Bighorn River · access
South-central Montana, United States · United States
- Afterbay Dam accessWalk-in water right below the dam; expect 10–20 anglers on a spring weekend.
- Three Mile FASBoat ramp and the best walk-and-wade boulder flats on the river.
- Bighorn Access FASThe lower end of the special-regulations water; take-out for the classic 21 km float.
Licence and rules
Licence and rules. The Afterbay-to-Bighorn-Access stretch is catch-and-release with artificial lures only; barbless hooks are strongly encouraged and required on some state water. Montana nonresident licences are sold by the season, by 10 days and by 2 days; the two-day version is the practical choice for a float trip. The Crow Reservation boundary is marked — drifting past it without a tribal permit is a real offence, not a technicality.
Season
A winter fishery as much as a summer one; the river is at its most consistent from November to March
Flow
2,500–3,500 cfs in the 21 km catch-and-release stretch; winter flows hold near 2,000 cfs
Yellowtail is a flood-control and power dam, so winter releases are small and stable and summer releases follow irrigation demand. The practical rule: below 2,000 cfs the river fishes like a wadeable stream, above 4,000 cfs the gravel bars go under and the fish move to the bank. Water temperature stays between 5°C and 12°C, so the fish feed all winter.