Big Horn Hoppers

The Big Horn is one of those rivers that everyone should experience at least in their lifetime. The sheer numbers of fish will blow you away at times. Its reputation is well deserved and attracts anglers from around the world all year long. As a result, it’s also one of the most crowded rivers you’ll find anywhere in the Western US.  However, the majority of anglers fish the upper stretches of the river, leaving much of the lower water to the few that venture that way. And what a difference a few miles can make!

The Big Horn is located a couple hours south of Billings, MT. and is a tail water fishery meandering its way out of the Pryor Mountains out across the northern plains. While not as scenic as the rivers around Bozeman or Missoula, late summer hopper fishing on the Big Horn can be as good as it gets! We head over there every year in mid-August for a few days and are extending our stay this year through the month of August. This is a great time of year to throw streamers in the mornings and hopper fish the rest of the day and the action is typically about as good as you could ever expect.

We do some things different than the majority of the other guide services on the Big Horn and that’s what makes it worthwhile to join up with Fins & Feathers during this period. We get up early and usually do lengthy floats and fish the parts of the river that don’t see as much pressure.  There are typically Tricos and Black Caddis around which can make for some great “match the hatch” dry fly fishing early and late. We’ll usually start off with streamers or nymphs and switch to Hoppers once the sun gets high in the sky. This has been an absolute riot to fish the last few years and 2012 is shaping out to be another great year.

There are several lodging options in the Ft. Smith, MT. area from which we can choose. We typically have guest stay in some cabins near Ft. Smith that have all the essentials, including kitchens and grills for those that want to do their own meals. There are a few restaurants in the area for dinner, but we’re usually on the water before they open for breakfast.  We require a 3 day minimum for these trips at our standard rate of $425 per day. Lodging is typically in the $150 a night per room range and we will be happy to help you arrange something that suits your group. This is a very busy time of year over n the Big Horn, so we like to make these bookings very early to ensure adequate lodging and our schedule.

The available dates for this trip with Fins & Feathers are from August  19-29. You will want to fly into Billings and plan on renting a car for the 2 hour drive down to Ft. Smith. There is a possibility that your guide could meet you in Billings as well, so check for availability. Give us a call at the shop to go over the details on the trip or to make a reservation. If you’ve fished the Big Horn before, chances are that we’ll show you an entirely different experience on a river you might think you know pretty well!