The Bighorn You Don’t Know

Dry-fly paradise on a rarely fished stretch of river near Thermopolis, Wyoming.

by John Schwalbe

Presentation | Brown Trout | Rainbow Trout | Rockies

When you think about the Bighorn River, you probably think about the famous stretch of trout water near Fort Smith, Montana. What you may not know is that there is another outstanding tailwater fishery more than 100 miles upstream near the small town of Thermopolis, Wyoming.

Known as one of the many hangouts of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch, the mineral hot springs of Thermopolis make the town a pleasant rest stop for tourists on their way to nearby Yellowstone National Park. The few anglers that do know about the fishing revere it for its solitude, large brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout, and excellent spring and fall dry-fly fishing.

The Bighorn River officially begins at a place known as the “Wedding of the Waters.” At this otherwise insignificant spot, the Wind River becomes the Bighorn River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition named the northern (lower) reaches of the river the Bighorn River, while native Americans called the upper reaches the Wind River. Both names seem to have stuck.

The fantastic fishing actually begins on the Wind River below Boysen Reservoir, 15 miles upstream of the Wedding of the Waters. Known as the Wind River Canyon, this scenic stretch of water holds large trout in its deep, bouldery runs. Roadside access is unlimited for anglers with a Wind River Indian Reservation fishing permit.

The terrain changes drastically as the river leaves the 2,000-foot rock walls of the canyon and winds through the red cliffs and farmland on the outskirts of Thermopolis. The river flows north 130 miles to Montana’s Yellowtail Reservoir, but only Wind River Canyon and the first 20 miles downstream from the Wedding of the Waters, remains cold enough year-round to support trout. This world-class fishery is open all year and offers some of the best dry-fly, streamer, and nymph fishing in the West.

Public Access

Wyoming landowners can own and control access to the riverbed and anglers cannot wade or anchor a boat on private water. Fortunately, most of the Bighorn River near Thermopolis is owned by the municipality and if you wade out from any public access, you may walk upstream or downstream and fish as long as you stay below the high-water mark. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has designated several fishing access points and easements over private lands to access the river.

The first one is the boat ramp on Highway 20 at the Wedding of the Waters; several other downstream locations are marked with signs along Highways 20 and 172.

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