Share your catch

Bighorn Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Bighorn Canyon: the lake runs 71 miles of walleye, trout and thousand-foot canyon walls.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
634 cfs
Air / High
91 / 94 F
Wind
S 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06279500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Bighorn Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The river is running 634 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 14 mph, rising pressure near 1003 hPa and a high of 94. Water sits around 73 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow troutGood

Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Largemouth bassFair

Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 94 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Bighorn River at Kane.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06279500.

520672824634 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp91 F
High / Low94 / 55 F
WindS 14-22 mph
Pressure1002.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:39 / 19:44
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~73 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Clear, 94/55 F, wind 20 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. A 20 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Bighorn Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Bighorn Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Rainbow trout
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 73 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Bighorn Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 90 F, wind to 20 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 87 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Wyoming requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Wyoming or Montana license depending on which state’s water you fish: verify the boundary. Walleye and trout limits differ by state.

Access

Horseshoe Bend (Wyoming) and Ok-A-Beh (Montana) ramps within Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

About this water

A 71-mile reservoir behind Yellowtail Dam through Bighorn Canyon, Big Horn County, Wyoming into Montana.

Fishing Bighorn Lake: the full guide

A lake in a canyon

Bighorn Lake stretches 71 miles from Wyoming into Montana behind Yellowtail Dam, filling the Bighorn Canyon with water beneath walls that rise a thousand feet. The national recreation area protects the whole corridor. The fishery is mixed: walleye and sauger, rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth bass, ling (burbot), yellow perch and catfish.

Walleye and trout

Walleye hold the points, flats and canyon shelves, taking jigs and crawler harnesses with spring and fall the strongest windows. Trout cruise the cooler water and the inflows, trolled with spoons and plugs. The canyon geometry means fishing is vertical and structure-oriented, with limited flat water and dramatic depth changes.

Ling and the seasons

Burbot, known locally as ling, are targeted at night in winter from the ice or shore, a specialty fishery with a devoted following. Smallmouth work the rock through the warm months. Water levels fluctuate with dam operations and irrigation, which changes access at the ramps substantially.

Bighorn Canyon logistics

The national recreation area provides ramps at Horseshoe Bend in Wyoming and Ok-A-Beh in Montana, plus camping. Lovell is the Wyoming base. The canyon is remote and services are minimal: bring supplies. Below Yellowtail Dam, the Bighorn River in Montana is a famous tailwater and a separate destination.

Common questions

Which license do I need?

It depends on which state’s water you fish: the lake spans Wyoming and Montana. Verify the boundary.

What is ling?

The local name for burbot, targeted at night in winter: a specialty fishery with a devoted following.

Is the canyon scenic?

Exceptionally: walls rise a thousand feet from the water through the national recreation area.

Is fishing good at Bighorn Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Bighorn Lake16 miBighorn River93 miBoulder River105 miBoysen Reservoir109 miOcean Lake119 miWind River120 mi
Share your catch