winter fishing

Bighorn River, Wyoming 

Long time no update. I was out of the game for a few weeks with a shoulder injury, which happened to be good timing as temperatures were well below freezing. We just returned from Arizona visiting family and then we're headed to Oregon for Christmas to visit more family. Unfortunately fishing isn't on our list of things to do, so we've been hitting it pretty hard the last few days. And fishing has been pretty good, so why should we fish anywhere else?

 Lots of nice fat rainbows on steamers and nymphs. And the fish are definitely stacked in the slow deep water as water temps are very cold. The browns are off the redds but ya might get a few fish to eat the egg. I would focus more on midge larva and pupa and sow bugs or worms for point flies and 9ft leaders.

For streamers we've been using 300 grain sink tip lines and tungsten headed flies to get down deeeeep with slow retrieves combing the troughs and deeper pits. White has been our best color. And we are still seeing a handful of baetis on any given day and plenty of adult midge on the surface, but not very many fish rising. This should change in the coming weeks as the days get longer.

Happy Holidays and we hope to fish with you this year.

Fishin with the James brothers

Went fishing with the James brothers today lookin for a big one. Saw a couple but didn't stick em. We did however catch a bunch of these

The James Bros.

And there are fish on redds. Please do not walk on clean gravel or attempt to snag spawners... it is not cool. On that note they are eating the bead really really good right now.

on the water report

Fished with Jeff and Frank from California yesterday,  they've been out here hunting and decided to take a day fly fishing. It proved to be a good idea,  we caught a lot of rainbows and a couple nice browns nymphing. The weather was pleasant minus the wind. Had some good days fishing in the snow last week and we're seeing more big baetis, with more big browns eating them under the olive trees. Flows are still fluctuating between 800 and 850 cfs. The nymphing really seems to be better in the morning until they turn onto the baetis around noon one o clock. Streamer fishing is day to day.

Alyssa did a presentation on tying steamers last night for the Wyoming Womens Fly Fishing Club at UW in Laramie. Sounds like it was a sold out crowd and the ladies had a good time.  We look forward to fishing with them next spring.

Used Drift Boat For Sale - 2007 Clackacraft SOLD!

SOLD the ol' high side Clacka. We just don't need it now that we've decided not to head back to Washington for the winter. It's a 2007 Steelhead Deluxe, great starter boat or for big rivers and heavy water. I bought it from the Clacka dealer in Portland in 2013 where it was refurbished. I've put it to use, almost 200 guide days plus on the water and it has some scratches, but no leaks. Great boat. Comes with trailer (new tires and bearings installed April 2015), 30lb. anchor, and 9 1/2 foot Sawyer oars. SOLD!

Fishing report bighorn river wyoming

Flows out of Boysen are 825cfs. Been a beautiful week and fishing has been great. Had Scott from Rapid City out on the river the last couple of days for some quality streamer fishing and "epic" dry fly fishing. Lots of pseudos or tiny blue winged olives and even a few baetis hatching en masse after about 1:00pm and finally seeing some big fish eating them until dark

Awesome brown on a dry

Fat rainbow on a dry

   

Big brown trout on a streamer bighorn river wy

Weather looks a bit colder this next week but it could be good for steamers and baetis. Plenty of days open and still running the fall special  $100 off any full day float trip now thru February.

clouds

...in the forecast for the next week or so. And despite having plenty of sunshine today the streamer bite was pretty good. Which leads me to believe that it can only be better with clouds and a little rain. Been on the water with clients the last couple days and the nymphing has been pretty consistent and lots of fish up in the afternoon eating the tiny blue wings but the majority of them are little flippy guys. Don't have anything on the books until the 22nd so come out now while it's good... Clouds and still kind of warm.

Big browns are gettin ruddy

fall/winter fishing special

Cooler temps are finally here and the grass is breaking up and dying off. Flows are down to 825cfs. Fishing is not great right now but it is good. Tricos are petering out and lots of pseudos or tiny blue winged olives have been hatching en mass in the afternoon. The streamer bite is definitely turning on.

