The Bighorn River

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Big Sky Fly Fishers
Big Sky Fly Fishers provides guided fly fishing trips on the Bighorn River for anglers of all abilities. We also offer multiple day packages that include the guides, flies, lodging, and meals. Outfitter # 8836.

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The Bighorn River begins at Boysen Reservoir in Wyoming. It enters Montana more than 150 miles downstream where it flows into Bighorn Lake, formed by the Yellowtail Dam. It is nationally recognized as one of the premiere trout streams in the United States. As such, it is a very popular destination spot for anglers on a Montana fly fishing trip.

Below the dam, the Bighorn River flows through an open and isolated landscape. As the river sets on western edge of the high plains, few trees are found except along the riverbank. The Bighorn Rivers banks are a mix of grass, cottonwood trees, alfalfa and brush. Despite the lack of trees beyond the river, the area is scenic. The Pryor Mountains and the smaller Bighorn Mountains rise from the prairie to the south and west. Additionally, small rock cliffs with sparse forests are found along the middle section of the river, providing a nice backdrop for any float trip.

The Bighorn River travels through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area for the first twenty miles below the dam, where it then enters the Crow Indian Reservation. Due to a court ruling in 1981, the Bighorn River is considered a public river. As a result, a special tribal fishing license is not needed to fish the river in the Crow Reservation.

After flowing through the reservation for twenty-eight miles, the Bighorn River continues flowing in a northward direction towards the confluence with the Yellowstone River near the town of Bighorn, MT.

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