August Bighorn River Fishing Report
August fishing report on the Bighorn River remains very good. We’ve been catching plenty of fish on nymphs and the dry-fly fishing on the Bighorn River has been very good as well.
Mahogany Duns & Trico Dry-Fly Fishing
We’ve had some really great mahogany dun and the Trico fishing in the mornings for experienced anglers. If you’re looking to fish tiny dry flies, those morning tricos are a great way to test your skills. We love the challenge of a single sipper, especially when that trout might be 22-24 inches!
If you are fortunate enough to catch those mahoganies, look out. They typically arrive the second week of August through the second week of September each year. They’re a short lived hatch, but mahogany duns can be some of the most spectacular dry fly fishing in all of Montana!
Nymphing & Streamer Fishing
During the day, nymphing remains the most consistent way to catch fish on the Bighorn River. We’re still fishing a variety of PMD- and caddis-type nymphs. Bighorn staple fly patterns like natural sowbugs, San Juan worms and zebra midge patterns all continue to produce. Various Perdigon patterns and some Caddis pupa have also been producing.
The nymph bite varies across the river. Some areas are a little more “technical” where we’re sight fishing #20 sowbugs, and they better be in the perfect color of tan or gray. Alternatively, there are stretches where we can throw a large squirmy worm of any color and a #12 Bead Head Pheasant Tail!
Likewise, if three or four good clouds roll through, we have had some exciting streamer eats as well. Kelly Gallup’s Sex Dungeon and other large articulated streamers have all been working if you can hit the right spots. The Bighorn River report has been spectacular and the fishing will satisfy any level of angler.
Afternoon Caddis & Flexible Float Times
There are also some caddis around in the afternoons, particularly on the upper Bighorn River. If your goal is to chase fish on dry flies later in the day, we’d highly encourage it.
Since we do not have a specified “dinner time”, we do take anglers on later floats if that is one of your goals! We always let the fish decide our schedule not some arbitrary time clock.
Booking 2027 Bighorn River Fishing Trips
We’ve been busy at River Rock Outfitters, and people are already starting to lock in their dates for next season.
This week alone, we’ve taken five new bookings for 2027.
We don’t want to oversell it, but if you have specific dates or a particular time frame of the season you want to fish the Bighorn River in 2027, the time to book those dates is right now.
The best time of year to fish the Bighorn River? Is right now. Any reservation July through September will reward you with large trout, willing to eat dry flies, nymphs and streamers! What a great time for that Bighorn Trifecta!
The Bighorn River fly fishing continues to reward anglers with large rainbow and brown trout daily!