Waterfowl Hunting Report: August on the Bighorn
Fall is starting to show along the Bighorn River, and preparations are underway for another Montana duck season. Here’s the latest waterfowl hunting report, including bird activity, blind updates, and preseason work.
Season Update
Fall is starting to show itself along the Bighorn River, and we’re getting everything ready for another season of Montana duck hunting. The mornings are getting cooler, we picked up our first leaves of the season this week, and the grass around River Rock Lodge is starting to green back up. Fall is right around the corner.
Bird Activity
The birds are looking good. We’re regularly seeing groups of 15–20 mallards, along with groups of 15–30 teal up and down the Bighorn River corridor. We’ve also built two brand-new duck blinds this summer and continue working through the rest of our blinds and equipment.
Waterfowl Gear and Jet Boats
Our Willie and River Raptor jet boats are getting their preseason attention too. Mack added a tune to his boat, making it a 300-horsepower outboard jet with a steering nozzle and four-blade impeller. Carter has been replacing intake fins and making sure his boat is ready, and the River Raptor is ready to roll as always. Ray’s Kingfisher Extreme Shallow is in for a brand-new motor and should be completed shortly.
If you want to putt around at 16 mph in a mud motor, we probably aren’t the right outfitter for you. 😂. We’re going to get you there on time and in style.
Bighorn River Duck Hunt
Our 2026 Montana waterfowl season is fully booked. Sorry! After 33 years in the outfitting business, we’re fortunate to have a strong group of repeat clients who keep coming back. We open remaining dates to new duck-hunting clients on March 1 each year. Quite literally, we couldn’t take another duck hunter if we wanted to. Thank you all for the tremendous support.
The best way to get onto our busy duck calendar? Book a fishing trip. Fishing clients get the first look at available dates on our duck calendar each March, and returning duck clients receive priority on our fishing calendar each October.