Welcome to our Bigfork, MT Fishing Home Page
Bigfork, Montana is located at an altitude of 2,900 feet in the mountains of northwest Montana. The town is located on the shores of Flathead Lake where the Swan River flows into the lake. Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi and the lake draws visitors that enjoy fishing, boating and other forms of water recreation. Bigfork is one of the most popular places to visit in Montana. You will find plenty of accommodations here as well as fishing guides.
Primary Species of Fish
A Variety of Trout
There are so many species of fish here in the area rivers and lakes. The primary species of fish are cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout and whitefish. You will find trout in the area rivers, streams and lakes.
Secondary Species of Fish
Northern Pike, Perch & Bass
There are actually good numbers of pike in many of the area waters. For perch fishing, Flathead lake is very good and you can even catch some smallmouth bass there too, but they are there in low numbers.
Area Waters
Flathead Lake
Flathead Lake is the hometown lake for Bigfork. While many anglers prefer to visit this area to go trout fishing in the rivers, the lake can be an exciting place to fish as well. Anglers target a variety of fish here but the main species that you will see the guides fish for are lake trout, whitefish, bull trout, yellow perch and northern pike. Other species of trout are here as well with bass available too.
Flathead River
The Flathead River near Glacier Park is a nice river to fish with some awesome scenery. This is the home town river here. You can catch the pure strain wild westslope cutthroat and bull trout here with some rainbow trout here as well. It’s a good river for numbers with some big fish too.
Blackfoot River
The Blackfoot River is very scenic with its large rock formations, swift rapids and canyons. There are guides that fish this river and the fishing can be very good and the overall trip should be a nice adventure. You will find westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, rainbow trout and cutbows are here too.
Clark Fork River
This is another river that guides fish in the area. This river fishes kind of like 2 different rivers. The upper stretch of this river is known for its excellent brown trout fishery. Rainbow and cutthroats can be caught here too. The lower Clark Fork River is known for its good rainbow trout and cutthrout trout fisheries. You will most likely run into some cutbows and an occasional brown trout too. Whether you choose to fish the upper reaches or the lower section, they both offer some very good fishing opportunities.
Missouri River
This is the river people go to if they are looking for a big fish. The Missouri River has so many fish swimming in it that you can catch good numbers of them with the average size a lot bigger than most of the other rivers and some big fish are considered common here. Rainbow trout and brown trout are both here.
Bitterroot River
This river is another good river with good numbers of fish and some big fish too. Anglers target rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout and you may also catch an occasional brook trout. The upper part of the Bitterroot River is known for its cutthroat trout fishery while the lower section is known more for its rainbow trout and usually bigger fish too.
Swan Lake
This is a deep, cold water lake and it offers anglers some pretty good fishing for rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, whitefish, northern pike and yellow perch.
Other Waters
If you pull up a map of this area, you will see that there is a lot of water here. There are more areas to fish here if you choose. It’s an awesome area to visit and the fishing will keep you busy.