The midge fishing has been awesome the past two weeks. With the warmer weather forecast for this week the dry fly fishing should be some of the best of the season. The midges are coming of in large numbers from noon to about 4:00 each day. The midge clusters are small but are very productive, we have been using #20-#22. The blue winged olives are hatching from 1:30 to about 3:30 each day and much heavier on the cloudy days. Trout are rising everyday even on the sunny days. Nymph fishing has been awesome with small sowbugs and midge pupa patterns. I have been using an epoxy back gray sowbug #18 & #20 with a zebra midge, #20 & #22, as the dropper for most of the day. Streamer fishing has been good casting streamer to the bank, black and other dark streamers patterns have been doing well. The boat traffic has been very light for the nice weather we are experiencing right now. The warm weather has started run-off and pocket creek below the bighorn club. I would spend most of my day above the club as there is some discoloring on the east side of the river. pg 

Winter fishing is at it’s best right now. Midges and some baetis are coming off during the mid-day. Nymphing has been good all day with small sowbugs and midge patterns, sizes #20-#22 seem to be the ticket. I have been using a #20 gray sowbug and trailing a #20 brass zebra midge w/brown thread body. Around noon the midges start clustering and make the trout much easy to catch on the surface. Before noon the trout are keyed on the single midges and the bugs are extremely small. I have been using a #22 dun cluster and doing very well on 6x. Around 1:30 some baetis have been coming off and on the cloudy days the trout have really key in to them. The Mayfly hatch has been lasting for about an hour or so then back to midges. Don’t let the cloudy cool days scare you off, it can be some of the best fishing of the year. Try to plan on shorter floats, A-3 or 3-B. Give yourself some time to fish the slower deep water. The water is cold and the browns have really come on the feed. pg

Hello All,

 Things haven’t changed much since the last post of November 10th mainly because the weather has been so nice. We have had a couple of cold days, but other than that we have been enjoying our banana belt status with highs in the 50’s and even a few days getting above 60.

 Needless to say this has delayed the browns from getting up on the beds. They have been hanging out in their pre-spawn holes for a long time now and this bunching up of trout has made for some great fishing. There are a few more redds every day and right now is really going to be the start of it with a peak in a couple of weeks. 

When the fish are spawning don’t fish on or trample the beds, be respectful and if you see some brighter patches of gravel stay away The most fish you will find during the spawn won;t be on the beds and it is not good to pull them off of their spawning grounds. instead focus on the pools below the beds where the trout really congregate to eat all the eggs getting washed off the beds.

This congregation of  aggressive rainbows and browns in the deep pre-spawning holes has created some great streamer fishing. Finding the right depth with your sinking line is the key in getting down to the fish. Once you find them though, there is usually a bunch of them there. Brown and yellow streamers like the Bighorn Special and Bighorn Bugger have been best. The yellow really seems to help the trout locate that streamer in the slightly chalky water we have right now.

 Nymphing has been consistent with the trout’s main diet right now being sow bugs, scuds, and worms. There ar e some fish moving to the softer edges now finding that semi-slow water to relax in as the water temps are now below 50.

Fishing is good, come on down, mention this fishing report before Dec. 15 and receive 15% off lodging. Give us a call at 866-658-7688 or stop by the Bighorn Angler we are open daily from 8 to noon. 

The weather forecast is for cloudy weather and we all know what that means, streamer time. The browns and rainbows get very aggressive on cloudy days in the fall, it seems to triple the number of takes on the streamer. The browns are just starting to spawn, we noticed only a couple for spawning beds yesterday. Over the next week it should really get going and the browns should really start loading up in the slower pools in anticipation of the spawn. The blue-winged olives are just starting to hatch on the cloudy days. The trout don’t need many mayflies on the surface to get keyed in. Don’t be afraid to be here fishing on the snowy cloudy days, it can bring great dry fly days. pg 

