Bighorn Lake

Bighorn Lake
Southwestern part
Location of Bighorn Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Bighorn Lake in Montana, USA.
Bighorn Lake
Location of Bighorn Lake in Montana, USA.
Location of Bighorn Lake in Montana, USA.
Bighorn Lake
LocationBig Horn / Carbon counties in Montana; and Big Horn County in Wyoming
Coordinates45°18′28″N 107°57′27″W / 45.30778°N 107.95750°W / 45.30778; -107.95750
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsBighorn River
Primary outflowsBighorn River
Catchment area20,000 square miles (50,000 km2)
Basin countriesUnited States

Bighorn Lake is a reservoir behind Yellowtail Dam within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, located in northern Wyoming and extending into southern Montana.[1]

Geography

Eastern section of Bighorn Lake reservoir in Bighorn Canyon.

The reservoir is 40 mi (64 km) south of Billings, Montana. It stretches the entire 72 mi (115 km) length of the Bighorn Canyon at full pool. The Lake was created by the 1965 construction of Yellowtail Dam on the Bighorn River, near Fort Smith, Montana.[2]

Fishing

Bighorn Lake has a surface area of 5574 acres, because of the dam, streamflow in the river is relatively stable with little daily fluctuation. Bighorn Lake supports a warmwater fishery.[3]

Fish species within the lake
Species Family Class Native to MT
Black Bullhead Catfish Warmwater Introduced
Black Crappie Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
Brook Trout Trout Coldwater Introduced
Brown Trout Trout Coldwater Introduced
Burbot Codfish Coldwater Native
Channel Catfish Catfish Warmwater Native
Common Carp Minnow Warmwater Introduced
Emerald Shiner Minnow Warmwater Native
Fathead Minnow Minnow Warmwater Native
Flathead Chub Minnow Warmwater Native
Green Sunfish Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
Largemouth Bass Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
Longnose Dace Minnow Warmwater Native
Longnose Sucker Sucker Warmwater Native
Mountain Whitefish Trout Coldwater Native
Plains Minnow Minnow Warmwater Native
Pumpkinseed Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
Rainbow Trout Trout Coldwater Introduced
River Carpsucker Sucker Warmwater Native
Sauger Perch Warmwater Native
Shorthead Redhorse Sucker Warmwater Native
Shovelnose Sturgeon Sturgeon Warmwater Native
Smallmouth Bass Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
Spottail Shiner Minnow Warmwater Introduced
Stonecat Catfish Native
Walleye Perch Warmwater Introduced
Western Silvery Minnow Minnow Warmwater Native
White Crappie Sunfish Warmwater Introduced
White Sucker Sucker Warmwater Native
Yellow Perch Perch Warmwater Introduced

References

  1. ^ "National Park Service- Bighorn Canyon".
  2. ^ "National Park Foundation- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area".
  3. ^ "FISHMT :: Waterbody Details". myfwp.mt.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-13.

See also


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