Forresters’s Bighorn Fishing and Wingshooting Blog

*Current Report*

Excellent Dry Fly Fishing and Nymph Fishing

*View of the Aquarium* – from my office

Not much boat traffic over  Mothers Day Weekend .  Not as busy between 8 am and  1pm, on upper 1 mile.

*Best Techniques*

From 11a.m. – Till dark look carefully for quiet rises along slick edges of riffles and quiet flats. Rising fish may not be visible from all angles. Patience may pay off as you may see only sporadic rises for BWO’s but fish will continue to look for them. The steadier rises may require matching size of bugs closely; otherwise try a size or two bigger. Also try BWO pattern for midging fish, they sometimes look for them all day. Best to approach from below, but adjust your position for current and lighting. Nymphing w/indicator in shallow water has been extremely productive. Start light and use stealthy indicators. Look for shelves with slow to moderate current and soft edges of riffles. Also seams along heavy water for biggest fish. Adjusting weight and length of rig is important to keep your fly close to the bottom.  Mending carefully to keep it drag free will get the most action, look closely as strikes are mostly very subtle, any pause or twitch deserves a response.  From 7 pm till Dark (8:45pm) Midges are creating pods of feeding fish.

*One-Week Fishing Forecast*

The forecast is for warmer days with slight chance of rain each day. Some overcast each day which should be good for the hatches. Today very windy with gust up to 40mph. Looks to diminish tonight . Winds forecast for the rest of the week between 0 to 12 mph.

*River Sections*

0 to 3 mile Access – Good Dry Fly Fishing – Great Nymphing

3 to Bighorn Access – Good Dry Fly activity, great nymphing, best bet for streamers. Soap Creek affecting  the water clarity where it enters the river the farther you go down to 13 mile (Bighorn Access) the more it is affected..

Bighorn Access to Mallards Landing – Not much due to water clarity, Nymph fishing is hard.

*Hatch Info*

Peak hatch times 1pm-3pm for BWO’s and 7pm til dark for midges. BWO patterns still effective over some midging fish.
*Hot Fly Patterns*

Olive Comparadun size 20, Griffiths Gnat size 20-22, Black Midge 22-24,

Black and red Midges in both warped and bead head size 18-20. Brassies
Red In 18-20. Black Quills in 18-20, Ray Charles in orange, pink, gray or
tan (16-18), Soft Hackle Sowbugs in tan, gray, or pink (14 16 and 18)
Scuds in brown (16-18), Baetis Wonder Nymph in 18-20, Red Midge Larva in 16-20, Black Zebra Midge in 18-20, Pheasant Tail in 18-20, Worm wax or wire wrap in red, orange, and 2 tone in

 
*River Flows*

Pool Elevation is 3621.3 Feet
Pool Elevation to Fill 18.7 Feet
Reservoir Storage is 883420. Acre-Feet
Reservoir Storage to Fill 186609.0 Acre-Feet
Reservoir Inflow is 3366.0 CFS
Reservoir Outflow is 3405.9 CFS
Reservoir Active Conservation Pool is 82.6 % Full
Reservoir Flood/Surcharge Control Pool is 0.0 % Full
Mean Daily Flow Below Afterbay Flow is 3522.4 CFS
Mean Daily Canal Diversion is 116.8 CFS
Mean Daily Total Flow at Afterbay is 3639.2 CFS
Current Flow Below Afterbay is 3431.8 CFS
Current Canal Diversion is 116.8 CFS
Current total Flow at Afterbay is 3548.6 CFS

*Water Temperature*
40 degrees at the After bay 41 degrees at 3 mile.