Bigfork River info request

[mjollnir]

Hello,

We are planning at least a two day float on the Bigfork in a couple of weeks. The exact section(s) of the river have not been finalized. Looking for folks to chime in with opinions and experience. We were thinking of putting in @ Little American Falls or somewhere on Hwy. 6. Camping a night or two and hoping to catch some 'eyes and a muskie.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Scott M]

Welcome to HSO mjollnir.

Floating the Bigfork River thread

[memyself@I]

Bring bug dope for sure. One thing nice about the river is its a natural travel corridor for wildlife, so bring a camera. You just never know what you'll see. I am no expert at river fishing, I lived on the river at Big Falls for 10 years. But I have fished it.

Fish the pools (deeper water pockets)if the river is low and slow. Bring a flasher or simple graph if you have one, you don't need anything fancy. Current, eddies below rapids (like little american or big falls) can be good too. Be prepared to lose tackle. Rapalas or similar lures of all sizes and types are good. You should have a great chance at decent sized northerns. I do not know if there are smallies that far up, I know from Big Falls to the Rainy has a lot of smallies now.

Have fun and let us know how you did.

[mjollnir]

Thanks for the reply. I've heard from a few guys with experience that they don't even want to go until Fall due to the bugs. This is Minnesota dammit, I won't let bugs deter me from a great adventure (famous last words?). I'm planning to have my thermacell, plenty of bug dope and perhaps even a head net.

We're now thinking that we'll float from Hwy 6 downstream from Little American Falls back to Hwy 6. Word is the fishing should be good in this section even if the float looks to be rather uneventful, except for the bugs. I like to shoot a rapid or two while on the river, but I'd rather catch fish. Never hooked (or fished for) a muskie before and thinking the first from a canoe would be a good thing.

Hopefully, I'll have a good report when we return.

[mjollnir]

Thought I should check back in to give the report.

Water level was low and the float was slow.

Weather was hot and humid which meant lots of breaks to swim and cool down. We caught several muskies from 31 to 41 inches along with a few northerns and walleyes to boot. The water temp was as high as 80degrees so I think that slowed down the action.

We spent the night @ the Easy Half campsite and it was nice.

Other than the deer flies, the bugs were not bad surprisingly. I would do this float again but think we'll explore another section of the river next year.

Tight lines all.

[Scott M]

Great report and thanks for sharing! Sadly I still haven't made this trip happen, but mark my words it'll materialize in the next few years. I need to get my uncle's canoe hauled up to the family cabin in Bigfork because he won't ever get it done.

[Stick in Mud]

Great report, and glad to hear you got into some muskies. I keep hoping to plan some more trips up there, but...the bugs...and the Mississippi keep me away.