To all those that will be traveling to Mountain Home for the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Pro-Am fishing tournament on Norfork Lake, have a safe trip to the area. I predict it will be a great tournament with many fish being caught. Have a great time.
The black bass pattern is still very similar to my last report. You will find largemouth and smallmouth bass around brush piles in 20 - 30 feet of water. Also fish along deep bluff lines as the sun comes up, the fish are hanging on the ledges. The biggest change is that you will also find the fish back in the creeks and coves following the shad. I fished a jointed shad rap for a while yesterday late morning and had success on main lake points working the windy side. Most of the fish I caught were short, but I did catch one keeper. There has been some top water action as the sun rises and also as it sets. Most of the fish I have caught have been the small ones. I believe the big boys are staying deep waiting for cooler water. The baits of choice are still jigs worked slowly on the bottom. Cast to about 10 feet of water, let it sink to the bottom and work it though 30 feet of water before bringing it back to the boat. Spinner baits and crank baits are starting to produce some fish, but again mostly short ones.
Yesterday I found schooling crappie off of a rocky bank inside of a cove. I was spooning in about 30 feet of water and saw a lot of bait on the bottom. Each time I dropped my spoon (1 oz. green and white) a crappie would hammer the bait. I ended up catching 4 nice nice crappie before I lost the school. The two fish in the photo swallowed the treble hook so I ended up keeping them. The others were released. I also caught two fat walleye in the same area, but they were only 17 inches long. I have also caught a few crappie on brush piles in 25 - 35 feet of water. The crappie are getting very active so if you are targeting crappie it might be a good time to plan a trip.
Striped bass fishing is still up and down. Last Saturday Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters had a good trip with Kari and Robert Bahus. They were fishing up north with live shad. Yesterday I fished the same area and only had one fish on that broke off and another pull down and release. I fished for about 3 hours with only the two bites then decided to do a little bass fishing. With the cooling of the water and the turn-over of the lake, I expect very soon the stripers to turn on with a vengeance. I hope!!!
The Norfork Lake level is fairly stable with intermittent generation and currently sits at 570.56. The lake has dropped about 1 feet in the last two weeks. The lake surface water temperature has fallen to the mid to upper 60's. The main lake is fairly clear with the creeks and coves starting to clear.
On a final note the weather forecast for tomorrow is for some rain and cooler temperatures. By the weekend it is forecast for sunny skies with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. Great weather for fishing or just viewing the surrounding scenery. Another great fall weekend is in store for us so call for reservations, you don't want to missed out on this beautiful fall weather at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort.
Happy fishing and see you on the lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment