Book your trip on the Big Horn River in Wyoming.
The Bighorn River below Boysen Reservoir near Thermopolis is one of the most productive trout tailwaters in the American West, and one of the least-talked-about. The Montana section downstream gets the crowds and the magazine covers. The Wyoming section does not. What it has instead is cold, clean water year-round, trout counts that rival any river in the Rockies, and eight miles of public float water between the dam and the town of Thermopolis with room to actually fish.
We guide the Wyoming Bighorn as a full-day float trip from July through October. It is a good fit for anglers who have fished the Snake or the Green with us and want to try something different, or for clients planning a multi-day trip across Wyoming. The scenery alone is worth the drive: red rock canyon walls, natural hot springs along the banks, and bald eagles working the river from the cottonwoods.
The tailwater starts at Boysen Dam (Wedding of the Waters) and runs roughly eight miles through the Wind River Canyon before reaching Thermopolis. We run full-day floats on this stretch, with put-ins and take-outs at public boat ramps. Drive time from Jackson is roughly four hours, so this trip works best as a standalone day or as part of a multi-day Wyoming fishing itinerary.
Key Bighorn River Hatches (for the text below the chart): Midges hatch year-round. Baetis (blue-winged olives) come off in spring and fall. PMDs run heavy from mid-July through August. Caddis activity peaks August-October. Tricos dominate August mornings. Yellow sallies show in July. Streamer fishing is strongest from September into October.
