Yellowtail Dam - Recreation

Recreation

Although unplanned for, by regulating the flow of the Bighorn River and releasing cooler water from the bottom of Bighorn Lake, the Yellowtail Dam has created one of the finest wild trout fisheries in the United States in the slightly more than 110 miles (180 km) of river downstream. However, the dam has significantly changed the native riverine habitat downstream as well – cutting off the supply of sediments, which once created islands and sandbars in the Bighorn's winding lower course. Nevertheless, the combination of cold, fast-flowing water and abundant nutrients creates an ideal trout habitat; the average length of a trout caught in the lower Bighorn is 14 inches (36 cm), while the record was a 16-pound (7.3 kg) rainbow trout 29 inches (74 cm) long.

In recent years there has been controversy between Montana and Wyoming over whether more water should be kept in Bighorn Lake for boating and water-skiing uses (almost two-thirds of the surface area of Bighorn Lake is in Wyoming), or released from the dam to maintain the trout fishery downstream. Because of a long and ongoing drought in the western United States, Reclamation has reduced the amount of water below the Yellowtail Dam from 2,500 cubic feet per second (71 m3/s) to 2,000 cubic feet per second (57 m3/s). The lower flows have led to unhealthy trout populations in turn causing the fishing industry on the lower Bighorn to decline by over 40 percent. However, low water levels in the lake have caused recreational usage in Wyoming to drop more than 60%. In an attempt to reduce tensions between the two states Reclamation has agreed to keep the lake at a higher level while maintaining at least 1,500 cubic feet per second (42 m3/s) of flow below the dam.