Montana
Plan your visit · Conditions and resources
Yellowtail Afterbay to Bighorn Access
Below Yellowtail Afterbay, the Bighorn runs through open country with broad runs and defined feeding lanes. This page covers the Montana trout tailwater from Afterbay toward Bighorn Access, not the Wyoming Bighorn.
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Dam releases shape the river. Stable-looking weather does not guarantee stable flows or easy wading.
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Seasonal guidance, not a current hatch report.
November
Shorter days and changing weather can shift feeding windows. Avoid spawning beds and match the legal season to the exact river section. Dam releases shape the river. Stable-looking weather does not guarantee stable flows or easy wading.
Midges, mayflies and caddis are useful food families to investigate. Small flies still need a drift that reaches the feeding lane.
Yellowtail Afterbay to Bighorn Access
Begin at established public fishing access sites. Review land boundaries and applicable requirements rather than treating the whole bank as an access corridor.
Plan a launch and takeout at official sites. Afterbay, Three Mile and Bighorn Access are useful planning landmarks; verify site and shuttle conditions before leaving.
Notices are not automatically checked here. A reading or forecast does not mean fishing is open.
Fishing regulations
Review the exact river section, season, species and gear requirements before fishing. Emergency changes can override standing rules.
Getting to the water
Confirm the public route, posted boundaries and current site conditions before choosing a bank outing or float.
From the river
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Official flow source ↗ · Official NWS forecast ↗
Bighorn River below Yellowtail Afterbay Dam · 06287000. Flow is requested hourly from USGS. Temp reported at St. Xavier (06287800), but it is downstream; verify freshness and suitability before use
NWS forecast point: Fort Smith, MT (45.312,-107.935). Source jobs are staggered hourly; low traffic can delay WordPress scheduling. Observation times are shown. Old readings are labeled or hidden by age. Air temperature is never substituted for water temperature.
Seasonal text is editorial guidance. It is not an automated live hatch report. Rules and access notices are not automatically checked. One gauge cannot describe every place on the river.
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