Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

Norfork Lake along with the majority of the country, in my opinion, is in constant weather change. After a frontal system rolls through our area it typically takes a day or two for the fish to get active again. Once this happens the fish feed with a frenzy, but then we have a new system roll through to start the cycle all over again. I will be the first to admit that I am really ready for spring to get here. I am totally tired of the cold weather and need a little consistent warmth for my fishing days. :-)  Last Saturday, I found fish feeding heavily in 44 - 48 feet of water on a large flat in the Cranfield area. I did not get out until late morning due to the below freezing temperature early, but once it reached around 29 degrees I headed out. The fish stuck around until mid afternoon and I got to land well over 40 fish between hybrid bass, striped bass and white bass. Vertical jigging with a 1/2 to a 1 ounce spoon was my bait of choice. I was also casting out a 1/2 ounce blade bait with a feather trailer and landed some nice fish with it. Once the fish leave the flats they tend to scatter through out the deeper water, staying suspended 30 - 50 feet down. You will still catch fish, but not necessarily the numbers.

Crappie fishing has been fairly good as of late, but still the frontal systems have affected their bite. I have landed some really nice slabs 30 feet down near the sunken brush piles. I typically use a 1/4 ounce spoon and jig it very slowly in and around the brush piles on the bottom. Live bait with a slip float or a minnow tipped to a small curly or paddle tail grub will work great.

The big white bass that I have been catching are full of eggs. I would assume they are staging for their upcoming spawn, which will happen shortly. The males should be way back in the creeks or up river in the shallower water awaiting the right timing and water temperature. Bennett's Bayou is a great place to get into the white bass run or up river around the AR/MO border. They also tend to head back into some of the larger creeks and coves.

Walleye should also be gearing up for their spawn. February is usually the time for this to occur. The AR/MO border area is a good area to find the spawning and pre-spawning fish. If we can get some nice weather, the first hour before sunrise and an hour before and after sunset are great times to fish for walleye in shallow water. Throw a suspending rogue or use soft plastic swim baits.

Norfork Lake level is on a slow rise and currently sits at 561.92 feet. This is approximately 8 feet over normal seasonal pool. The surface water temperature ranges from 43 - 46 degrees depending on your location and time of day. The main lake has a greenish stain along with most of creeks and coves. The water clarity heading up in the Bennett's area is stained brown as is up river once you're past the Cranfield area. A lot of the brown water has dropped out and the remainder will follow suit quickly.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort - 870-492-5113

It has been a while since I have posted a report on Norfork Lake, but after another visit to see the grandkids, I am back fishing and the fishing has been pretty good. One of the best things about Norfork Lake is the diversity in fish species. If you have followed my reports you know I love to fish for striped bass, hybrid bass and white bass, but if the bite is slow for these species you can switch up and go bass fishing, crappie fishing, walleye fishing or catfishing.

The white bass bite continues to be outstanding. You can find white bass on the large flats. A couple flats I have fished over the last week are the Cranfield Island flat and the flat east of Howard Cove (locally named Big Sandy) and at times the 101 bridge flat. The best depths have been from 35 - 55 feet of water and the fish are at all depths. Feeding with the whites are hybrid bass and striped bass. Vertical jigging a spoon or casting out a blade type bait, such as a Kastmaster, are both working well for me. Most days you can catch a boat full, but of course the changing weather patterns affect the bite of all species. I have also had luck finding and catching a few nice striped bass in deeper water. I have found scattered stripers on the deep flats outside of deep water channels. These fish have been 40 - 50 deep and I typically only see a few fish at a time. Several nice size stripers have been caught by jigging a spoon, as well as, by trolling an umbrella rig.

The crappie bite has also been good over the last week. The best location for crappie are inside one of the newly refurbished Arkansas Game & Fish Commission's fish attractors. I don't remember the exact number, but this group did an incredible job of refurbishing roughly 180 sites on Norfork Lake. I can personally attest that these new brush piles are holding big fish and not just crappie. The crappie that I have caught have been at the bottom of the brush in about 30 feet of water. They do tend to come up off the bottom in the late afternoon following the bait. I have been using a 1/4 spoon to catch my crappie, but small grubs (you can tip it with a crappie minnow) are working as well. You can also use live bait with a slip float to catch your fish.

The largemouth and spotted bass bite has also been very good over the last week. The bass I have caught are also buried in the brush. The depth of the fish changes daily and lately 40 feet has been the magic number, but this afternoon I caught several 30 feet down on the bottom. Deep diving crank baits, as well as, plastics are working well. Lure action has been the best on the points of bluff line walls or where the bluff wall changes to chunk rock.

Norfork Lake level is falling slowly when the dam is generating and currently sits at 553.98. This level is slightly higher than the current normal seasonal pool. Most of the lake is somewhat stained, but I can see that the main lake is starting to clear nicely. The surface water temperature this morning ranged from 45 to 47 degrees depending on where I was fishing. I covered a lot of water this morning. I started in the Cranfield area then headed back to the Howard Cove area, then moved farther back into Bennents by Fouts Marina. I caught some fish everywhere I fished, mainly white bass and largemouth bass.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.