Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


If you can brave the cooler air temperature the fish are really biting well this winter on Norfork Lake. This is the time of year the trophies are caught.

What a fantastic and exciting day these three Hummingbird Hideaway Resort guests had today on Norfork Lake. They ended up with 3 limits of striped bass and released 6 others. These fish were all about 11 - 12 pounds but fought like 40 pound fish. They were all caught in 60 feet depths suspended 25 - 40 feet down. Large live shiners were the bait of choice. The best part is that they only had to travel 5 - 10 minutes away from the resort.

The Kentucky bass are schooling on the bluff line points in 30 - 45 feet of water and biting well on shiners. Vertical jigging with a spoon is also working for the Kentucky bass. Find brush piles in the same areas and the bite will even be better. Walleye and crappie are in the same area. Yesterday afternoon I ended up with 4 nice Kentucky's and lost 2 others. Today another guest visiting from Wisconsin, caught a nice crappie, two under size walleye and several nice bass.

The Winter bite has started!!

The Norfork Lake level is 559.8 and fairly stable. The Corps is starting to generate again with one generator intermittantly throughout the day. The lake surface water temperature is 47 - 49 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are stained.

Happy fishing, dress warmly and I'll see you on the lake!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I want to wish all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Hope your fishing trips are frequent and full of big fish.

Bass fishing has been great lately. Norfork Lake is becoming a premier bass lake. I think the last several years of high water during the spawn has improved the quality and quantity of fish in this lake. The bass are still in deep water, 35 - 45 feet, and close to brush piles. The photo is of my yesterday catch. I missed more bites than I caught. They are hitting real light. When you check in, ask where I have placed large cedar trees. I have been vertical jigging with a spoon and also using live shiners. One of my guests was using a Berkley Gulp minnow on a jig and caught several nice largemouth and Kentucky bass. He also hooked into a couple of nice catfish.

Winter striper fishing has been going good. A few of my guide friends have been limiting out with nice fish. They are currently located near the 62 bridge to the Bidwell area. This is winter so the fish are moving, but it does seem that they are staying on this end of the lake. Live shiners are working well and you can also catch them with spoons once you find the school.

Crappie are starting to bite. I have spooned up a few and a friend is using live minnows and starting to have luck catching crappie during various times of the day. The best bite seems to be close to dark. My favorite crappie bait, a 2 - 3 inch twister tail grub tipped with a live minnow should start working soon. Winter crappie fishing is really fun, but of course I try and wait until the afternoons are in the 40 degree range.

The Norfork Lake level is still falling and currently is at 558.38. The surface temperature water has risen slightly and is at 51.5 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are still stained.

Happy holiday to all and have a safe and Merry Christmas.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Reprt

The weather has been really nice the last couple of afternoons. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be even nicer. I fished yesterday afternoon until dark. I started in our cove looking for crappie but had no luck at all. For an hour I tried all the tricks I know, but could not get them to bite. I moved over a few coves closer to the bridges and fished the main lake points where I have sunken brush. I started to vertical jig with a 1 ounce green and white spoon with no luck. I tied on a 3/4 ounce white spoon and this was the ticket. I didn't get crappie, but wasn't really expecting them at this spot. I caught 5 bass, mixed largemouth and Kentucky. Two were keeper size. I also caught the largest white bass that I have caught on Norfork Lake. When I first saw its football shaped body I thought it was a hybrid. My fish were caught in 30 - 40 feet of water bouncing the spoon off the bottom. If you see suspended fish reel up though them real fast and usually the fish will attack the spoon. As for the crappie, I was marking fish over the brush, but couldn't get them to bite. I think it is only a matter of time until the winter crappie bite starts. The water temp is almost there.

The striped bass are still scattered. This is their normal winter pattern. They are located anywhere from Bidwell area to 6A and also from the 101 bridge to the Red Bank area. You can usually find them suspended at 40 feet in 60 to 120 feet of water.

The surface water temperature on Norfork Lake is in the 50 - 51 degree range. I am looking for the high forties to help the crappie bite. The water is clear in the main lake and still stained in the creeks due to the quick draw down of the lake. The Norfork Lake water level is 559.4 and falling about 5 inches per day. They have the flood gates closed and are only generating. It should take another couple of weeks for the lake to be at normal pool.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The forecasted weather indicates that it's going to warm up a bit on Norfork Lake. I went out fishing this morning and found that it was a little colder than I thought it would be. I guess I better layer my clothes a little more for early morning fishing trips. I started out fishing for striped bass and marked many big arcs, but nothing hit my baits. I had two shiners down and was also vertical jigging. I was fishing in the Bidwell area. One of my neighbors caught an 8 pounder this morning, just shortly after I left. I headed back to the 101 area and was fishing a point leading into the boat dock. I caught one nice Kentucky bass along with a smaller one, both were keeper size. I also caught two undersized largemouth bass, a 14 inch walleye and two white bass. This was the forth walleye I've caught over the last week and this is the biggest so far. I guess I am working my way up to the keeper size fish.

The striped bass are anywhere from 50 feet of water to the deep channel, but they are suspended at about 40 feet. The Kentucky's and largemouth were caught in 30 - 40 feet of water sitting on the bottom. The white bass are in the same areas up to 50 feet down and also on the bottom.

The Norfork Lake surface temperature was 54 - 56 degrees. The Norfork Lake level was 565.9, falling about 6 - 10 inches per day. The Corp. has dropped the lake about 6 feet since the first of December. They are attempting to bring the lake back to normal pool of 552. The main lake is clear and the coves and creeks are stained due to the rapid decline of the lake.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you had a great day of family fun and relaxation and of course lots of food.

I fished for about an hour and a half Wednesday afternoon and then again this afternoon. I caught 10 nice size white bass on Wednesday and 8 more today, all in 40 - 42 feet of water. I was vertical jigging with a spoon. I didn't go far, in fact I didn't even crank my engine over. I used my trolling motor and stayed close to our dock.

The striped bass are being caught all over the lake from coves to creeks to the main channel. The fish seem to have settled into their winter pattern. I guess the high water either messed up the fall top water bite or else it is just late. All of my stripers and most of the reports on stripers being caught are at this end of the lake. Fish from Robinson area back to Bennett's and also up the river past Cranfield.

Norfork Lake is clear with the creeks and coves still stained. The Norfork Lake water temp was 59 degrees this afternoon. The lake level is falling slowly and sits at 570.68. The weather looks great for the next week, even if it is going to be a little bit cool for a few of the mornings.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The last two days have been just fantastic on Norfork Lake and at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort. I have fished the last two evenings and have done pretty well. Yesterday I went back to a point in Buzzard Creek and caught two 3.5 pound largemouth bass and 4 undersized Kentucky bass. All were caught on live shiners in about 40 feet of water. The fish were on the bottom. This evening I went back to the same point and was still marking fish, but nothing would bite the live bait. I ended up catching two white bass in about 50 feet of water. I headed back toward the resort at around 4:15 and fished in our cove for a little while. This was a wise decision. I marked a ton of bait fish from 20 feet down to the bottom at 45 feet. Finally on the sonar I saw what really makes me excited. The bait fish were scattering and there were big fish darting though the bait. I dropped my spoon and at about 20 feet it went slack, I quickly set the hook and the fight was on. It was a nice 8 pound striper. I lost the school of feeding fish so I started to move around slowly and then they appeared again. This time I caught 3 white bass in the school. Again the school moved away so I headed closer to my dock and found them again, this time I caught a 7 pound striper. All fish were caught vertical jigging and they all hit the spoon on the fall. I ended up keeping the second striper for a photo op then released it at the dock. All other fish were released as they were caught. The stripers seem to be at all depths and locations. You need to find the bait fish and hopefully the big fish have found them also.

