Bighorn River Fishing Report, Thermopolis Wyoming Guides

Bighorn River Fishing Report Thermopolis Wy

Fishing Report Date: 10/8/24
Stream Flow: 1035 cfs
Water Clarity: 9/10
Water Temp: Unknown
Fish Count: 3000 fish per river mile
Hatches: Midges, Psuedos and Caddis
Overall Rating: 8/10 Nymphing
Travel Conditions & Advisories: None at this time
Fishing Licenses: State ID or Drivers License to purchase a WY Fishing License. All water crafts required to purchase aquatic invasive species permit online through WY game & fish or license selling agent.

Thermopolis Fishing Report, Bighorn River Wyoming Guides:

October 8th 2024:

The Big Horn is running around 1035cfs and fishing good. It has been most productive sub-surface, but on the right days, you can definitely pick some up on dries. Our most productive rigs contain small baetis nymphs and emergers, sowbugs, caddis and various worm patterns.

April 26th 2023:

The flows are at about 3000 cfs right now and the water is clear. Rainbows are still spawning so be cautious of where you are fishing. Please stay off the redds and educate other fisherman if they are unaware. Midges, annelids, BWOs, sow bugs, leeches and eggs have been the most productive for us. Some recommended flies would be Mayhem Midges, Juju midges, bat wing emerger bwos, split foam back baetis, pine squirrel leeches, and hot headed ray charles. Give us a call with any of your fly fishing questions. We are always happy to help. 307-267-5161

Jan 23rd 2021-We have been fishing the Bighorn in Thermopolis almost every week. The the fish are big and fat. You can barely get 1 hand from the top of the fish to the bottom. These hard hard fighting fish are not for the faint of heart. If you get in a hurry they will break you off! Been catching Rainbows on the regular with a few Browns, Cutthroat, and Whitefish. Best flies have been hotheaded sow bugs, and midges. The beautiful thing about this fishery is that there is no wind. So it’s a great winter fishing option! Look at your 10 day forecast. Choose your warmer couple days and give us a call to book. Most days we haven’t been seeing another boat all day! Be sure to book the Days Inn or the Best Western to soak your soar muscles in the hotsprings from reeling in wild Trout. Text or call 307.267.5161.

March 1st 2019- Its been cold but the weather is starting to look up and the fishing has been good. Fishing is most productive in the warmer part of the day. The tailouts are where most fish are hanging out. Nymphing midges and sowbugs have seemed to be the most productive. Streamer fishing has been hit and miss.

October /23/18- The fishing on the Bighorn near Thermopolis Wy is fishing better and better all the time. Flows are 1500 cfs. The fishing has fair to good. The streamer fishing can be on and off but usually good during any kind of cloud cover. Fish are steal eating some caddis patterns, San Juan worms, and small baetis patterns.

8/3/18- The fishing on the Bighorn is pretty tough right now. The water temps are warm and there is moss. I would suggest coming to the Grey Reef for hopper fishing!

4/15/18- Fly fishing out of a drift boat on the Bighorn near Thermopolis WY has been excellent. The flows are a touch high though making it more difficult to wadefish. Flies of choice: Hot headed sow bugs, midges, bwo’s, and egg patterns.

2/27/18- The Bighorn in Thermopolis WY is fishing great like it does every spring! Lot’s of big fat healthy Rainbows with an occasional brown or pure Cutt! Hot headed sow bugs, midges, and eggs are flies of choice.

11/15/17- The Bighorn flows are now 1500 cfs. They plan to have flows at 1100 bfs and keep it there all winter. The fishing has been excellent. Still seeing a few fish up eating dries. Nymphing of course is very good! And streamer fishing is good to fair. Remember our rates are $100 off right now through February and we are doing a Thanksgiving special: Buy 1 full dy float at $350, get the 2nd dy at 1/2 off. Or buy a $300 half day and get the 2nd half day at 1/2 off. Special can be used now through Dec. 31st. 2017. Add a cabin for Only $100 per nt. Offer ends Wed. Nov. 22nd. Reserve deal now, figure dates later. Must mention add when booking. Remember the wind doesn’t blow here so it’s a great winter fishery!

11/07/17- This is your up to date fly fishing report for the Bighorn in Thermopolis WY. The Bighorn is a great option to get out of the wind during the fall winds that the Grey Reef and Miracle Mile experience. The nymphing has been very good! I had half a dozen doubles on my last trip. The streamer fishing has been fair to good and there have been a several fish up eating on top if you keep your eyes open and look for very small impressions in the foam, etc. Call and book your discounted trip today!

