Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It was very productive and fun fishing Norfork Lake this morning. I caught crappie, white bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, spotted bass (kentucky) and striped bass. All from about 6:00 - 8:30AM and all (except crappie) on a top water Zara spook lure. I was using my favorite color pattern, a white body with a chartreuse head. The fish are starting to surface more, which is what I have been looking for. The feeding frenzies do not last long, but today when they went down they would surface again not far away. It was a blast. I started fishing in a cove by East Pigeon where I caught the crappie, white bass and largemouth bass. Most of the white bass were on the small size, but still fun. If I would have down sized to a Zara spook puppy I could have had a field day catching whites. I moved to the Cranfield area looking for striper top water action. I was fishing along a bluff and they started to come up. I caught two on top water. I also caught small, large and spotted bass in the same area. I was sitting in about 60 - 70 ft of water close to shore, but not casting distance. Once I looked across the lake and for 15 minutes I could see the most fierce eruption I had seen this year, but I have learned that if I start to chase the fish, by the time I get there they are gone, with great reluctantance I stayed put. My patience paid off as they came up again around me and I caught a nice 12 pound striper. I ended up releasing all fish caught today even though most were keeper size fish. One largemouth weighed 3 pounds.

The Norfork Lake level is 561.5 and rising slowly. One to two generators are being run 5 - 6 hours per day periodically. The Norfork Lake water temperature was in the mid 70's this morning and gets warmer during the day. The lake was calm with a slight ripple with south winds. The water is clear in the main lake and slightly stained in the creeks and coves. The current weather is just perfect for all types of water sports.

The fishing couldn't have been better this morning so plan your vacation soon to share in all the fun.

Happy fishing and see you at the lake or at least in our pool.