The Norfork Lake water temperature was 61 degrees this evening. The water level is holding steady at 570.85. The Corps is currently running one generator, but one or two are being run for most of the day. The water is clearing in the creeks and very clear in the main lake. The weather forecast is looking very good for the next week to 10 days.

See you on the lake or at the resort!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The sun is shining and the air temperature is in the 60's on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. I haven't been out in a few days with the cool and rainy weather but hopefully I will be able to get out this afternoon. The weather forecast is back to sunshine with highs in the low 60's and lows in the 40's, Not bad weather for fishing or just enjoying the lake and the surrounding area. I actually did get out a little on Tuesday afternoon. The rain had stopped so I just went out in our cove and fished for about 40 minutes for crappie. I caught 3 keeper size crappie over some brush in 40 - 45 feet of water. The rain started again and it was breezy and cold so I released my fish and headed back in to the dock.

I got an encouraging report from one of my guide friends today. He had a trip this morning and his clients wanted to catch a lot of fish. So they did, they caught walleye, Kentucky bass, white bass largemouths and hybrids. They were fishing the creek arm swings in 25 - 50 feet of water close to the point. They were using live threadfin shad, but I feel artificial will work in the same areas. You can either use live shad if you have a shad tank, or use large live shiners that I sell for live bait. If you prefer artificial baits use a spoon and vertical jig or a large to medium size grub with at least a 1/4 - 1/2 ounce jig head. Cast the grub out let it fall to the bottom and retrieve it very slowly. The water temperature is cooling and the fish will start to slow down.

The Norfork Lake water temperature has fallen to around 59 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks are slightly stained. The Norfork Lake level has risen some to 570.78, but is starting to hold steady. The Corps has forecast a slow fall in the level starting on the 20th of this month.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Another fantastic day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. It's currently 71 degrees and and sun is shining. I went striper fishing this morning. It started out slow but finished with a bang. I ended up with this nice 15 pound striper and lost 2 others. One of the fish that I lost, hit my other pole while I was fighting the pictured fish. I tried to set the hook, but just couldn't get enough pull with my left arm. All of my bites came between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. I was fishing back in Panther Creek in 95 feet of water. These fish were suspended in 40 - 50 feet. I was using large live shiners and also vertical jigging with a spoon. All fish and bites were on the live shiners. I first fished the Robinson area, then went back into Diamond Bay, but found nothing in these areas. Yesterday one of my guide friends caught three in the Robinson area. He caught one on a free line, one on a down pole and the other was on a balloon. His fish were mainly deep, but he has gotten a few on free swimmers so the fish are starting to come up. The stripers are scattered and moving in the deep channels. No top action that I saw today.

We plan on smoking one filet of the striper. We'll let you know how it turns out.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowly and is currently at 570.4. The Corps is running two generators for most of the day. The surface water temperature is still 62 - 63 degrees. The lake is clear in the deep water and slightly stained back in the creeks. The water is really starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather in the Ozarks is gorgeous, the Norfork Lake water level is stable and the water is clear. We have had some fantastic fall weather and by the forecast there is more to come. The temperature has been in the 70's during the day and mid to upper 40's at night. This is our normal fall weather. Can't ask for a better time to fish. The bass fishing has been really good. I have been fishing in the mornings and have caught bass with a top water bait along deep bluff lines as well as down deep back in creeks. The bigger fish seem to be in approximately 40 feet of water on the points of creeks, as well as, back into the creek where the water starts to get shallower. Most of my deep fish have hit on live shiners, but a jig & pig, plastic worms or a swimming minnow should work as long as you get it down to the 35 - 45 feet depth. Yesterday morning I caught 4 largemouth bass in the 3-4 pound range and 4 undersized Kentucky bass on a Zara Spook. I released all fish immediately except for the one in the photo. It was caught in deep water and could not swim back down. I haven't learned how to vent fish, but need to. This bass will make a good meal. I fished the Diamond Bay area and kept looking out to the main lake to see if the stripers are coming up. I still haven't seen any striper top water action, but feel certain it will happen soon.

The stripers can be found from the mid lake area, Panther Creek, Float Creek, Robinson flats and in the channel past Bidwell point. They are still in deep water from 60 to 170 feet suspended in 40-60 feet of water. Live bait is still working the best. Live shiners or thread fin shad are the baits of choice.

Catfish are biting well on trot lines baited with live shiners. I caught a 10 pound blue cat this morning. I have been catching channel cats and blue cats on a consistent basis. I have my line set in about 10 - 15 feet of water.

I haven't had a chance to crappie fish lately and have heard no reports. They should be over brush in 40 - 50 feet of water and more than likely are suspended over the brush. Try a grub tipped with a crappie minnow and slowly float over the brush.

No report on walleye's being caught, but with the cooling water they should be in 15-25 feet of water. Drag a crawler harness across main lake points and deep bluff lines. If you have a down rigger or can use lead core line, use a small crank bait in the same areas.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 570.58. They are forecasting that the lake level should start dropping slowly. The Corps is generating 1-2 generators for the biggest part of the day. The lake surface water temperature is 62-63 degrees and has held steady. We should start seeing another drop with the cooler nights being forecast. The main lake is clear and the creeks have a brownish tint, but are starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Another great day on Lake Norfork in the Arkansas, Ozarks. It was sunny with a south wind and the high today was in the upper 70's. Can't ask for anything better than that, especially with the outstanding fishing this morning. I left our dock at sunrise and headed to Float Creek. I decided to do a little bass fishing and boy did I catch the bass. I caught smallmouth , largemouth and Kentucky bass. I ended up fishing entirely in one cove off of the main creek, a place where I have had good luck in the past. I had two poles down with live shiners and was also vertical jigging with a spoon. I started in the mouth of the cove in about 60 feet of water and was marking plenty of bait fish. I didn't get into the fish until I reached the back of the cover in 35 - 42 feet of water. The action on the live bait was just non-stop. I only took 8 baits with me and I went though them in less than an hour. I ended up catching 3 smallies, 2 largemouth and one Kentucky all on live bait. The best part was that all the fish were keeper size fish. I released them all as I landed them. I also caught 4 white bass on my spoon. They were caught in 50 feet of water. All fish were on the bottom and were very aggressive. Stripers are also being caught in the main creek channel, most are suspended in 75 feet of water about 40 feet down. I fished this area Thursday evening for about an hour and caught an 8 pound striper and lost another one. The striper bite has not been fast and furious, but the fish are there. One of my guide friends caught a 30 pound striper in the same general area Thursday evening. All of my stripers as well as those the guides are getting are hitting on live bait. Still no top water action except for a few black bass, but I still have my eyes open and hopes up.

If all goes well I plan on fishing in the morning again.

The lake level is at 570.4 and still slowly rising 1 - 2 inches per day. The corps is generating on and off during the day. The main lake is clear and the creeks are starting to clear, but still stained. The surface water temperature is still around 63 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


Another great day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozark Mountains. I have electronics back on my boat again, so I had to go out this morning to try it out. Well it worked fine marking fish. I bought the Lowrance X135, since I couldn't justify buying the nice color units, but this one seems to do the trick. I headed out before sunrise and went to the #2 marker. I was marking huge schools of fish (I think?) but nothing would bite. The fish were anywhere from 40feet down to 70feet suspended in 120feet of water. I was spooning and also dragging a couple of large live shiners. I didn't get a bite. I then headed back into Float Creek. Several boats were already there fishing. I threw out my shiners and in about 5 minutes my pole bent to the water and the drag was just zinging. I thought I had a huge 20 pound or larger fish on. It ran so far it almost spooled me. I finally landed the fish and it was only a 8 pound striper. but it definitely fought like a much bigger fish. I was fishing in 60 - 75 feet of water and was marking fish top to bottom. I ended up fishing this area a couple of hours and broke off another nice fish on live shiners and caught 3 hybrids in the 2 to 4 pound range on my spoon. All the hybrids were caught when I was reeling up though them fast. Fishing wasn't fantastic, but I caught enough fish to make it interesting. I did not notice any top water fish, but I still have my hopes up. Last year it started in the second week of November and lasted a couple of weeks.

I have reset my trot line and started baiting it up the last couple evenings. I have caught 2 nice size channels and one baby channel cat, also a couple of keeper size Kentucky bass. I am using live shiners for the trot line.

The Norfork Lake level is currently at 569.93 and rising 1 to maybe 2 inches per day, but this seems to be slowing. The Corps is generating one generator on and off throughout the day. The lake temperature is 63 degrees and still slowly dropping. The main lake is clear and the creeks are muddy.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Since the wind and rain has stopped I have been working hard at cleaning up the yard with all of its millions of leaves. My granddaughter has been a great helper!!

The sky is clear and the sun is out, no rain, on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Finally we are having our normal fall type weather. The day time temperature is reaching 70 or close and the evenings are in the mid to low 40's. The weather forecast is predicting this type of weather for the next couple of weeks. The lake should stabilize and the fishing should ramp up. I have been out bass fishing the last couple of mornings and evenings and have caught some nice bass on a rogue as well as a zara spook. Most of the fish are on the short side, but I have caught two nice 18 inch largemouth. Most of the bass that I have caught are Kentucky bass. I have been fishing the deep banks as well as the submerged island in the Cranfield area. The fish are starting to come up in the brush, but I think most are still deep. The lake has come up almost 18 feet over the last couple weeks, with the biggest increase just last week end. The fish are most likely still getting acclimated to their new surroundings. Most fish should be holding at the old shore line depth of 20-40 feet.

I am a little vague on where the fish are because my sonar unit is on the fritz and I have been fishing blind. A new Lowrance unit is on its way and hopefully will be installed soon. It is really difficult to fish without electronics. I guess I have gotten spoiled. I seemed to do just fine fishing years ago without the benefits of technology, but I sure enjoy having the toys of today.

I have heard second and third hand that there has been some striper top water action in the mornings and evenings. I have not seen any yet, but if it is anything like last fall it should happen in the next couple of weeks. The stripers being caught by the guides are back in the creeks as well as on the main lake. The fish are 40-60 feet down, both on the bottom and suspended.

The Norfork Lake level is finally holding steady at 569.68. The Corps is generating one generator for over half of the day. The lake surface water temp. is 63-64 degrees and dropping slowly. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are somewhat stained, but starting to clear.

Hopefully later in the week I will be able to give you a more detailed report. Until next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It rained the last two evenings on Norfork Lake, but currently the rain has slowed and the lake is calm. The air temperature is in the 50's at night and 60's to 70's during the day. It looks like there is another cold front on the way, but that doesn't stop the fishing. I fished for about an hour last evening in our cove. I caught a 15" largemouth and a 16" inch walleye. Both were caught on a rogue jerk bait. I have used this bait for the last few days and have caught several nice bass along with some undersized ones. The bass are hitting the rogue in about 10-15 feet of water and the walleye I caught hit next to the boat which was in 25feet of water. It appears that the lake is turning over that the turn may be almost complete since I am catching these fish on a rogue which only goes down 1 - 3 feet. Once the lake complets its turn, the water temperature is the same down deep and the oxygen levels go back up. The fish should really start feeding heavily for the winter months. Crappie have stayed in the same depths 20 - 30 feet over brush and the black bass and white bass are coming up at sunrise and sunset. To be ready for the topwater bite, have your favorite top water bait tied on and be ready to go at a moments notice. Striped bass should start coming up soon, early morning and late in the evening. During the day they will be in 40 - 70 feet of water close to deep water or suspended in deep water channels. I marked a nice school of stripers in the the Robinson Point area on Friday, but it was so windy I couldn't get my spoon down to them.

The lake level is rising and is currently at 563.08. The Corps is generating one generator a portion of the day. The Norfork Lake water temperature is between 64 - 65 and falling slowly. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained.

Have a great fishing day and see you on the lake.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Own lawn maintenance crew has been working hard cleaning up persimmons at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. I guess these bucks know about hunting season so they are coming to a safe haven. We have seen 4 bucks at one time and a herd of 8 does and fawns. We also have a group of 8 turkeys feeding on the resort grounds on a frequent basis. It's a lot of fun watching the wildlife from the porch of your cabin.

I finally have my boat back and fished for a about an hour this morning, mainly breaking in the new motor. I did catch several white bass and two undersized largemouth bass. I was spooning in 30 feet of water off main lake points close to the 101 bridge. The whites are schooling and move quickly when you find them in the open water. There were a few bass coming up after shad. I tried throwing a spook, but had no luck with top water bait.

Fishing heats up and then the weather changes to slow it down. I hope Mother Nature starts giving us more constantly normal fall temperatures and weather conditions. Last week was cool with a strong north wind. With the north wind our cove was stocked full of white bass and hybrids, with a few stripers mixed in. Spooning was pulling in some nice 3 - 3.5 pound whites. This week the wind has changed to the south and conditions have changed. My fishing guests are finding large and small mouth bass off of main lake points typically on the bluff side. A few bass are being caught in the submerged buck brush in shallow water. A few are being caught on top water, but they're having the most luck in deep water 20 - 30 feet down. Jig and pigs with a 3/8 ounce jig head are working well, dressed in dark colors.

Reports from my guide friends are that the striped bass are moving up the lake. They are finding some nice fish in the mid lake area close to deep water. The fish are suspended 40 - 60 feet down in anywhere from 60 - 120 feet of water. The main lake points are producing fish, as well as, spots back in the channels of the major creeks. I hope to get out this afternoon to do a little serious fishing.

Crappie are being caught over brush in 25 - 35 feet of water. White grubs are working the best tipped with a crappie minnow. Drift slowly over the brush dragging your bait or cast out, let it sink, retrieve slowly, stop and let sink again. Repeat this action until you get back to the boat. The crappie are hitting the bait on the fall.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowing at 560.26. The corps is generating with one generator for over 12 hours per day. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are starting to clear but are still stained. The Norfork Lake surface temperature is around 66 degrees and falling slowly. I am looking for about 60 degree water temperature to help trigger the striper fall top water bite. Hopefully by the end of this month or the beginning of November.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It is a rainy morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. We have had our share of rain in the last week as has the rest of the country. The lake is rising slowly, which is a good thing. The buck brush and the shore line foliage is going under water which give the bass a great place to feed. My current guests are throwing crank baits that dive about 8 ft and catching many large and smallmouth bass. The water temperature is slowly dropping which is also a very good thing. With the 65 - 68 degree temperatures the bass, crappie and walleye are becoming much more active and are really starting to feed aggressively. Sunday afternoon one of my guests caught his limit of walleye using a 2 ounce bottom bouncing weight attached to a night crawler harness. He was fishing along bluff lines in 25 - 30 feet of water. Last evening another guest got into some top water white bass. They had a blast throwing top water baits and then spooning when the fish would go down. They were fishing at the mouth of our cove and said they could see the fish erupt all the way towards the 101 bridge. Another guest has been crappie fishing and the large slabs are being caught in 20 - 30 feet of water over sunken trees/brush. Live crappie minnows are the bait of choice. Roadrunners and curly tail grubs are also producing some nice fish.