3/3/17- Your up to date fishing report for the Bighorn in Thermopolis WY. The Bighorn is a great option to get out of the wind during the spring. The fishing has been excellent and the wind has been pretty low, especially in comparison to the Reef. Most fish caught are between 17-21 inches. We have been catching both Brown’s and Rainbow’s. Sow bugs and midges are the food of choice right now.

2/23/17- The Thermopolis fishing report for the Bighorn in Wyoming is excellent right now! Here it is directly from one of our guides.

Water was a little higher than normal for this time of year. So wade fishing was a little limited still had good access though. Fish were concentrated in slow water with at least a 3 to 4 ft depth of deeper. Yesterday was partially cloudy with some dry fly opportunity available through out the day on midge patterns and the last hour to hour and a half of day light had some decent opportunity too. Midge hatches are starting to get really good and fish really keyed in on them in the late afternoon to early evening. Nymph fishing was outstanding using a size 16 hot beaded soft hackle Ray Charles and a tan Ray Charles with a fire orange thread head in size 16 through most of the day. I used a grey Charles and my version of the mayhem midges and late afternoon to early evening the midge was outstanding. Depths and weight ranged from a single #4 shot at 4 to 5 ft all the way to a BB at 8 1/2 ft. Got a total of about 60 fish hook between 2 anglers for a full day. With about 25 to 35 landed. Caught rainbows browns and 2 cut throat averaging 18 to 20 inch with some pushing 23 to 24 inch. Some fish are making beds so careful when walking. Males are getting very nice color already and some females are full of eggs so handle with care. Seem lines fished well along with shelf lines. Best way to fish about shelf right now is to throw close to the shelf and drop in the deep water fast. Most fish tucked in with in 20ft of the ledge was able to pick up some through out the whole run of the deep water though so fish as much deep water as possible after a shelf. Water clarity was amazing with at least 6 ft visibility with right lighting could see as deep as 8 to 9 ft or possibly more. Over all river bottom was very clean didn’t really pull up any moss on flies the whole day.

11/02- The dry fly fishing on the Bighorn has been epic. The moss has made it hard to nymph and little difficult to streamer fish but it can be done.

10/23/16- The dry fly fishing on the Bighorn in Thermopolis Wyoming has been excellent! Fish are podded up and willing to eat mayflies. There is floating moss making nymphing and streamer fishing somewhat difficult but not impossible.

10/3/16– Fishing has been good on the Bighorn. Expect opportunities to catch fish on nymphs, streamers and dries. There continues to be floating moss so with nymphs look to fish heavy enough to quickly get your flies into a feeding zone. Good bugs have been San Juans, Sow bugs, Ray Charles, Scuds and Midges. With dries, look for pods of fish throughout the day. They have been eating size 16 and 18 parachute Adams patterns and some Trico patterns. With steamers expect moss, but it’s still an effective way to fish. Good patterns have included Sparkle minnows, bow River buggers, and a variety of Sculpin patterns.

Bighorn Fly Fishing Guide Rob Barnosky

Hot Flies

Hot Flies for Bighorn River in Thermopolis Wy

Red San Juan worms, black or olive midge patterns, small bwo patterns, rock worms, scuds, sow bugs, and ray charles.

Guides

Bighorn Wy Fly Fishing Guides Thermopolis

When you fish the Bighorn do yourself a favor and hire a LOCAL guide that really knows the water. The river is in our backyard and we have guides fishing here year round that know these waters. You will find that no one compares! Go to our Bighorn Wy Fly Fishing Guides page to read about our guides and google Wyoming Anglers and read our reviews.

Stream Flows

Bighorn River Stream Flows

Wind River & Bighorn River stream flows below Boysen Reservoir near Thermopolis, WY

Bighorn River Stream Flow

Forecast

Big Horn River Fishing & Weather Forecast

You almost always get dry fly fishing opportunities but as we get into March we will get some solid dry action. And of course the nymphing is almost always good!

2016 Reports

2016 Bighorn River Fishing Report Archives-Thermopolis Wyoming

Bighorn River Fishing Report Thermopolis Wyoming- September:

9/11/16- Your Bighorn fishing report has been great recently! The nymph fishing has been excellent below wedding to the state park. There has been some Trico activity on top giving way to some dry fly fishing. Hopper dropper is working. The streamer fishing has really been picking up especially when its cloudy. We have been getting into some nice fat Rainbows and Browns. For nymphing brown pats rubber legs, black mcgruber midge in am, scud in orange. Streamer in white, olive, and black have produced well. For dry fly fishing an Amy’s ant and different trick patterns.

