Full-Day Float on the Bighorn River

About this trip

The Bighorn below Yellowtail Dam holds more trout per mile than almost any river in the country, and the number that gets quoted, several thousand fish per mile in the upper stretch, is genuinely true rather than marketing. It is a tailwater, so it runs cold and clear and fishes every month of the year, and it is the river I send people to when they want to catch a lot of fish and are tired of being told that catching a lot of fish is somehow unsophisticated. The upper thirteen miles from the Afterbay down to Bighorn Access is the classic float and it is what we fish. Consistent flows mean consistent insect life: midges through the winter, baetis in spring and again in fall, and a black caddis hatch in high summer that can turn the whole river on. Nymphing is the bread and butter and it is very good nymphing, with long drifts through even, walking-pace runs where you can actually see what your indicator is telling you. The fish are browns and rainbows and they are thick-bodied from eating constantly. Average is a strong sixteen to eighteen inches, which on a river where you might hook fifteen fish in a day adds up to a lot of good pulls. It is not a river of giants, it is a river of consistently excellent trout, and the difference matters when you are deciding what kind of day you want. Because it is a tailwater it fishes when nothing else does. October and November here are outstanding and almost empty. Winter days are cold but real. This is my recommendation for anyone whose schedule does not line up with the summer season. Species: brown and rainbow trout. Season: year-round; peak is July through October, and the fall is the best of it. Meeting point: the Afterbay boat ramp at Fort Smith, 7:30am, off around 4:30pm. Experience level: all levels. This is the most productive day for a newer angler of any trip listed here.

About your guide

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River conditions

10-day forecast

What's included

• Drift boat and all rowing
• Rods, reels and lines if you need them
• All flies, tippet and leader
• Streamside lunch, snacks and drinks
• Shuttle between put-in and take-out

What to bring

• Montana fishing license
• Polarized sunglasses
• Rain shell
• Warm layers, because the canyon runs cold off the dam even in July
• Gloves and a hat from October onward