The Big Hole is mainly known for two things: big browns and the salmon fly hatch. We’d be happy to put you into both.
High in the pines to the desert cliffs
The Big Hole starts high in the pines of the Big Hole Valley, meanders north through willows at the feet of the Beaverhead, Pioneer and Pintler mountains, flows east through a mountain canyon into bouldered pocket water, then south into braided cottonwood bottoms at the edge of desert cliffs before making a dogleg to the east into even more braids, bigger water and eventually the Jefferson River.
The diversity of the landscapes and water on the Big Hole is why this river is such a favorite, even for guys like us who have floated and fished it hundreds of times.
Big browns and salmon fly hatches
The Big Hole is mainly known for two things: big browns and the salmon fly hatch. We’d be happy to put you into both, but there is so much more to the Big Hole that demands your attention. How many rivers give you the chance to catch browns, rainbows, cutthroat and even grayling?
We highly recommend fishing the Big Hole from early spring (March) through July, and we can nearly guarantee dynamite fishing anywhere in between.
From epic spring streamer fishing to the salmon fly and caddis frenzies of summer, the Big Hole will scratch any angler’s itch you might have.