I should have my boat back this week, I can't wait.

The Norfork Lake water level is currently at 558.7 and slowly rising. The corps is running one generator about 6 hours per day. The current water temperature is in the mid to upper 60's. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are dingy greenish brown with all the rain and runoff that we have had.

Have a great day and see you all on the lake.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fishing and weather has been really good the last couple of days on Norfork Lake, in the Arkansas Ozarks. My boat is still in dry dock, but I did get some fantastic news last week, Yamaha has approved replacing my motor with a new one. They don't have the main drive shaft in stock so they are just going to replace all of it. Hopefully I get it back within the next week. I am really going crazy not being able to be out on the lake fishing. My wife is somewhat happy, I am getting a lot of honey do's completed.

Largemouth and Kentucky bass are surfacing at sunrise and sunset and are also up on the banks feeding. Any top water bait is working well for the surfacing fish or you can throw your favorite plastic bait and work it back to boat slowly along the bottom for those feeding on the shoreline. My preference is the Zara Spook for top water and a 10" motor oil colored worm Texas rigged. During the middle of the day the bass are going deeper on main lake points and rock bluffs. They are in 25 - 35 feet of water. Work a brown or dark green jig & pig slowly back to the boat. These fish are feeding on crawdads. You will pick up as many smallmouth on your jig & pig as you do black bass.

Crappie fishing is starting to pick up. I have seen quite of few nice size slabs coming into the dock. The fish are in 25-30 feet of water over sunken brush. Live crappie minnows are working the best.

White bass are schooling. They are being found in two different places, midway back in the large creek beds and also on the the main lake flats. Small spinners are working well as well as vertical jigging with a spoon.

Striped bass are on the move. They can be found from the two main bridges down to the dam. They are still deep, any where from 40 - 80 feet down. Vertical jigging with a spoon is producing some, but live shad is still the bait of choice. Large shiners are starting to get a few fish. The changing weather patterns that we have been having are keeping the fish on the move. You may find them in one area today, but they more than likely will not be there tomorrow. Once the weather settles a little and the lake drops another few degrees, the fall top water bite for stipers will be happening! Should be soon. One of my guides friends spotted a few striper breaking surface last weekend.

The Norfork Lake level is dropping and currently is sitting at 554.86. The Corps is running one generator about 24 hours per day. The lake is clearing nicely even in the creeks and coves.I have had reports of the lake water temps between the upper sixties and low seventies.

Hopefully I will see you on the lake soon!!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been gorgeous for the past few days on Norfork Lake and the forecast is calling for much of the same with cooler temperatures. The cooler temps should help to improve the already good fishing. We have several guests bass fishing and catching their limits and more each day. Many of the fish being caught are slightly undersized, but this morning one of our guests brought in a nice stringer of small and largemouth bass (3 - 4 pound range) as well as four 15 - 16 inch Kentucky bass. Their bellies were full of crawdads. Dark colors (browns) were working the best for him this morning. He likes to use a jig and pig and is working it off the bluffs down to about 35 ft. He caught most of his fish this morning in about 20 feet of water. I have heard from a few divers that they are seeing many fish over brush piles in 30 - 35 feet of water, large fish. Crappie are hanging around in the same area and can be caught on live crappie minnows with a slip float or with a 1/16 oz. jig with a twister tail grub. I have found it beneficial to tip the jig with a crappie minnow.

A few of my fishing guide friends have been fairing well on striped bass and hybrid bass. They have been fishing near the bridge columns using live threadfin shad. They have also been catching many Kentucky bass right on the columns in about 20 feet of water. With the water temperature cooling slightly the striped bass seem to be dispersing a little. Hopefully with about another 10 degree drop in water temperature we will get into our fall top water bite.

I have been going through fishing withdrawal. My Yamaha four stroke engine threw the nut off the drive shaft that holds the fly wheel on and did a lot of damage. The motor is only a few months out of warranty and I have been working with Yamaha to hopefully cover the damage. I should know this week who gets to pay for it. I have asked around and so far no one has heard of this happening before. I guess I'm lucky to get to be the first!

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady at about 557, which is 5 feet above normal pool. The Corps. is running two generators about 6 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the mid 70's and falling slowly. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves cloudy.

Happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake soon.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

After a week long low pressure system covered the area and dropped 3 - 4 inches of rain, I can now say that the fishing is picking up. The bite was really slow last weekend but started to pick up around Wednesday or Thursday. The rain has slowed or stopped for awhile and the sun came out today. We had guests catching crappie, bass, catfish and blue gill. They were fishing with live crappie minnows and nightcrawlers. They were mainly fishing brush piles that I have placed in over the years and the crappie bite really started to improve throughout the week. The fish are in 15 - 25 feet of water and are hitting well on live bait or a small tube jig hooked with live bait. Other guests have been fishing for bass. They started to catch fish along banks near deep water using crank baits and spinners. I guess the cooler water is letting the fish come in close to the shore line to feed. Guests were also catching nice large and smallmouth bass using shaky head worms and lizards in 20 - 25 feet of water. Dark colors were working the best. We had other guests strictly catfishing. They started catching nice blue catfish and flatheads on trot lines using live blue gills. Their biggest was 12 pounds, but most ranged in the 4 - 5 pound range. Earlier in the week catching bait fish was even a challenge. Thank goodness the low has moved on ane the fishing has picked up.

The live bait striper guides are still doing well. The best bite is still from point 2 to point 1. The fish are in deep water so either use live bait or vertical jig with a spoon in 40 to 80 feet of water. The fish are typically on the bottom, but you may find them suspended especially when you find them feeding on a school of shad.

The lake level is on the rise and is currently at 555 feet above sea level which is up 1.5 feet over last week. The level is about 3 feet above normal pool. The rain really came down in our area. The main lake is clear, but not gin clear and the creeks and coves are cloudy to muddy due to all the rain and rising water. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature has dropped to the mid to upper 70's.

Keep watching my posts. If the water temperature continues to drop at the current rate the fall striped bass top water bite and night bite may start earlier than normal. Last year from about mid-October through mid-November the early morning and evening top water bite was just fantastic.

Start planning you fall fishing trip. The lake will be gorgeous with the leaf color change and fishing is a lot of fun.

See you on the lake.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fishing patterns on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks has been unchanged for the last 3 - 4 weeks. The fish are deep, but once you find them you will have a great time. I have been out the last couple of evenings for about an hour around sunset and have had good success. I have been vertical jigging with a spoon in 30-40 feet of water and have caught white bass and kentucky bass. I have been fishing main lake points on bluff ends. I have mainly been working the Cranfield island area.