Bighorn River Fishing Report Thermopolis Wyoming- August:

8/21/16- The Bighorn is starting to shape up. The dry fly fishing for Trico’s has been good. The nymphing is getting better as we are starting to have some cooling temps. Look for the fishing to get only better as it cools even more. And last but definitely no least, we have been getting some streamer action as well!

Bighorn River Fishing Report Thermopolis Wyoming-July:

7/14/16- The yearly summer Bighorn flush is happening today. This will help clear out much of the moss. They are bumping up the flows to 3200 cfs around 9pm and should be back down to normal flows by 10 am tomorrow morning. In the last week we have seen pretty good pod’s of fish up eating Trico’s. Check with our guides to see what sections are fishing the best. We can give you up to date info for each section. 307.267.5161

June Bighorn River Fishing Report Wyoming:

6/25/16- The bighorn is down to 4000 cfs and is really mossy right now. There is a lot of floating moss all through out the water column. Each cast with a nymph rig will moss you up and every other cast with a streamer rig. Big fish can still be caught holding along the banks but it takes patience cleaning of the moss.

6/12/16-The Bighorn Flows are back up to 6000 cfs. The reservoir is 96% full so the flows will probably get higher before they come down. Fishing has been good but definitely more difficult than lower flows. Fishing all the slowest water possible.

6/5/16-Bighorn flows are at 5000 cfs.

6/1/16- Yes the water is over 6000 cfs but fish still have to eat. We netted 11 fish in 1 hour yesterday on streamers and 17 or 18 to the net on streamers in 4 hours. That’s very productive streamer fishing. If you like to watch fish chase give us a call and we will set you up. The nymphing has also been good. Takes more work then lower water but the fish are there and ready to eat. Book a professional guide today! 307.267.5161

May Bighorn River Fishing Report Wyoming:

5/20/16-Flows are up to 6000 cfs now. This is when it can be difficult for someone who is not a professional.

5/13/2016-Flows are around 3000 cfs and will continue to be on the rise. They should be at 4000 by Monday.

5/7/2016- The Bighorn flows are now up to over 2000 cfs. This should help clear up some of the mud from some of the tributaries.

April Bighorn River Fishing Report Wyoming:

Fishing has been awesome! Nymphing has been off the hook!

4/26/16- Here is your Thermopolis fishing report for the Bighorn in Wyoming. The fishing is sick! Lot’s of fish up eating dries. Big pods of fish up keying in on BWo’s. Fish are also chasing streamers, especially with these cloudy days. Yes, the nymphing is great. Remember there isn’t a lot of access for wade fisherman. Your better off going with one of our fishing guides and having the most memorable day fishing you have ever had! Size 16 or 18 hot-headed sow bugs and red san Juans.

March Bighorn River Fishing Report:

3/28/16- Fishing on the Big Horn River near Thermopolis has been excellent! We had a boat out today and netted over 40 fish, with eight fish over twenty inches. Browns, Rainbows and Cutthroat were all caught. Fish on this stretch of river are incredibly healthy right now and they are giving an amazing fight to anglers. Midges and Mayflies are present at this time, and in addition to nymphing, dry fly fishing and streamer fishing is productive. Zebra midges, olive mayhems, sow bugs, ray charles, rock worms, eggs, and scuds are all great flies at this time.

3/18/16- Looks like they are going to do their yearly spring flush on the Bighorn on the 20th. Fishing the day after is going to be awesome!

3/06/16- Here is your Bighorn fishing Report. Great! A good mix of nice Brown Trout and Rainbow’s are being caught nymphing.

February Bighorn River Fishing Reports Thermopolis Wy:

The fishing has been fantastic! The river has been open and fishing very well! Love this fishery!

January Bighorn River Fishing Reports Thermopolis Wy:January Bighorn River Fishing Reports Thermopolis Wy:

1/01/16- We had a guide boat out on Thursday, January 1st and the fishing was fantastic! The boat brought in 20-25 fish to the net. The best flies were an orange egg, red san juan, and a small hotheaded ray charles in grey. There were hardly anyone else around fishing!

This productive tailwater is one of the best winter fishing options. 820 cfs is the perfect water level, most of the moss is gone, and the crowds are at a minimum. The water temps on the Bighorn have cooled way down so remember to set on the most subtle bumps of the indicator! The Big Horn River has been fishing great with a variety of techniques catching fish.

