Bighorn River Fishing Report 092425: Cool Temps, Stable Flows, and Trophy Trout on the Bite

Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure coming to you with the Big Horn, Montana, fishing report for September 24th, 2025—a fine early fall day shaping up on the river! Today’s weather is the kind of cool and crisp we’ve come to expect as autumn settles into the Bighorn Valley. Early risers woke up to temperatures in the upper 40s. Forecasts from Cowboy State Daily say we’ll see highs nudging just past 68 degrees, with clear skies and a light breeze out of the northwest. You’ll want a jacket for the boat ride at dawn, but layers are coming off by the afternoon. Sunrise painted the canyon walls at 6:57 AM this morning, and anglers can expect enough light to cast until around 7:03 PM, when the sun slips behind the ridges. Now, while we’re a long cast from the coast and don’t deal with tides out here, water flow on the Bighorn is a big deal. Consistent dam releases have kept the river in prime shape—steady flows, just a touch above the seasonal average, and visibility’s holding up even after last week’s brief storm. According to local guides, the river’s running clear; water temps hover just below 60°F, which is right in that sweet spot for trout feeding activity. Fishing’s been hot the past week, with the best action concentrated during the mid-morning and then again late afternoon as water temps climb. Reports from Bighorn Canyon to the Afterbay Dam show strong numbers of brown and rainbow trout—most fish in the 14 to 20-inch range, but a few heavy browns in the upper 20s have been pulled from deeper pools. The fly selection is classic fall. Folks wading the side channels have done well swinging small olive and black woolly buggers and stripping leeches near structure. The grasshopper bite is hanging on but fading—fish are still taking tan or yellow hoppers cast tight to the banks midday. Subsurface, nymphing with sowbugs and midge patterns under an indicator remains steady; pink soft hackles have been a sleeper hit all week, especially near the Three Mile stretch. Spin anglers drifting from boat have scored brown trout on Panther Martins in gold and black. Don’t overlook a simple copper spoon; it’s landed several of the week’s biggest rainbows. Natural baits like nightcrawlers or a well-placed salmon egg also remain a top pick when trout get finicky. According to local outfitters, it’s been a couple years since they’ve seen so many healthy, hard-fighting fish in these waters. For bait setups, copper spring baskets filled with a mixture of salmon eggs and nightcrawlers have fooled a handful of nice trout lately, especially in deeper slow-moving pockets where the heavy fish lie low. Let’s talk hot spots. The Afterbay to Three Mile stretch continues to be the river’s bread and butter—nice riffles, undercut banks, and deep holes are giving up solid numbers. If you’re searching for a shot at a real trophy, drift your nymphs through the fast runs at Bighorn Access or quietly walk the gravel bars further upriver near Soap Creek. Both have b This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.