Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The sun has been shining and the air temperature has been in the 50's on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. The fishing was really good today for bass. I couldn't keep myself off the lake so I worked on my remodel job till noon, then decided I earned time off, and took off for the water. I started fishing for striped bass with little success, I ended up catching one diaper striper (only 18 inches long). We definitely have a shad kill going on. I saw dead and distressed small shad everywhere that I went today. I fished the Henderson area, then Float Creek, then Panther Creek. I was marking a ton of bait fish, but very few large arcs. The bait is anywhere from the surface to 60 feet down. Maybe the stripers are totally full with all the easy pickens. The sea gulls were just having a feast.

After trying for striper I headed back to a few of my brush piles. I ended up catching 4 largemouth from 14 to 20 inches long. The 20 incher was a monster and very fat. I also caught 2 nice Kentucky bass both 15 inches and also 2 small but keeper size crappie. All fish got their freedom as the spawn is just around the corner. The bass were fat and aggressive once I hooked them. I was throwing a grub tipped with a crappie minnow and was also vertical jigging with a 1/8 ounce spoon. To get bite I was barely jigging the spoon. Over half the fish hit the spoon when it was just lying on the bottom. Both crappie hit the grub on the fall.

If you are a river fisherman, this is the time to head to the tail waters at both dams. The dead shad will wash though the generators into the river. This will create a feeding frenzy with the trout. I haven't tried it myself, yet, but I hear it is a blast.

The Norfork Lake level is dropping very slowly and is at 552.32, almost normal pool. The Corps is running generators sporadically during the day. The surface water temperature was around 43 degrees in the main lake and slightly warmer in creeks. The lake is slightly stained but appears to be clearing. This clearing will continue unless we get the rain they are forecasting.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.