it requires patience and stealth to catch them. All in all we had a pretty good year. The river flows were low and cool because of the continued drought, however, we caught a lot of big fish. The average size trout this year was 18" with many 20 inches plus, and they were the most vigorous trout that I have ever fished for. There were a few broken rods, and many snapped leaders, straightened hooks, and bruised knuckles (from screaming reel handles) fighting these fish. The most often heard phrase from clients was "I can’t believe how big these trout are and how hard they fight." As well as, "You wouldn’t think a fish that big would eat such a little fly". This is why I live on the Bighorn River. The trout population is very healthy. Over the last couple of months, I have been seeing many little fish 4-8 inches in the river. This is good news. It means that spawning is going well and the Bighorn is in great shape. October 2002
This morning the flow was 1640 cfs. They raised the river a little.
Water temp is about 47 degrees. There are some bugs around, caddis, baetis,
midges, and even a few trico's. Mostly, we have been nymphing with scuds, sow bugs, worms, and the usual assorted nymphs that always work here.
There August 28, 2002 The weather has been cooler than average for the month. This has slowed the onset of insect hatch activity by keeping the water cooler. The water level is up a little bit from mid summer. The god news is ---the pale morning duns have started to hatch very well this week. Like last year, ground zero for the hatch is the first 1 ½ miles of the river. We are using size 14 and 16 imitations. Black caddis are also coming off sporadically and should get better if we get our normal hot temperatures. Baetis have been hatching pretty well on cloudy days and we have had many overcast days this month. Midges continue to come off during the day and at dusk. Nymphing is good using PMD nymphs, scuds, sow bugs, worms, pheasant tails, quill nymphs and caddis pupae. August 2002 The Bighorn is flowing at about 1400-1500 cfs. The flow will probably remain there for the rest of the season. Water temp is still cold at the Afterbay 44° , warming up to 55° at 13 mile (Bighorn Access). Overall the fishing has been pretty good. We are presently between hatches. We are waiting for Pale Morning Duns to start up. Last year we didn’t see them until August 15th. They have been late because of the water temperature. We are seeing some Black Caddis down around 10 mile, and have taken a few fish on them. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we could have some good evening hatches. Nymphing is overall pretty good with the usual assortment of flies – sow bugs, scuds, pheasant tails, midge pupae and larvae, and worms. The most important thing is to slow the drift down with good mending to allow your flies to stay down at the bottom as long as possible in the zone. If you get good slack line, dead drifts, you will catch fish. If you don’t get good drifts, bird watching is fun. There are some rising fish around if you look for them. Not huge pods, but 4-8 fish clustered. We have been mostly using Baetis and midges in sizes 18-22. I have never seen so many fish lost as I have this year. This is attributable to both the size and tenacity of the trout and poor fish fighting and hooking techniques. The answer is to set the hook the moment that indicator does absolutely anything, and I mean anything! And set it with authority. After that, point your rod butt at the sky and let the fish fight the full flex of the rod. Next is to point the rod downstream and make the fish fight the side pressure. That sounds pretty simple and it is but you have to watch the fish and react to what he is doing. You have to watch the fish, react to him, and use the current or lack thereof to your advantage. By that I mean make him fight the current and your rod as well as use the current to get him in. Keep him off balance. June 2002 It’s been a very wet Spring. The Lake behind the dam is slowly rising with the snow melt and all the rain we have had. This is encouraging because we have been in a lower water cycle the past few years. The river flow is still between 1400 and 1500 cfs. I expect it to rise somewhat in the near future. Water temperature is 40-42 degrees coming out of the dam. But it will go up. The fishing is good with midges still around and baetis when we get some cloud cover. Catching fish on dries is not easy but with accurate casting and long leaders we are having success. Nymphing remains good and with the water temperature rising the fish are moving up higher in the riffles to feed. As far as fly patterns that are working, it is pretty much the usual suspects: quill nymphs size 18, Ray Charles size 18, so bugs size 16-20, midge pupae size 18-20, orange scuds size 16-18, and San Juan worms fished deep are doing well. For dries, bunny duns for baetis size 18-20, single midges size 20-22, and parachute adams size 18-22. A good combination is a bunny dun or adams with a dropper such as a baetis emerger or midge pupae. The fill are extremely healthy averaging 17-18 inches and tough hombres! Good fish fighting tactics are critical to landing fish on the Bighorn. By this I mean, taking immediate action once you hook up. My suggestion is, as soon as you set the hook, point your rod tip up and to your downstream side to keep side pressure on the fish and get it towards the bank. Ted Williams (the baseball great) was quoted as saying, " The direction and angle of pressure is more important than the amount of pressure. You want that angle to be against their lateral line." We are looking forward to a great summer and fall fishing season, with many big fish to be caught. May 2002 Winter has hung on a long time this year. We have had some very extreme weather which has maintained the cold water temperatures. However, it is starting to warm up. The water is up to 40 degrees. The flow is about 1450 cfs and will probably stay at that number until the lake fills. We have not had an appreciable spring runoff yet. Fishing has improved and will pick up even