2015 Reports

2015 Thermopolis Fishing Report Archives-Bighorn river Wyoming

December Thermopolis Wy Fishing Reports:

Here is your Thermopolis Wyoming fishing report. The fishing continues to fish very well! What a wonderful winter fishing option Thermopolis Wyoming has with the Bighorn flowing right through it! Most of the days over here have not been windy and the Bighorn hasn’t been iced up so we have been able to do our trips over here.

November Thermopolis Wyoming Fishing Reports:

Here is your Thermopolis Wyoming fishing report. It has been fishing very well during the month of November and will continue to through the winter. In fact I believe it is one of the best options for winter fishing as it is mainly open from ice year round and it is solid fishing! If you have any questions about our fishing report let us know. 307.267.5161

October Fishing Reports on the Big Horn in Thermopolis Wy:

October 28th-The nymphing, streamer fishing and dry fly fishing have all be great. November and December are great months to catch Trophy Brown Trout!

September Big Horn Thermopolis Fishing Reports

There continues to be considerable moss near the put in at wedding of the waters but this is not greatly impacting fishing with streamers or nymph rigs. With nymph rigs a red san juan worm trailed by black or olive midge patterns has been productive. Other flies to consider include rock worms, scuds, sow bugs, and ray charles. There have been bugs on the water with fish feeding in pods and dry fly fishing can be excellent. Fishing a smaller parachute adams or elk hair caddis have been working well when fish are rising. This is a great time to fish the Big Horn as you can legitimately catch fish with a streamer, dry fly or nymph rig.”

Fish seem to moving into the deeper runs more and more but are still in shallow riffles. So if your nymphing be prepared to set your mini rig to 4 ft from indicator to weight and use 4x tippet and a #4 weight in tin. Or if your going deep then 5 -7 ft and a bb or ab in tin. We are experiencing some of the best Fall dry fly fishing I have seen! When using small dries go with 5x mono floating tippet and try to be stealthy. Make your cast 3-5 ft above the fish and let your fly drift into the rising fish. Remember a slight lift set will do, giving the fish a chance to be on the down turn so you don’t pull it out of his mouth. Streamers fishing has been great! Definitely better on cloudy days!

July Thermopolis Wyoming Fishing Reports

July 2nd – Flows Dropping
Big Horn Fishing Report- We have had guides on the Big Horn catching big fish on dry flys. Flows are 4900 cfs and dropping. The fishing will only continue to get better.

June Thermopolis Wy Fishing Reports

June 3rd- Big Horn River Update
Big Horn River Fishing Report: The Bighorn in Thermopolis Wy is flowing around 5200 CFS.. Guess what this means? You guessed it. Many of the fish have been forced to the banks meaning the streamer bite is really starting to turn on in the morning and we expect it to get only better as the fish adjust to the high flows. The dry fly fishing wasn’t very good today. The afternoon fishing wasn’t very good either. Inexperienced rowers really need to be careful with this high of water as well as wade fisherman. Do yourself a favor and hire an experienced Big Horn Wy fishing guide from Wyoming Anglers. You won’t regret it!

May Thermopolis Wy Fishing Reports

May 12th- The Big Horn is On Fire!
Big Horn River Fishing Report- The Big Horn in Wyoming is on fire! The nymphing is really good! We had 4 or 5 doubles before 10:30 A.M. The Blue Wings didn’t come as good as we were hoping but we still got some dry fly action. What a beautiful stretch of river! If you haven’t fished this, you need to put it on your bucket list!

February Big Horn River Fishing Reports

February 13th- Thermopolis is a Place to Not Be Missed!
Big Horn River Fishing Report- The guides took a short 2 hour road trip to the Big Horn in Thermopolis Wyoming today. The streamer fishing was a bit slow but then nymphing was excellent. Most of the rainbows caught were good fat healthy fish aprox 18-20 inches. And we caught a few browns. If you haven’t fished this place, make it a priority. I promise you won’t be disappointed!! And the scenery…..breath taking!

2014 Reports

2014 Big Horn River Fishing Report Archives

October Big Horn River Fishing Reports

October 13th- Big Horn River Update
Big Horn River Fishing Report- The Big Horn in Thermopolis is fishing fantastic! Some big fish on streamers, especially with some cloud cover. The nymphing is great guns & the dry fly fishing is sick!

September Big Horn River Fishing Reports

September 8th- Sick!
Big Horn River Fishing Report- The fishing is ridiculous. Dry fly, streamer, & nymph fishing are off the charts!!!]

Wyoming Fly Fishing at its Best!

Big Horn River Thermopolis Fishing Report

(307) 267-5161

EMAIL

FACEBOOK