September through November is a popular time of year for bass fishermen on Lake Norfork. We currently have several guests fishing for bass and having a good time. They are using plastic worms and lizards. The fish are around the bluff banks and on bluff points in 25 - 35 feet of water. Yesterday one guest caught over 20 largemouth, smallmouth and kentucky bass with the largest being 4.5 pounds. Darker color baits have been working the best since it has been cloudy. Lighter colors seem to work good on clear and sunny days. Jig and pigs are also working very well.

Walleyes are being caught in the same areas and depths as the bass. You can either vertical jig with a spoon or drag a Lindy rigged crawler harness. Try to find big chunk rock on the points or bluffs.

We have another guest who is fishing for striped bass. He landed a 18, 15 and 12 pounder yesterday afternoon and this morning landed a 20 and 15 pounder. He is using live shad and catching the fish on the bottom in 60 - 80 feet of water. Vertical jigging with a spoon will also work. Watch your fish finder and when you find the school drop your spoon through the school and start jigging up and down. The Striper usually hit the spoon on the fall. If you see your line go slack set the hook quickly.

Catfish have been active on trotlines and jugs. Live bait is working the best. Use small bluegill, large shiners or crawfish. I have been catching blues, flatheads and channels.

Blue gill are still biting very well. Nightcrawlers and crickets are the best baits at this time. You can find the panfish close to shore as well as in 20 - 40 feet depths.

Crappie are holding over the deep brush piles. I have caught several while jigging with a spoon. They are in 20 - 40 feet of water over the brush piles or large trees that have been sunk. When you find the brush, use a live crappie minnow and a slip float for best results or a twister tail grub with a 1/16oz jig head. Tip the jig with a live crappie minnow, cast the jig over the brush and let it sink to the top of the brush pile then pull back and let it sink again. Watch for your line to go slack or start moving sideways, then set the hook.

The Norfork Lake level is mainly holding steady at 553.2. The lake surface temperature is in the low 80's. Main lake water is clear with a slight green tint, the creeks and channels are stained. The Corps is running one to two generators for about 5 - 6 hours per day.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Norfork Lake Stripers

These two young men had a great time fishing Norfork Lake last evening. They are some of our guests from the St. Louis area. The bite started around 6PM and lasted until about 9PM. They ended up landing these 4 striped bass and lost 3 others. The largest was 10 pounds with the others around 8 pounds. They had a fantastic time. They were fishing with gizzard shad which was caught for them by one of the fishing guides. If you would like to fish with live shad I can arrange for someone to catch the shad for you and if you don't have a shad tank I may be able to find one for you to rent. The striped bass are deep, the fish in the photo, as well as, fish being caught by the guides are on the bottom at 45 - 80 foot depths. We are in our normal summer pattern.

My boat is out of commission since my trolling motor is at the trolling motor doctor's office waiting on parts. Hopefully I will get it back sometime this week. I'm itching to get back to walleye fishing and to start a little crappie fishing. My catfish trotline is still producing a couple of 5 - 10 pound catfish each time I bait it up. Bass fishing has been improving as long as you find the deep pockets where they hide. You will find them in 30 - 40 feet of water on main lake points just off the bluff lines. Also look for big rocks in this same depth as the rocks will be holding the walleye.

The Norfork Lake level is 552.7 and dropping slowly. The main lake is clear with coves and creeks off color. Water temperature is in the low to mid 80's early and rising during the warm days.

Fishing is a lot of fun in the summer months. You might have some difficulty finding the fish, but once you do you will have a blast. Just being on the lake is a pleasure in itself.

Until next time happy fishing and see you on the water.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Norfork Lake Striped Bass Fishing




Here are some photos of recent catches on Norfork Lake. These vacationers fished with two different striper guides in the past week. Both guides use live bait and lite tackle. It is really a blast to catch one of these 15 to 30 pound fish on 8 pound test line and lite action rods and reels. If you are looking for a fishing experience of a lifetime come on down and visit us at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. We are located in Mountain Home, Arkansas in the Arkansas Ozarks. The two guides are Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line (www.leesliteline.com) and Tom Reynold of STR Outfitters (www.stroutfitters.com). Contact us and we will help you set up your guided trip or you can contact the guides directly. The big fish are really hitting well. I can attest to that because I caught a 20 pound striped bass this morning with Robert Lee.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


I enjoyed a beautiful morning on Norfork Lake. Not only was this 20 pound fish gorgeous and fun to reel in, but the sunrise with the fog lifting from the water was breathtaking. I fished with one of my guide friends, Robert Lee, of Lee's Lite Line and we had a good morning for big fish. I landed this 20 pounder, but we also broke off two others and missed 4 good hits. I think we must have been talking more than watching the poles to lose this many. That's how it goes sometime. We were fishing with 4 to 5 inch gizzard shad in 45 - 80 ft of water. The fish were on the bottom and occasionally suspended. I did notice a few fishermen spooning and saw them catch a few. I will post some additional photos later of guests to the area catching large striper on guided trips. The big fish seem to be keying in on the large gizzard shad over the smaller thread fin shad.

I haven't been out in a few days fishing on my own, so hopefully, if I get my work done today, I can get out this evening or tomorrow. I plan to walleye and bass fish using artificial baits. I will let you know how it goes.

The Norfork Lake level is at 552.73 and falling slowly. Two generators are being run for 6 - 9 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature was at 82 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still cloudy.

Until next time happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I fished Norfork Lake this evening and had a lot of success. I was walleye fishing and ended up catching 3, but one got away before I could net it. I was vertical jigging with a spoon in 25 - 40 of water. I used several colors, white, white and chartreuse and white and green. I found the fish on main lake points that end on a bluff line, as well as along the bluff line. You will want to be fishing very close to shore as the water gets deep very quickly. Look for submerged boulders or ledges in the 25 - 40 foot range, the walleye will be hanging out in the creases and on the ledge. In the same areas are schooling Kentucky bass. I ended up catching 5 bass with 3 about 15 inches long. Nice size for a Kentucky.

The striped bass are being caught in deeper water. Early in the morning you might find fish in 35 - 40 feet of water, but as the sun rises they go down to 40 - 60 feet. I have marked some nice fish even deeper. The live bait guides are catching some really nice size fish (20 - 30 pound range)using gizzard shad. Thread fin shad are producing fish, but they seem to be much smaller. The bigger fish are also the ones found in the 60 foot depths.

Overall the thermocline in Norfork Lake seems to be 25 - 40 feet down depending where you are on the lake and who you are talking with. All types of fish seem to be hanging out at or near the thermocline.

The Norfork Lake level is 552.96 and falling very slowly. The water temperature this evening was in the mid to upper 80's, of course it's cooler in the morning. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still off color.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Although we had a lot of rain this morning and early afternoon, it turned out to be a beautiful evening on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Being inside all day left me totally bored so I decided to do a little afternoon fishing. I wanted to try to find some walleye, but instead I found Kentucky bass, white bass and that big one that got away. Yes, it is an old story, but true. I finally hooked into a nice walleye. I had it on the surface and started to reach for my net but I guess I let a little slack in the line. I heard the fish flip and saw it swim away. It was at least a 5 pounder. The walleye was caught on some brush that I have put in over the years next to a steep bluff line. I was vertical jigging in 30 ft of water. The white bass were caught using my Zara spook. I was heading toward the Highway 62 bridge and could see the water just boiling in the distance. There were hundreds of fish erupting. I ended up catching 4 whites and 2 Kentuckys. I was also told by one of our guests that he got into some topwater whites two days ago. He was fishing the flats by Cranfield Island. He ended up catching several with a spook and when they went down he spooned up a couple more. Striped bass are being caught from tick point to the dam area. Spooning is working well as well as is live shad. I have also been catching catfish on my trotline using crawdads and have seen fish on jugs. No news on crappies.

