Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Spring bite is in full swing on Norfork Lake and it is only going to get better. These Nebraska brothers had a great day on the lake with Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters yesterday morning. The best part is that their fishing time has only just begun. They still have the rest of the week to test their skills against the Norfork Lake fish. The evening before their guided trip they caught this nice 5 pound walleye and have already caught many black bass. STR Outfitters was fishing the dam area with gizzard shad and the fish hammered the baits.

I had a busy day yesterday. I fished in the morning. I was on the lake at 6AM. I was hoping to find some top water striped bass action, but instead I found largemouth and Kentucky bass breaking the surface. I ended up catching 6 bass with the largest one weighing 3.5 pounds. I used a Zara Spook that was white with a chartreuse colored head. I fished in the Bennett's area and worked my way up to the main lake. I was back to the resort by 9AM to lay another pallet of sod in front of Cabin 3 and complete numerous other honey due jobs. At about 8PM I headed out again for the night bite in the Bidwell area. The wind was blowing pretty hard which made fishing in the dark even more difficult. I think I was on the shore retrieving my rogue from the buck brush more than I was fishing. I did have two fish on that were pulling drag. With the first one I found my drag was way too loose and I never got a good hook set. I lost that one pretty quickly. I was fighting the second fish for a good 5 minutes and on one of its dives it just disappeared. I still can't figure out how 3 treble hooks can come out of a fish that was hooked??? It's definitely not the fisherman's fault!!! Both of the fish came pretty early, I fished for another hour with nothing, but I could hear the fish breaking the surface. I headed home about 10PM. Needless to say I have been pretty tired today, but still got a lot of work accomplished. The wind is still blowing heavily so I think I will call it an early night tonight and get some sleep.

The Norfork Lake level is still rising slowly and currently is at 556.21. One to two generators are being run throughout the day. The lake surface temperature was 57 - 59 degrees. The lake is clear and the coves are becoming clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.