Everett with a great Bow from the Bighorn            Tom with a big Cut from Soda Butte Brown above

Our trip to Montana this year started on July 10th. 2007. We flew into Billings and started our great trip on what I consider to be the best trout river in the world; the "Bighorn". It's only a 95 mile trip from Billings airport to Fort Smith Montana a little town that was developed early in the 1960's for building the yellowtail dam. Now this little town consists of four fly shops, two restaurants, a general store, a post office, and two gas pumps.  This dam is the single most important reason way the Bighorn is what it is today. With a wall of 300 to 450 feet of water behind it (dam) one can understand just how the water being discharged from way down below will always stay so very cold.

For all these wonderful trips of 23 years I have always stayed with my good friends Rhoda and Alvin Blakley the proprietors of Cottonwood camp. This campground has plush cabins and full camping accommodations and just minutes away from the river.
 
I have been very lucky to have been fishing this river for so many years, 23 summers in a row. I have fished it for the most part in the months of July and August, and for two years had gone back again in September. I like going this time of the year because the chance of good dry fly action is always good. There is always something good going on for the dry fly enthusiast. In the early 1980's to late 1990's this time of the year on the Bighorn would always bring great hatches of PMD's, Black Caddis, Gray Drakes, Midges, and very good terrestrial fishing. Now with the drought that has lasted for more than seven years the water levels on the Bighorn and most rivers out west have played a great deal of havoc with these great hatches. We have not seen a good PMD hatch on the Bighorn for all of these years. Again there will always be great dry fly action in some form or other. We can always count on Midges, Chironomidaes, BWO's, terrestrials, and for the most part good prolific hatches of Black Caddis from time to time.

This year was not much different from what I have mentioned from above. The side channels and shelves of both the larger side channels and the main branch produce consistently large Browns and Rainbows. We stayed at the Bighorn for four great days of dry fly action.

That Saturday we left for the Yellowstone Nat'l Park area. We drove from Fort Smith to the Northwest, (Cook City) entrance to the Park by the Beartooth Pass. I haven't done this in many years but I'm sure glad the guys convinced me to go this way. The scenery is just spectacular! It may take a little longer but it is well worth the time spent.

We fished Soda Butte, Lamar, and the Gibbon rivers inside the park. The Soda and Gibbon fished very well. Browns and Cuts all day and evenings. We took fish on BWO's Caddis, and terrestrials.

We fished the park for three days and then headed to Chico's Hot Springs where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. I had booked a full day for four rods on Armstrong's Spring Creek. We started at 9:00am and left around 7:30pm. The PMD's where very prolific from the time we arrived to the time we left. The best imitations after trying many turned out to be size #18 sparkle duns and CDC emergers. These trout where very selective in the beginning but became very obliging to our smaller offerings. Armstrong's now allows only eight rods per/day, it is always a very good time.        
 
Everrt, Tom, and Art all had a great time.

Best Always, Ed www.edlombardoflyfish.com