The Norfork Lake level is 553.21 and has risen slightly with the last two days worth of rain. The Corps is generating both generators 5 to 6 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface temperature is in the mid to low 80's. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves off color.

Until the next report happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I finally made it out fishing on Norfork Lake. I had a fun day, but don't have stripers to brag about. I caught white bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass. At one point I had three fish on at the same time. It was kind of hectic for a while, but I enjoyed dealing with it. I was catching the whites on a white spoon vertical jigging in 38 - 45 ft of water. I caught all the black bass on live shiners. I haven't fished the dam area in a long time so I decided to head that way. I fished at point #1 for a while with no luck then headed back into Sally Ann and had a great time. The whites were schooling and moving quickly. I marked some big arcs on my fish finder so I know there were stripers and/or hybrids in with the whites. The whites are definitely the more active fish. There were several fishermen trolling Thumb point and Koso point. I saw two nice stripers brought in. On my way home I stopped and fished the bridge piers and caught several spotted bass on live shiners. Some really nice stripers 20 - 35 pounds are being caught by the guides. Most guides are fishing from Tick point on down to the dam. Gizzard shad are producing the larger fish with thread fin shad producing the bigger quantity. The fish seem to be on main lake points as well as back in creeks that have deep holes off of secondary points.

The attached photo is one of our guests from a few weeks back. He caught this nice largemouth vertical jigging at our dock. This has been a good year for catching bass, bluegills and sunfish at the dock.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 553.3, only 1.3 feet above normal pole. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat off color. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the low to mid 80's, The Corps has been running both generators from 4 to 8 hours per day.

I plan to be fishing more often now, so until the next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It was a great morning fishing Norfork Lake. I took two of our guests out fishing with me this morning and though it started out slow, the morning ended with a bang. We caught striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass, kentuckys and largemouth. We left the dock at 5AM and headed to Tick Point. I was marking several nice size schools of fish but we ended up catching just one white bass. At about 6:30AM I headed back into Diamond Bay and again was marking fish but just caught two undersize largemouth bass. We found the right place at about 7:30. We were sitting in about 30 - 40 feet of water and the fish were stacked up below us. A couple different times we had fish on 2 poles at the same time and were frantically trying to net fish so we could get back to catching! When the sun came up over the trees the fish left the shallow area, but we found them just a short distance away in 50 feet deep water suspended at about 30 - 35 feet. We caught a few more hybrids. One last stop at a bridge pier on the way home ended up giving us another Kentucky. I think we caught 14 fish in all, and kept the 6 in the photo. We were vertical jigging with spoons. I did try a crawfish on the bottom, but only had one bite on that the whole morning.

The stripers are shallower than normal at this time of year, but it does look like a small heat wave is on its way so they should start going deeper. Walleye are being caught in the same depth of water on live shad and crawler or leach harnesses. Vertical jigging with a spoon is picking up and will only improve over the next couple of weeks. I haven't been nor heard of any crappie fishing lately. They will be over deep brush again in the 30 - 40 foot range. Blue gill fishing is just fantastic. The kids are having a blast catching as many as they want. I have been catching 2 - 3 catfish a night on my trot line. I am using soft shell green crawfish and they are working well. Jugs with live bait are producing some nice catfish. Bass are still coming to the surface chasing shad early and late in the day, but most are in the 20 - 40 range. You will either need to vertical jig, or cast a pig and jig on main lake and secondary points. You mainly need to get your bait down to the fish.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowing and is at 554.47 just 2.47 feet above normal pool. The main lake is clear with coves and creeks stained to muddy. The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the low to upper 80's depending on the time of day. Two generators are being run about 10 hours per day.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


I was fishing with my nephew and Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line yesterday morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Robert was prefishing for upcoming trips and we tagged along. We headed south to the Diamond Bay area and found fish schooling in several areas. My nephew caught his first striped bass and hybrid bass for this year and had a great time with the fight both fish gave. I thought he was going to lose his pole several times when the fish made a run for the bottom, but he landed both and was really excited. In all we caught striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass, largemouth bass and spotted bass. The largemouth and spotted bass were caught on the bridge columns. We were using live shad which Robert netted early in the morning.

We have several guests fishing this week, as well as enjoying other water sport activities during the day. The little ones have been having a great time on the dock catching all the bluegill that they want. Many are cleaning size. Another group have been striper fishing and doing well. They fished with a guide the first day and caught many striped and hybrid bass. They have been fishing on their own since the guide trip and have caught several 13 pound fish. Over all, the stripers are hitting fairly well and are being caught in 30 - 40 feet of water. This time of year the fish are on the bottom. Vertical jigging and live bait fishing has been working well. For your live bait fishing use shiners or even better, shad, if you can get them. Once you find the schooling fish just hang on to your pole!

The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the low to mid 80's, but should be rising during the week with the warmer temps. The lake level is at 555.05 and falling slowly. Generators are being run for less than half of the day. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are still stained.

Start planning your fall fishing trip, it's just around the corner.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report



Hummingbird Hideaway's dock on Norfork Lake had a lot of action yesterday. We had several fisher people catching fish at the dock all day long. Bluegills and sunfish were being caught by kids of all ages with the nice panfish pictured above caught in 4 feet of water on a nightcrawler. A 3.5 - 4 pound largemouth was caught, as well as a 25 pound carp and a 4 foot long gar. Yes, the two gentlemen are brothers. One of them caught the big catfish that I blogged awhile back.

Another group of guests have been fishing the early morning hours for stripers. Yesterday morning they caught their first striper along with many largemouth and white bass. They were vertical jigging in 30 - 50 ft of water in the Cranfield area. They had successful mornings on both Thursday and Friday in the same general area.

The fish are still holding at the thermocline in 30 - 35 feet of water. Vertical jigging is working well once you find the schooling fish or the bait fish. Walleye are on the bottom and the whites, largemouth, and stripers are either on the bottom or in 50 - 70 foot depths suspended at 30 - 35 feet. Bluegill and sunfish are being caught at all depths. Crappie are hanging around brush piles in 30 - 35 feet of water.

The surface water temperature on Norfork Lake is in the mid to low 80's with some high 70's being marked early in the morning. The water temp. should rise with the upcoming warmer temperatures. The lake level is 555.22 with generators being run for half of the day. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are off color.

Well until next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Lake Norfork Bluegill Hunter



Hummingbird Hideaway Resort welcomes Guest Blogger, Nathan with an account of his morning fishing on Lake Norfork. Pictured above is Nathan and his daughter, 'the bluegill hunter.'You may recall seeing this young lady in one of our earlier blogs with her "June catch." She's back for a two week visit and is putting food on the table again! "The Bluegill Hunter" is pictured to the left with her granfather. Here is Nathan's blog...

We took the bluegill hunter with us this morning!

We went down by Robinson Point with no success, then we headed to the Cranfield area where I spotted a bunch of bait fish in the 30 ft flats around the island. I caught a few 12" Largemouths on a Bink's spoon, then things calmed a little.

