Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Here are some nice Norfork Lake Black Crappies. These keepers ranged from 12 - 16 inches and are very healthy fish. He caught over seventeen crappie and released the majority. We released these fish after taking the picture at the Hummingbird Hideaway Resort dock. Blue gills were hitting as good as the crappie. Ed, our guest from Wisconsin has caught many fish with many more to come. He was using a 1/16 ounce hair jig in a white and chartreuse color. Artificial baits were working much better than live bait today. He caught the fish in 15 - 25 feet of water over sunken timber. He casted out, counted down to the depth he wanted then start to retrieve slowly. Many times the fish would hit while the jig was sinking and he would see his line start moving. In addition to the crappie and blue gill he caught several nice bass. Ed has also hooked into two nice size fish over the last couple of days, more than likely stripers, but lost them before he could land them. He has been fishing the Cranfield to Red Bank area in coves with running water. The shad seem to be in the back of creeks and coves and he has seen big fish feeding on the shad. Ed's catch corroborates the crappie guides' reports that I received yesterday.

We had around an inch of rain yesterday and the lake is on the rise. Current level of Norfork Lake is 553.7. The surface water temperature today was 48.7 degrees. The creeks and coves have changed from chocolate milk to a green haze with limited visibility. The main lake is much clearer.

Happy fishing and see you all on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

No fishing today, but I did get out the last two days on Norfork Lake. I am granddaughter sitting today. She has not gotten into fishing yet, but I keep trying. The cold spell, then the warm summer like weather have the shad moving continually. If you can find the shad you will find the fish. I have talked with 3 different striper guides today. I have also talked with two crappie guides while setting up fishing trips for spring guests. They are all having their successes and of course the slow days. Two days ago I went crappie fishing and caught several nice size black bass, no crappie. The bass are fat and sassy. I caught mine vertical jigging with a 1/4 oz spoon in 30 feet of water over (actually in) the brush piles. I was also told that one bass fisherman has been using a dark colored jig with a tail and catching quality fish anywhere from 15 - 30 feet of water. The trick is the speed. Barely move the jig over the bottom. The fish are looking for slow moving bait, but when they hit, they hammer it and are pulling like a freight train. More keeper size lunkers are being caught than I have ever seen in the past. Two guides fished several docks yesterday with live shad and just hammered the bass, one being 8 pounds.

The crappie guides are catching large healthy slabs suspended at about 20 feet over brush in 30 - 40 feet of water. Over the last several days they have also caught fish suspended at 9 feet in about 20 feet of water. The hot weather has moved them up. They aren't catching large quantities, but what is being caught is quality.

Striped bass are following the shad and the current problem is finding the shad. One day they are back in the creeks and the next they are suspended at 60 feet in the channel of 120 feet of water. One guide (STR Outfitters) graphed various hot spots all the way to the dam and found spotty fish. He ended up coming up to the mid lake area and found shad and stripers in 40 - 60 feet of water between the bridges. I fished the 62 bridge and Float creek yesterday and caught one small striper, but when I got close to the bank and points I was picking up some nice bass. I used live shiners yesterday.

I, along with the guides, believe that the spring bite should be one of the best we have seen in a long time. Lots of big fat fish. Start planning your fishing trips.

The Norfork Lake level is rising and currently sits at 553.2. The Corps is running one to two generators most of the day with short periods of no generation. We have had almost an inch of rain so far today so we should see another foot or more rise in the next day or so. The backs of creeks and coves look like chocolate milk with a mud line. From the mud line out towards the main lake the water is stained. It will take a while for the coves to clear especially after today's rain. The main lake is fairly clear, but when the lake stabilizes it will clear even more. The surface water temperature has risen to about 48 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Summer day in January at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

I'm sure a lot of you reading this are looking to see how Lou did with fishing today. Well the truth is, he screwed up! He looked at the forecast last night and saw that rain was expected and slept in. We had a gorgeous day that reached 71 degrees with no rain. Lou missed his early morning fishing trip and his afternoon fishing time was taken up with a full day of things like helping clean out flower beds, errands around Mountain Home and starting the demolition to the kitchen in cabin 3. Cabin 3 will be getting a kitchen remodel over the winter. Hopefully that job won't cut into fishing time too much. I have heard him mention things like "good rainy day job, and this won't take too long!" Hopefully a fishing report soon!

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The air temperature reached about 60 degrees today on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. You can't ask for much better for a mid January winter day. It has actually been in the upper 50's for the last 3 days. I hope winter is gone! Wishful thinking I think!

I arrived home the other day from another successful sport show. I was at the St. Charles, MO sport show with Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line, a striper fishing guide on Norfork Lake. We met many of our old friends / guests from the area and made many more. It was really fun talking to people interested in the Norfork Lake area. Linda and I will be at the Tinley Park fishing show, south of Chicago, February 13 & 14. If you live in the area and have a chance come by and visit.

