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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.