I'm in the process of trying to help my son and three of his buddies plan a week long trip to the Bighorn to celebrate their high school graduation. In the past whenever I have taken a multi-day trip to a new river I have hired a guide for a wade trip the first day to get the lay of the land, learn which flies to buy/tie, how to rig up and, most importantly, where the wade access points are and the general areas to concentrate on over the course of my next few days of fishing. As it turns out no one on the Bighorn does wade trips.

So now I'm faced with the prospect of arranging two guides (big $$$$ for kids with limited budgets) for their first day to learn the flies and techniques, while seeing a LOT of water they will never be able to get to, or letting them fly blind? :scratch: I see that there are quite a few places in the area that will rent boats - Is the water calm enough that 4 totally inexperienced 17/18 yr olds could manage a drift boat from put in to take out (one of the guys is going to college on a football scholarship so I think they would have the physical strength to handle the boat but obviously none of the skills). Are the take outs marked clearly enough that someone who has never been on the river before could find it? If they happen to miss the take out how far to the next and are they looking at potentially dangerous water if they miss it? Do you need a boat to fish the Bighorn or can you reach a reasonable amount of good fishing by wading?

How is the wade access in terms of numbers and crowds? I've seen the ones identified on the fly shop maps, are there just the three (probably getting into a touchy area here I realize so feel free to e-mail me if you'd like).

Any other tips you can offer to ensure that my son and his friends have #1) a SAFE trip, #2) have fun and catch FISH, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Mark