more with warmer weather that will heat up the water. We are having good hatches of Baetis (BWO) every day that there is some cloud cover. My most successful pattern has been a bunny dun, size 18. Midges are hatching pretty well about 1 ½ hours before dark, and sometimes, depending upon conditions, at any time of the day. We are using midge clusters, single midges, and sometimes trailing a midge pupa. Nymphing has been up and down. At times it gets really good and then you will get a few hours where it becomes work. The key is getting drag free drift with the correct amount of weight on your rig. Top patterns have been a size 18 quill nymph, tan soft hackles in sizes 16,18, and 20, Ray Charles’ size 18 and various colors of midge larvae sizes 18 through 20. The river if fishing about 1 to 1 ½ months behind where it should be this time of year. I am looking forward to some great fishing from now until November. Winter 2002 Although the calendar says spring, old man winter doesn’t seem to want to let go. It was a fairly mild winter up until February when the jet stream changed and gave us extreme cold and snow till now. The fishing over the winter has been about typical. The water flow has been low since last fall, about 1400-1500 cfs. Water temperature has been cold about 37 to 38 degrees coming out of the dam. During the winter the best fishing is usually in the middle of the day when the water warms up a few degrees. As I said, the weather has been unusually cold the last month and a half and there haven’t been many good weather days to go fishing. The long range forecast calls for more normal temperatures next week. We will probably go from the dead of winter right into nice spring weather. At last check, the snow pack was about 80% of normal. It looks like it could get to normal with the usual amount of moisture we receive in spring. This means that the flows should be above what we had last year, getting water into more of the side channels which gives us increased options of where to fish, as well as slightly higher water temperatures. This should make all you wet waders happy. The spring fishing forecast looks pretty good. The river bed was covered with grasses and moss very late into the winter, and as you probably know that is scud territory. This means that there was plenty of food for the trout to gorge on. The fish are healthy, big and fat just like me. I put my waders on the other day with olive oil. Right now the flies that are working are scuds, in tan, olive, gray, and orange in sizes 14-18. Sow bugs in pink, tan, and gray in 14-20. Quill nymphs (Baetis) in 18-20. Midge larvae and pupae in red, black, brown, and cream in sizes 18-22. There are some midges hatching now. I expect that hatch to really come on in the next few weeks. The Baetis hatch should be here soon as well. All in all, it is shaping up to be a good year. Overview of the 2001 Season November/December 2001 Overall the weather was above average for the two months. There were some tricos hatching until the first week of December. The tan caddis tapered off in November. Fall baetis were coming off especially on overcast days but also during sunny periods. We started seeing the beginning of the spawning cycle for brown trout around the first week of December, and spawning will continue for the next month or two. Nymphing is working well in the shallow riffles and tail outs, using sow bugs, scuds, pheasant tails, San Juan worms. Water temperature has stayed fairly warm and there is still grass and weeds in the water which means that there are plenty of crustaceans for the fish to feed on. In turn, the trout should winter well and be bigger and stronger in 2002. October 2001 River flow stayed about the same. Caddis started to move up the river and come on strong, especially the tan caddis. Weather has not been that cooperative this month. It has been very windy which has blown some of the bugs off the water. There have been caddis, tricos, baetis, and pseudocloens hatching and fish eating them but you have to search for the feeding fish. Nymphing continues to produce with worms, sow bugs, pheasant tails, midges, scuds, and caddis pupae. Nymphing has gotten better as the day progresses right into the darkness. Forecast Caddis hatches should continue for another month or so. Tricos are still around in certain places. They could be here for awhile. Fall baetis fishing should be good into December. Streamer fishing has really been good for those who like that type of action. September 2001 River flows stayed about 1500 cfs for the month. Pale morning duns continued to hatch on the upper river then tapered off around the second week of September. We started to see caddis hatching from 13 mile down. They gradually worked their way upstream. The fishing was mixed. Some days were spectacular, some days poor. This depended on where you were fishing on the river as well as weather conditions. Tricos were making an appearance on the lower river and making their way upstream. I did fish several times below 13 mile (Bighorn) and the fishing was spotty. Sometimes very good, sometimes just okay. However, if you look hard enough there were fish rising there. Nymphing continued to be good throughout the month using the usual suspects, i.e. sow bugs, scuds, pheasant tails, midge larvae and pupae, worms, etc. Tan caddis pupae and black caddis pupae also worked extremely well. August 2001 Fishing is good. River flow is at 1500 cfs, which is only about 200cfs
below the historical average for this time of year. We are getting a wonderful PALE MORNING DUN hatch in the afternoons, especially on the
top section of the river. June/July 2001 Water temperatures have been about 42-43 degrees F coming out of the dam and gradually warming up as it travels
downstream. Flows averaged 1750 cfs which is below normal but we still Nymphing remains the steadiest method of taking fish. We have been
using pheasant tails, sow bugs, scuds, midge larvae and pupae, and a few
secret flies. There has been a lot of sight nymphing, which to me is as exciting as dry fly fishing. Many fish are in the shallows.
