Fort Smith Fly Shop Cottages Overlooking The Big Horn River
(click for Larger Version of Picture)

The closest town to Yellowtail Reservoir is Fort Smith. Fort Smith you might recall was one of Custer's re-supply points while he was trying to round up all the Sioux and Cherokee to take them to the Oklahoma reservations. Don't blink as you drive through Fort Smith or you'll miss it. There are two fly shops in Fort Smith and 6 or 7 outfitters. There is an aura of tolerance between the Indians and the non-indians in this reservation town. Although the non-indians complain regularly about the Indians getting a free ride. They pay no taxes for one thing. I need to look into changing nationalities. You can stay at one of the outfitters or there are a couple cheap hotels in town. You can also stay over in Hardin which is about 30 minutes away. We stayed with Ellyn Nadeau and Mike Mastrangelo who run Fort Smith Fly Shop. They provide a complete service including lodging, meals, guides, and boat rentals. The food was excellent and plentiful - full breakfast and dinner with a sandwich shore lunch every day. Here's their contact: 2flyfish@nemontel.net or phone 406-666-2550.

You can rent your own drift boat or hire a guide to row it for you. The fish seemed to be pretty much where you would expect them but they were a little picky about which fly they wanted and where they wanted to eat. There are essentially two float sections. The most popular is the first 3 - 4 miles below the dam. The second is a longer stretch that has the bank rip rapped with the old cars. The upper section holds more fish but you'll see fewer people down below. Mike says they can fish the Bighorn all year round although the fish get a little slow moving in the dead of winter. We heard sandhill cranes each evening as we enjoyed a beer on the deck. We saw owls, several species of hawks, doves, chukars, lots of ducks and mergansers, and a river otter. All in all I have to say I did enjoy the Bighorn and it's larger than normal trout. But I wish I would have given those carp a try. There's always next time.