I went out pre-fishing with Robert Lee today. We graphed many areas and fished a little. Ended up not catching striper, but did have 4 short bites. We did get several nice largemouth bass in the 4.5 - 5 pound range and released them immediately.

I hope to be out crappie fishing over the next couple of days, so keep watching my report to see how I'm doing.

The Norfork Lake level is at 552.5, only 1/2 foot above normal pool. The Corps has slowed the generation so the lake is only dropping about 2 - 3 inches each day. The main lake is clear and the coves and creeks are starting to clear, but still stained. The Norfork Lake water temperature ranged from 44 - 46 degrees today depending on where we were on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Linda and I got home from our Collinsville Sport Show Sunday evening. We met several of our old friends and made many new ones. Overall the show was a big success. I will be at the St. Charles, MO sport show this weekend. If you're in the area please stop by and talk about the your vacation needs for this year and of course get the latest fishing report on the lake.

The weather has greatly improved on Norfork Lake and the future forecast shows it is only going to get better. The freeze is over, finally! I have fished the last couple of afternoons and have been successful in catching largemouth bass and Kentucky (spotted) bass. I have been vertical jigging with a small spoon and also casting a small grub tipped with a minnow. The bass have been hanging out in my sunken brush piles in 30 - 45 feet of water. My guest from WI has also been doing well with bass. He has had his luck casting a jig head tipped with a Gulp smelt flavored minnow. He has been casting the rock bluffs. The bass seem to be hanging on ledges where there is a drop off from 20 to 30 feet.

I fished awhile this morning for stripers and only had 4 short bites. I was marking plenty of bait fish in the 40 - 60 feet range with some occasional big arcs. No big bites today. I fished Float Creek and Panther Creek. The fish were there, but I guess I wasn't presenting my bait the way they wanted today.

The Norfork Lake level has fallen to 554.11. The lake surface water temperature ranged from 42.5 to 44 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are clearing somewhat, but still stained.

Have a great day and see you on the lake next week.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a difference a year can make in the weather conditions on Norfork Lake. Last year on 1/3/09 I was out fishing and catching crappie and small mouth in just a light weight tee shirt. This year I am stuck in the house with cold temps and snow on the ground. The fish are still biting well so when the weather breaks get out on Norfork Lake. Yesterday a fisherman was fishing for striped bass on Cow Point and limited out in 20 minutes. He had a heater in his boat, but when he tried to pull his boat out of the water he had to be towed out.

For those people in the St. Louis area, Linda and I will be at the Collinsville Fishing Show at the Gateway Center this coming weekend. The Show starts on Friday at noon and lasts until Sunday at 5PM. Come by and visit with us or come by to book your vacation for this season. We do offer a sport show special if you can book at the show.

The Norfork Lake water level is 558.4 and falling around 4 - 5 inches per day. The Corps has all generators running full blast. The lake surface temp is 47 - 48 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained. The creeks and coves will clear once the lake stabilized and a constant level.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Happy New Year to all and may the new year bring you many exciting memories of catching fish on Norfork Lake. The sun is shining with no clouds in sight. What a gorgeous day to start the first day of 2010 at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort.

The winter bite for striped bass, white bass, Kentucky bass, largemouth bass, and crappie is in full swing. Some undersized walleye have been caught recently, hopefully we'll see the larger ones soon. The striper bite has been fantastic. Since so many species are biting well it makes it difficult to decide what to fish for. I decided for my final catch of the year, I would striper fish. I headed out yesterday around 10AM to the same area my guests caught fish the day before. (check out the blog from 12/30/09, nice fish!)I ended up landing 2 - 10 pound stripers, broke off one other and had 4 - 5 short bites. I also caught several nice white bass spooning. The Stripers were caught on live shiners. I had the boat in 60 - 70 feet of water and the stripers were on the bottom to 25 feet down. When I drifted over a school of shad I started to vertical jig and found that the whites were feeding under the ball of shad. All fish were released except for this stiper in the photo. The white bass was released after he had his picture taken. The striper will make it to the frying or baking pan. Another striper fisherman, fishing near the same area pulled in several nice stripers and a monster Blue Catfish that weighed 41 pounds. I could hear him screaming during the fight that he had a monster. It was a monster!

Crappie, walleye, Kentucky bass, and largemouth bass are are hanging in the same areas. They are around brush piles on the rock bluff lines, in 30 - 45 feet of water. At least that is where I have been fishing and catching. I have been vertical jigging with a 3/4 ounce spoon, and I also use a small grub with a twister tail tipped with a crappie minnow on a 1/16 ounce jig head. The bite is light so pay close attention to your line.

We will see what today brings. The sun is shining and the wind is light. Who knows, I may be able to catch my first fish of 2010 today. What to fish for?? Decisions, decisions!

Norfork Lake is clear in the main lake and stained in the creeks and coves. The Lake level is starting to fall slowly and is sitting at 559.75 above sea level with normal pool at 552. The Corps is starting to run all generators again. The lake surface temperature is around 47 degrees.

Happy New year and see you on the lake.