From now until February all full day trips are $100 off. Just pick a couple of warm days and let's go fishing... gotta pay for the new boat.

feels like fall

All of a sudden. Looking at some cooler temps this week after a couple scorchers. Fishing is good. Still plenty of trico action and some good hopper fishing. Nymphing is good and the streamer bite is decent. Here are some photos from the last week.

Garrett from Greybull with a nice fat brown

We still have a few days open for September,  don't be shy, give us a call and we'll go fishing.

Alyssa has been tying flies like crazy, you might want to order a dozen.

Garrett with a nice rainbow

And if you like hucking big steamers all day for a chance at a truly large fish,  we are gonna give you a deal from October 15 thru December. And if your arm falls off we'll throw some rapalas.

Brad thought he was stuck on a rock and then we landed this pig horn brown

Trico fishing

...has been pretty good. Some of the best hatches I've seen all summer occurred last week. We've had some 40-50 fish days nymphing... worms and crayfish mostly. I've been hopper fishing with Gary the last couple days and the bite is day to day but we're finding some nice fish.

They bumped the river yesterday for dam work and it helped to clear out some of the grass.

Fly Tying Tutorial - Articulated Mouse Fly

Cowboy Wayne,  an original mouse pattern step-by-step by Alyssa Halls.

Bighorn River Fishing Report - Thermopolis, WY

Flows out of Boysen Reservoir are somewhere around 1,100cfs. There is slight fluctuation which seems to be loosening some of the grass mats or floating islands. If I had a nickel for every time I've had to say grass in the last month I probably wouldn't ever have to guide again...which some days sounds appealing. Moss, crap, junk, stuff, salad, shnot, schmutz, shit... whatever moniker you choose... IT HAPPENS.

The fishing: is good. Tricos can be the day saver if you can get it to the fish. Cloudy days are best for terrestrial action. Streamer fishing doesn't look like any fun. The water has cleared significantly and has made the clean troughs easy to decipher for the nymphing. Drowned Tricos are definitely the key in the morning or small pt's which may also be good for caddis pupa later in the day. The worm bite has been good as a dropper in the fast shallow water.

These could be in your box.

This could be in your basket.

See ya out on the river.

open dates

Our calendar is filling in fast. We have plenty of open days from August 15-22. Alyssa has 8/26, 8/27, 8/29, 8/30 & 8/31 open. I'm booked until 9/9 and Alyssa has 9/2-9/12 open. Give us a call, operators are standing by.

September is coming.

Good clouds today should make for some excellent dry fly fishing. Nymphing is pretty tough right now because of all the grass, but we still hooked about 20 yesterday with a single angler. Had a midday lull but once we got into the faster water below Broadway we ended the day rather nicely. Alyssa had a great day fishing Tricos and hopper/dropper in the morning and really good straight hopper fishing on an afternoon run...she said they'd get an eat every time a cloud would come over. She's on the water today and I'm stuck here tying flies for a change. We still have some days open for the next couple weeks but I've got 17 in a row starting August 24 and my September is filling in fast. Alyssa is open for most of these dates... why not go fishing with the best looking guide in Wyoming?

Bighorn Fishing Report - Thermopolis WY

Fishing was pretty damn good today. Noice fish up on Tricos and had good cloud cover most of the day which made for some great terrestrial fishing.  Midday lull lead to a few scrappy fish on the dropper.

Allison with a fat hen brown 

Fishing Report - North Fork Shoshone River

Did a half day on the North Fork yesterday,  on about noon off at 5pm. Fishing was good, had chances at about 20 fish running a dry/dropper rig. We had quite a few eats on the big dry but most fish landed ate the Turd. River flow is at 450cfs and will probably be out of water by the end of this month, so let's get out there before its too late.

Fishing report and open dates

The Bighorn here in Thermopolis is flowing at 1350cfs. There is quite a bit of grass and floating moss which makes the nymph fishing pretty tough...just slap it off and get it back out there. Drowned Tricos are the ticket in the morning.
Lots of fish looking up and good pods are chowing Tricos on the surface.  Spinner fall occurs about 7:30. After 11 we've been throwing big foam flies (chubbies and hoppers) and finding some nice fish hanging under the trees and grassy banks.
we have plenty of open dates the first half of August which is unusual because it's my favorite time to throw hoppers.

Big brown. Big horn.