Then we headed north of the island to the points on the north side of the lake. We saw a lot of splashing but by the time we were over there all that was on top was a lot of gar. We spotted large schools of bait fish in about 25' of water so we started jigging and had some fun. I caught a good size white bass that ended up in the lake (long story) then a good size largemouth that flipped out of the net, anyway we ended up with this 16"er that my dad hauled in.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


Several of our fishing guests have had good luck with early morning and late afternoon fishing trips. They were fishing with a live bait fishing guide, Tom Reynolds, of STR Outfitters. The largest Striped bass was 16 pounds, but all fish gave a great fight on Tom's 10ft long poles with light line and tackle. They were using live shad and fishing in 35 - 55 feet of water. The stripers were on the bottom, as well as suspended in 20 - 30feet of water. The Striper bite is going strong and improving each day. The afternoon bite started last week and seems to be holding. The fish are being caught in the mid lake area not far from the bridges. Stripers are also being caught on spoons by either vertical jigging or casting the spoon and letting it fall to the bottom, then giving a few quick cranks and letting it fall to the bottom again. The fish will typically hit the spoon on the fall so watch your line carefully.

Spotted bass, large mouth and white bass are being caught close to the surface early morning and at sunset on main lake points. Keep a top water bait handy for these times. As the sun rises the fish including small mouth bass are going deeper to 20 - 40 feet of water. Throw a grub or your favorite plastic bait up to the shore and then let it drop to the bottom and retrieve slowly.

Crappie and walleye are being caught around brush piles in 30 - 40 feet of water. Live crappie minnows are working well for crappie. Night crawlers and shiners, Carolina rigged are working for the walleye. Vertical jigging or casting a spoon and letting it fall to the bottom is also working for walleye.

Since my boat is rented this week I haven't been out pole fishing, but I have been setting my trotline. I have been catching some nice flatheads, channels and blues. Jugging is also working well with live bait. I have been using shiners, goldfish and crawdad for my baits.

Start thinking about your fall fishing trip. The stripers and hybrids usually start surfacing once the water temperature gets back in the 60's and 70's. The crappie will stay over the brush, but will become more active in the cooler water. We will also start having our late night bite for striped bass and walleye. This is one of my favorite fishing times.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling and is at 556.36. Both generators are being run 12-18 hours per day. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat stained due to the receding water level washing mud into the water. This will clear once the water level stabilizes. The lake surface temperature52. is in the mid 80's and holding.

As for the vacationing non-fishing boaters. The water has been calm with little or no wind early and a slight chop in the afternoon. I find the water best for skiing, tubing and wakeboarding early in the morning. Not many boats are on the water and you can travel for miles and be in complete solitude except for the occasional eagle fishing or deer coming down to the waters edge for a drink. The air temperature has been in the 70's early and 80's in the afternoon. Overall a great week to play on Norfork Lake.

Until my next report happy fishing & skiing. See you on the lake.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Fishing Fun

One of our regular guests from St. Charles sent me this photo to do a little bragging. Even though Norfork Lake produces 60+ pound Blue catfish, this 84 pound Blue was caught on rod & reel in the Mississippi River. He and his partner caught about 600 pounds of fish one evening and all were released. Nice fish Kyle. We will try and catch a big striped bass this year when you are down.

I tried to go out fishing on Norfork Lake this morning, but the lightning kept me home bound, maybe I'll be able to go tomorrow morning. I did get out on Tuesday and Wednesday and had a good day Tuesday and a slow day on Wednesday. I have been fishing the Robinson Point area with live bait (medium size shiners and gold fish). I have had the best luck with shiners. The fish I caught have been on the small size 5 - 10 pounds, but I like catching any fish. I've released all fish lately. My secondary spot is off of a point heading back into the Bennetts area. On this point I have been catching some really nice spotted bass and a few walleye. Here again the shiners out fished the gold fish. I am going to try crawdads and shiners the next time. The fish are starting to school, but the schools are still small. There is some early morning and late evening top water for whites, spotted and large mouth bass. One of my guide friends fished until 9pm last evening and said the stripers really started to bite well around sunset. Hopefully this means the night bite has started.

Fish are being caught at 30 - 40 feet of water either on the bottom or suspended in 50 - 70 feet of water. Fish main lake points or flats at this water depth. Vertical jigging is also working very well at this depth. I will start spooning soon after I finish testing out the live bait.

Norfork Lake water level is dropping 3 - 4 inches per day and currently is at 557.37 feet, only 5 feet above normal pool. The lake water temperature has fallen slightly, but is still in the mid 80's. The main lake is clear and the creeks and cove are a little muddy due to the 3 inch rain last evening.

See you on the lake and happy fishing.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report


I have been going through fishing withdrawal, but finally today I was able to get out on Norfork Lake for a great day of fishing. I fished with one of my striper guide friends, Robert Lee, of Lee's Lite Line and we had a fantastic day of fishing. We were on the lake at 3AM in order to net live shad. We ended up getting about 50 nice size thread fin shad and then left for the Robinson Point area around 4:30AM. We were fishing the flats outside of the island. At around 5:15AM the fish started to hit non-stop for about an hour. We ended up catching hybrid bass and stripers in 25 - 35feet of water. The fish were on the bottom and feeding heavily. The bites were coming so quickly that we ended up missing as many fish as we caught. We left this area and headed to several points around Bidwell Point. We were marking plenty of fish, but found no takers. Our last stop was back in the Bennetts area. We fished a point at around 35feet of water and were catching nice size Kentucky bass. I caught a nice 5 pound walleye. Robert wanted some Kentuckys for dinner this evening for his fish tacos. We had fried walleye at our house. mmm good!

Vertical jigging would have worked well today. The fish were schooling and in a feeding frenzy. There was very little topwater action today. I think most fish will be caught in the 25 - 40 foot range from this point until the cool fall weather starts.

I will be back to my normal fishing schedule next week so hopefully the fish will react the same to artificial baits as they did today on live bait.

The Norfork Lake level is currently at 558.4 and falling. Two generators are running most of the day. The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the mid to upper 80's. Water is clear.

Well I'm am off to bed, it has been a long but very productive day. See you on the lake and happy fishing.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fish are still biting and top water action is active at sunrise and sunset on Norfork Lake. I went fishing yesterday morning and caught two nice hybrid bass. One was 8 pounds caught on my top water Zara Spook, the other was 7 pounds caught on a 2 inch "Baby N" crank bait. I was fishing the Robinson Point area close to the Big E. A couple of guides were fishing with live shad closer to the island. One limited out by 7:30AM and the other landed an 18 pound striper. The striper bite, white bass, Kentucky bass and largemouth are still active back in Bennetts area as well as outside of our cove. The fish are coming up in the main channel and some are suspended in 20-40 feet of water. The fish are in transition, but soon they will all be down around 40 feet. One of our guests has been fishing back in the Bennetts area with live shad. Today they caught over 20 fish, 3 were stripers, one walleye, and the rest were white and largemouth bass. They had a great time fishing and enjoyed their time swimming in the pool and lake this week. We enjoyed having them here at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort. Seeing our regular guests return year after year reinforces that we are doing what we need to do to keep them coming back.

The Norfork Lake level is being lowered by the Corps. They are running 2 generators most of the day. The lake level currently sits at 560.56. The Corps forecasts the lake to be at normal pool by July 26Th. The Norfork Lake temperature has dropped slightly over last week and is in the low to mid 80's. The water is clear with a slight stain in the creeks and coves.

No pictures or fishing for me for a week. My boat is rented out and my daughter has taken my camera for a few days. I will keep you informed with the information I get from my guide friends and fishing guests.