On the surface, there are still some midges around as well as baetis.
On the Bighorn there are always trout rising somewhere. As I write this, there are fish rising pretty much all day from 3 mile access The way to fish the Bighorn is by observation and presentation. By
this I mean, before you make a blind cast, you look for fish either
rising or in the shallows, then you figure out what they are eating.
Next would be how to rig your tackle for the presentation. I see many
anglers get to the river and immediately start wading and casting into the deepest water, never realizing that they have just walked through
and spooked many fish. May 10-31, 2001
May 1-10, 2001 The baetis are starting to come on strong. We have been doing well on dries especially with cloud cover. There are still some midging fish around, but you have to search them out. I have hit them in the early morning. A technique that has been working is trailing a baetis nymph behind a midge cluster or baetis dun. Nymphing has been extraordinary at times. The fish are stacking up feeding in the seams, where slow and fast water meet, or where you have a bottom drop-off or ledge, or a bottom color change. The most successful flies have been quill nymphs and believe it or not, San Juan worms. The other usual suspects such as sow bugs, soft hackles, etc. will work at times. April 2001 Throughout the month we had some pretty good dry fly action with midges. Mostly it was bracketed around darkness, by that I mean early AM and for the two hours prior to night fall. We had some spectacular evenings of up to 20-30 fish per angler on midge clusters. We started to see some baetis around the end of the month. Nymphing overall was pretty good using the usual sow bugs, quill nymphs, which are basically baetis nymphs, midge larvae and pupae and small pheasant tails. March 15 - March 31, 2001 The dry fly fishing has been very good. Midges have started to hatch
around 3 pm until after dark. We have been using a midge cluster, size 16 and 18,
with a single midge trailing it size 20 to 22. We've started off using pretty long leaders16 to 18 feet, and as it gets darker shortening up to
7 or 8 feet. March 1-15, 2001 We've been enjoying some nice weather here with many very pleasant days for fishing. However, this has melted some of the snow in the mountains and hills and added some colder water to the river. I believe this has slowed the midge fishing for now. As I write this at mid month the nymph fishing has been very good. We are still using the same flies, natural sow bugs and soft hackle sow bugs both pink and tan. The technique that is working is to use plenty of lead to slow the nymphs down. You want your strike indicator to be running slower than the current speed. We are looking forward to increased midge activity for the last half of the month. February 2001 The weather was about average for the month. There were a few midges around, and occasionally you could catch a trout on the surface. However, most of the fishing was sub-surface. When the fish were stacked up in the tail outs of riffles, the fishing was spectacular. So the object was to locate pods of fish and use nymphs to catch them. The flies that we used were the usual suspects, soft hackle sow bugs both tan and pink, and natural sow bugs in light gray. Toward the end of the month, the midges started to hatch and it was possible to catch fish on dries. It wasn't easy because the trout were skittish. The only way to catch them was to use long leaders, 16 to 18 feet, and make repetitive, precise casts without any drag. January 2001 The weather has been good through the first half of the month. The water temperature is about 40º F. Nymphing continues to work with soft hackle sow bugs, natural sow bugs, San Juan worms, pheasant tails, midge pupae and larvae. Streamers are also taking some fish, the bigger and uglier the better. On the surface, there are some midges clustering in the morning and there are small pods of fish responding to them. I have also seen baetis hatches on certain days - the beauty of the Bighorn is that there are always rising fish somewhere on the river. If you are willing to search them out, you can |
