Bighorn River, MT

[DonBo]

Any of you guys ever fish this? Was there last year for one day in early August and had so much fun I thought I'd go back this year for a little more time.

Question is, when should I go? I could go anytime from late June through early Sept. I'm not a fly fisherman so hatches don't mean anything to me.

Suggestions?

[JohnS]

I'd in the fall. Crowds should be a little less of an issue. Also the browns get more aggressive as they get in the fall spawning mood.

[DonBo]

Fall's not an option. I bowhunt and won't give that up to fish. Any other thoughts?

[traveler]

Some out of state bowhunting?? Actually, I'll be out that way in July or so, so I'll be interested to see any responses to your question.

[DonBo]

traveler, I hunt all over, but this will be just a fishing venture for me and my brother who has never been in MT. We'd like to decide soon so he can put in for vacation.

[OnAFly]

I'll be out there in late May and July. Early trout is usually good when the rivers are not high, but being spring that can be a [PoorWordUsage] shoot. I was there last Sept and caught plenty of nice browns and rainbows. We also took a little trip out to my girlfriends family friend's ranch to go for brookies. That was simply unreal. I would really suggest giving flies a try out there. The fight is a lot better. Just my opinion.

[magic_minnow]

DonBo:

I used to live in MT, and spring was awesome! I was never real big on fly fishing either, I used rooster tails and Thomas Cyclones with great success. Since you're headed to MT, I guess the Croix is all mine!

[DonBo]

Since you're headed to MT, I guess the Croix is all mine!

Yeah, for one weekend this summer the Croix is all yours. Better take advantage!

[so haaad]

Like was said, spring before runoff is good, and fall is good too. What about going the week or two before bow season, say Sept 1-14-ish. The crowds drop considerably after labor day weekend.

[DonBo]

We could probably do early Sept. My brother is a goose hunter, is that early goose season?

[macgruber]

they'll probably crank the flows way up in late may-june as the snowmelt tumbles into the reservoir...... when the river is ragin, i doubt you'd wanna be tossing spinning gear, cuz the increased water volume dislodges the moss and you'd be reeling in moss balls all day long..... there's suspended moss everywhere when it gets bad....

flows should stabilize by july for sure..... i think it's a decent snow year, so flows shouldn't end up dropping too much and the river should be more than fishable through july and august and into sept...... in drought years, some of the side channels get too shallow through those months......

the fishing is always good, just a matter of what flow you want to fish it at..... generally anything from 2000 to 6 or 7 thousand is good, with 2500 to 4000 being ideal..... but you'll catch fish regardless....

and while i'm sure you're happy tossin hardware, this is one river where if you've ever had any itch to try fly fishing, you should give it a go....... the nymphing is as easy as it gets anywhere and you'll catch more numbers with fly than spin gear-- plus all the fish are huge cuz the little guys don't typically leave the weeds till they are big enough to fend off the monsters in there..... so unlike streams around here where tossing raps and spinners will consistently net you bigger fish, there isn't much of a size disparity between techniques on that one......

anyway, have fun.... think i'm goin in early may.....

[DonBo]

There's some great tips there. Thanks! That's the kind of response I was hoping for from FM members.

Any idea in a typical year when you can expect 2500 - 4000? I mean is that normally late June into July kind of thing of does it change dramatically day to day with precip, etc?