Bighorn, Big Fish

The Bighorn River has provided magnificent fishing over the years. One of the most fertile rivers in the West, it’s loaded with aquatic plant and animal life in cold, clear water. The Bighorn wanders through a gentle valley in the wide-open high-plains country east of Bozeman. The Bighorn Mountains, a large range that rolls away into Wyoming, adds to the spectacle.

With each river-mile holding more than twice as many fish exceeding 12 inches as the Madison, the hype is not all that difficult to understand.

There are good numbers of healthy trout here, fish that willingly take a fly. Browns and rainbows weighing a few pounds or more are common. The river flows through a corridor surrounded by the Crow Indian Reservation, and while most other waters on the reservation are closed to non-tribal members, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the Bighorn to public access in 1981.

For those who have little fly-fishing experience or have never taken a good trout, the Bighorn is a good river to start out on.

The Bighorn has received extensive coverage from the outdoor press and is heavily fished from May through October; hundreds of boats and rafts are launched on a typical summer day. Ever since the water below the Yellowtail Dam was opened to fishing, angling writers have raved about the trophy browns and rainbows. With each river-mile holding more than twice as many fish exceeding 12 inches as the Madison, the hype is not all that difficult to understand.

This publicity has translated into incredible fishing pressure on the first 13 miles of water, known as the Upper 13. For those who have little fly-fishing experience or have never taken a good trout, the Bighorn is a good river to start out on. This doesn’t mean that a beginner will catch a lot of fish, but he’ll know that they’re there, rising or visibly nymphing right under his nose, and he’ll get a lot of chances at them.

Fish diligently and you’ll probably take a half-dozen trout averaging 16 inches in a day’s fishing. Experienced anglers have a legitimate chance to catch a large trout. But don’t expect five-pound fish on every cast. The best method of operation here—or anywhere else for that matter—is to enjoy the day, whatever the weather, and consider the fish you’ve connected with a delightful natural bonus.

John Holt the author of 21 books including The Lost Patrol and Fly Fishing Montana. His most recent is Blown Away Under the Big Sky from New Pulp Press.