The lake has turned over and the water temperature has dropped 10 degree in the last 17 days. Before the lake turned the temperature was 66 degrees at the afterbay dam and now is 56 degrees. The cooler water temperature has got the browns fired up and are starting to get aggressive towards the streamer. The spawn seems to be a couple of weeks off and the browns are loading up in the normal staging areas. I recommend using a fast sinking line in the deep holes and trenches. The banks are also a good bet this time of the year when the browns are on the move. The nymph fishing has been improving as the water clears. Last week the water clarity was about 2 feet and today it was about 4 feet. The guides have been using #12-#16 orange scuds and #14-#18 tan softhackles and doing very well. All the normal scuds, sowbugs, and mayfly nymphs have been working well. The traffic on the river has been slow and the fishermen going out are doing well. Give us a Call, and we can help you with setting for what seems to be a great fall season. If you like casting streamers to trout this is the time to be here. PG

The lake is turning over after this last week of cold temps. This has brought on a pea soup color and fishing has been moderately difficult. They are also starting a drawdown tomorrow where the river will be dropped 2600 cfs in the next 4 days and then brought to 3000 cfs. This should end our turnover issues as well as our grass issues and next weekend of the 23rd is looking like a good time to start getting after it again. we’ll keep you updated. 

Hello all!

we got a dose of cold weather today and it looks like it is going to stick around. With the slack water cooling it is sending those smaller fry to warmer areas and they are getting gobbled up on their way there. Trout are hitting streamers with reckless abandon! some of the best colors are white, black, and brown.

As far as nymphing is concerned people are doing pretty well. the bigger sow bugs and scuds are producing with worms becoming a bigger factor.

Top 5 Flies:

Bow River Bugger Size 4

Orange Blossom Size 6

Firebead Sow Bug #18

Two tone san juan #10

 orange Scud # 14

Grass report: Only a problem on the upper 3 where some areas are tough.

 Hoppers: The all day hopper fishing has just now come to a close, but a few hours each afternoon still proves productive. There are a lot of fish holding on the banks in areas with current. Smaller Dave’s sz 10 and your hopper sandwich in larger sizes.

Dries: There are trico’s appearing for the spinner fall mind morning and fish have been keying into them on the surface on occasion. A few black caddis will appear on a day to day basis. Bugs: Spent wing Trico #20 trico spinner #20 cdc black caddis #20

Nymphing: Nymphing has been consistient throughout most of the day. Focus on your Scuds and Sow Bugs as that is really all they have been eating. They key in on some small baetis nymphs mainy in the afternoon. Bugs: Soft hackle Ray Charles grey #16, Grey Poxyback sowbug #20, Bighorn Scud orage #16.

Streamers: Our up and coming star is streamer fishing. We have had some great days throwing streamers, even with full sunlight.  Off the banks and through the riffles is productive but if you have a sinking like the deeper swifter channels have been excellent. Bugs: Bow River Bugger #6, brown and yellow clouser #8.

It has been in the 80’s for the past 3 days and some very excellent fall weather!  Flows holding steady at 3,000 cfs

70 miles from the lodge, just over the Wyoming Border, lie three ponds that the Bighorn Angler has the exclusive fishing rights to. Located at the base of the Bighorn Mountains and within the boundaries of a vast ranch property these are as private as they get. These spring and creek fed ponds are no joke and see just a few anglers a year. We just fished it for the first time since May and did very well with an honest average size trout of 22" . We caught Brookies, Browns, Rainbows and Cutthroats all in one day. An easy drive from the lodge this opportunity can be reserved by anyone and requires a guide and there is an additional rod fee. 

 If you are interested please call soon as we are only taking a limited number of clients to these lakes this year.  866-658-7688.

The tricos are back in more numbers than we have seen in a long time. Pods of trout are up and feeding on them and it has been a lot of fun. The spinner fall has been coming between 10 AM and noon and has been the most productive time to fish the dries.

Aside from tricos the main diet of these trout have been sow bugs and baetis nymphs.  The fish have been hanging in the fast water whether it be the main heavy current or shallow fast riffles. The water is too warm for the still and slow water areas so don’t get fooled by those enticing long slow runs that can be so productive in the spring.

Streamer fishing continues to impress. It is a good sign that there are a TON of fry in the river and we have a bumper crop of new fish due to some very successful spawning seasons.

Top 3 flies:

Glass bead Wondernymph size 20, Grey Poxyback Sow Bug size 20, Trico Spinner size 20.