Until next time happy fishing and have a very happy and safe 4th of July.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a great day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks! The temperature this morning was just fantastic. It was in the mid 60's and with the lake being warmer there was light fog lifting up from the lake, a gorgeous morning.

It was also a fun morning fishing. I caught white bass, smallmouth, largemouth, Kentuckys and walleye. I was in a slight predicament though, the fish were breaking the surface all around me plus I was marking fish on the bottom. I didn't know what to do first! (What a terrible situation to have!) I ended up starting to fish top water. I caught several largemouth and Kentuckys, but most were 1.5 pounds or less. I switched to a spoon and immediately landed a nice 3 pound largemouth, then another, all the while other fish were breaking the surface around me. I hooked a nice 3 pound walleye. I actually had another walleye, but while I was trying to get my net, the fish flopped on the surface and came off the spoon. I was fishing a main lake point in the Five Fingers area. The top water fish were being caught anywhere from the shore out to 100 feet of water. My spooning fish were caught in 30 - 35 feet of water. The fish are starting to go deeper, last week I was spooning fish out of 20 - 25 feet of water. If the weather stays warm we should be in our normal summer pattern of most fish being around the 40 foot mark. Vertical jigging with a spoon is the way I typically fish during the summer months.

I did try to find some deep striped bass at sun -up without luck. I fished Tick Point, then at the number 2 marker, and then the bluffs a little farther south-east of number 2. I caught several smallmouth, but did not mark any striper. White Bass are still coming up early in the morning and later in the afternoon. You can throw a small spinner or use your favorite top water bait. The whites are coming up in the Cranfield area as well as at Bennetts area. Crappie are still being caught in about 15 - 25 feet of water over brush. Live crappie minnows are working best. Blue gill are still hitting very well all over the lake. Nightcrawlers and crickets work the best, just be prepared for a lot of action. Catfish are still being caught on jug lines as well as trot lines. Live shiners and cut bait are working well.

The Norfork Lake level is falling about 2 - 3 inches per day and is currently at 561.6 feet, one foot below last week. The Corps. has estimated that the lake will be back to normal pool towards the end of July. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the mid 80s. The lake is clear all over.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Norfork Lake fishing report


Another beautiful morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Slight to no ripple on the water. The surface temp was in the low 80's and will climb steadily during the day. The Norfork Lake level is at 562.7 and holding steady. Water is getting back to gin clear.

I spent the first hour of fishing just boating around trying to find some striped bass in deep water. No luck today with the stripers. The guides are catching a few stripers and hybrids from the Bennetts to dam area. The fish are still scattered and just starting to school up, at least that's what I am hoping. I headed back to the Bennetts area around 6:30AM and found a huge school of white bass busting the surface. There were two of us in the boat and we started throwing Zara spooks and had a blast. We were catching a fish almost every cast for about 45 minutes. None of the whites were huge, but they were a lot of fun to catch. My friend had a nice 2.5 - 3 pound largemouth on but decided to release it before he got it into the boat. It was a nice fish, I saw it swim away.

Until next time have a great time fishing and boating.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

For those heat and sun worshippers, summer has arrived to Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake, Arkansas. The weather has been just gorgeous, evenings in the 70's and daytime temps in the 90's with little to no wind and bluebird skies. We have a great group of guests this week, many are with a large family reunion and others are repeat guests that visit often. Tonight will be our first "dive-in" movie of the season. Spiderwich Chronicles will be playing poolside on a large screen.

This young lady out fished me. In a few weeks she and her family will be back for another visit. I think she will be able to show her grandpa a thing or two about fishing. I had a tough day yesterday morning and just caught a few white bass and several largemouth bass. The top water bite early and late seems to be slowing quickly, but it is still there if you're in the right spot at the right time. I'm not sure what level the thermocline is at, but with this heat it won't be long until it settles at 40 ft. When this happens spooning becomes my choice of fishing techniques. The striped bass, white bass, walleye and crappie will all be close to the thermocline level. The bluegill still can be caught at all depths.

My fishing excursions will slow some in the summer months since I have more day to day work at the resort, but hopefully I will still be able to get out several times a week.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 562.7. The lake water temp is from the low 80's early to upper 80's late. The lake is getting back to gin clear with a green tint in the coves and creeks, but still good visibility.

Until next time happy fishing and boating.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Top water action is still active on Norfork Lake. Last evening I went out and bottom bounced a crawler harness. I caught all the blue gill that I wanted, but the walleye eluded me. When the sun started to set I moved to a main lake point near our resort. The whites, Kentucky's and stripers started to erupt as soon as the sun was low enough to be hidden by the trees. I kept this 8 pound striped bass and released a 10 pound striper.Both were caught on a Zara spook junior. (white/chartreuse) I also caught 6 medium size white bass. The stripers didn't stick around long, but the white bass kept coming up until dark. I headed out this morning before sunrise and sat on the same point as last evening. As the sun came up the white bass started coming up all over from shallow water to 80 ft of water. I caught my fair share, but decided to leave and see if I could find some striped bass. I went back into Bennett's and this time the Kentuckys were coming up near one point. I caught 6 bass with 4 that were 15 inches long. They do give a good fight. Again no striper. I headed home about 8AM since Linda wanted to go shopping. I guess this is only fair.

The lake level is rising slowly with the rain that we have had the last couple of days and is currently at 562.6. The Corps is running 1 generator about 12 hours per day. The water temp this morning was in the upper 70's and last evening it was in the low to mid 80's. The water is clear in the main lake and still stained in the creeks and coves.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Norfork Lake Walleye Fishing

It was rainy and windy this morning on Norfork Lake, so I elected to sleep-in. It felt really good to get up at 7AM instead of 4:30, but I am itching to get out on Norfork Lake. I have been out the last couple of days and have started walleye fishing. Sunday evening I dragged a crawler harness with a bottom bouncing weight. I caught two slightly undersized walleye and several blue gill. I think that the walleye fishing would be great if it wasn't for the blue gill stealing the worms. I am going to try the Gulp worms and leaches next time. They are suppose to last longer and blue gill will have a harder time pulling them off. I have a friend that has been using shiners Carolina rigged and has been picking up a few walleye. The fish I caught were in 17 - 25 ft of water. I was dragging nightcrawlers next to the buck brush. I tried the points without luck. I also picked up a few 15 inch smallmouth on the crawler harnesses. The smallmouth are on the points at about 20 feet deep.

Largemouth and spotted bass are still coming up early in the morning and late in the afternoon. I caught 5 keeper size Kentucky bass yesterday morning on a spook back in the Bennetts area. I cleaned the Kentucky's and last night Linda made a fabulous fish cake appetizer with spicy tomatilla sauce. The striped bass are coming up early and late in the day. I have seen them in deep water, usually in the channel. When I get close enough to cast into them they go down and come up a different area. It looks like the striper top water action is coming to a close until the fall. The striped bass will start coming back up in September and/or October, when the water temp gets back in the mid 70's to mid 60's. I am still hopeful that I will be out and have them erupt around me. Spooning for stripers or trolling will start to work in 30 - 40 ft of water. Watch for a large school and drop the spoon on top of them and start jigging up and down. Be erratic with your jigging technique until you find the speed and action they are looking for.

The Norfork Lake level is at 562.44 and rising slowing. The Corps has forecast that the lake will stabilize at this level for a few days. (Of course if we get more rain it will rise.) The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the upper 70's to low 80's. The water is clear in the main channel and stained in the creeks and coves. Fish should start to hold at the edge between the stained and clear water.

Have a great day and happy fishing.