Big South Fork NRRA NPS offers some excellent fishing opportunities,  the Blue Heron to Yamacraw float provides anglers a great oppurtunities to catch Crappies, Walleyes Large Mouth Bass and the emphasis Kentucky small mouth bass.     BSFA Always recommends the following lures,  Rebal Crawdad, various spinner bait and a weedless warm.  However, bring your favorite lures and prove us wrong! ​ This fishing trip starts at the Blue Heron canoe boat ramp and ends at Yamacraw boat ramp. ​ The Big South Fork between Blue Heron and Yamacraw offers excellent fishing, especially in spring. The area just below Devil’s Jump produced smallmouth bass over 21 inches long and in excess of 5 pounds in the past decade. Native walleye also find a home in this stretch. Joe Shoal, located about one mile into the float, holds trophy walleye. Fisheries biologists with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources found walleye over 13 pounds from this shoal in years past. They see many 3-to-5-pound walleye in this section. ​ The Big South Fork usually runs turquoise-clear. Lines heavier than 8-pound test spook fish in water this colorless. Smallmouth bass crush in-line spinners worked above and below riffles. They also strike Rapala-style minnow baits in hues of silver, bone or gold with a black back. These lures work well from Station Camp Canoe Launch to Blue Heron. Knowledgeable local anglers fish crappie minnows behind boulders between Blue Heron and Worley with circle hooks and a few small BB-sized split shots pinched on the line 18-inches above the hook. This presentation produces more trophy smallmouth bass in the Big South Fork than any other. ​ Walleye hit minnows as well, but also like white, pink or neon green curly-tailed grubs rigged on 3/16 and 1/4-ounce lead heads. The strong current of the Big South Fork dictates the use of heavier lead heads than an angler would use in most floatable rivers in Kentucky. ​ A local favorite is 3-to-4-inch chartreuse and silver soft-plastic swim bait available pre-rigged with a lead head embedded in the plastic. This lure produces trophy walleye and smallmouth bass in the section of the river between Blue Heron and Yamacraw. Cast these lures behind boulders and any submerged current break. ​ The snag strewn nature of the Big South Fork means anglers often hang their lures in rocks and boulders. Try and retrieve as many as you can so you don’t leave soft-plastic or lead in the river, but also bring plenty of lures just in case. The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area isn’t nearly as well known as other bordering state rivers such as the New or Gauley in West Virginia or the Meramec or Current in Missouri. The Big South Fork rivals all those in beauty, floating and fishing, but without the crowds. Floats this fall should be spectacular. ​ Campers may use the campgrounds at Station Camp, Blue Heron and Alum Ford in the Big South Fork River and Recreation Area. Paddlers should stop by the visitor’s center just south of Whitley City on KY 92 for more information, or log onto their homepage at www.nps.gov/biso/.