Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been gorgeous the past week on Norfork Lake. The forecast is calling for warm sunny days with light winds for the upcoming Memorial Holiday Weekend. (We still have a few openings for those last minute plans.)

I have fished the last 5 mornings and have done well. I've caught largemouth bass, Kentucky bass, white bass, walleye, crappie and striped bass. The striped bass are are both deep and also pushing the shad to the surface. The past several days I have been using a spoon and vertical jigging, but today I got into some nice top water action. I caught these two stripers (one 14 pounds and one 10 pounds)on a Zara Spook. I caught these fish on 8 pound test monofilament line. I used my favorite spook, a junior sized one with a white body and chartreuse head. Stripers are being caught in the Fouts area, Float Creek, Panther Creek, Fall Creek, Cranfield area and the Robinson area. As you can see they are throughout our end of the lake.

On Sunday, a father and daughter team (Kevin and Abbie) took a guided trip with Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters and landed 4 nice stripers and lost 8 others. Tom was using live gizzard shad and caught the fish in 25 - 40 feet of water. He was fishing the Fouts / 6A area. The second photo is of Mary Ann, one of our Collinsville, IL guests. She spooned up this nice 10 pound striped bass suspended in 40 feet of water in the White Rock area. Doug and Mary Ann also caught white bass and black bass both on top water and vertical jigging and also trolled up a nice 6 pound hybrid in the Cranfield area. Another one of our fishing guests (not in a photo) has been catching nice sized largemouth and Kentucky bass. He has also caught several walleye, one 18 inches. Larry loves to use a jig and pig and last winter he made up over a hundred jigs in various colors. He also uses real pork rind instead of the plastic ones.

As you can see fishing has been pretty active lately. For the top water bite you need to be out on the lake before sunrise as the fish start to go deep as the sun gets above the tree line. Even though this morning the striper top water bite lasted until 9AM and was still going on slowly as I left. The top water action is spotty and the fish come up quickly and go back down. If you are in the right place at the right time your spook will catch these fish.

The Norfork Lake surface water temperature this morning was in the low to mid 70's, The lake level is rising slowing and currently sits at 560.18, 8 feet above normal pool. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are slightly stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Summer has made its way to Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. The high temperature for yesterday was in the low 90's and today is looking to be about the same. It was 70 degrees this morning at 5AM when I was getting ready to go fishing. I had a successful morning of fishing. I caught 3 walleye, several white bass, several Kentucky bass and two largemouth bass. I headed to the Cranfield area to see if any top water action was occurring on the flats or in the various coves in the area. But to my dismay very little top action except for the carp and gar. I did get a few bass to come up for my spook, but it was relatively quiet in this area. At around 7:30 I decided to start spooning on the deep rock bluff lines. I am glad I did. I ended up spooning up 3 walleye, a white bass and two Kentucky bass. The big walleye was 6 pounds (26 inches long), I also had a 3 pounder but the third one was short. I was spooning in 30 - 40 feet of water at a location that has a lot of underwater boulders.

The backs of creeks are holding many white bass. I sent a guest to a location in Float Creek and they have had a blast the last two mornings. The bite is early and stops once the sun gets over the trees. They caught most on a Zara Spook and once they went down they started to catch the whites on a spoon vertical jigging. They also caught a few small hybrids.

The striped bass are still being caught on free swimming live baits as well as with baits set at depths of 30 - 40 feet. A report from another guest fishing back in the Fouts area reported some big fish surfacing, but all were too far away for him to cast into. They ended up catching bass and a few whites on a spook and ended up spooning in deeper water, catching white bass and Kentucky bass.

All the fish that were cleaned today showed that they have been feeding on crawdads. I'm sure this is one reason for the spoon starting to work. In addition the lake temperature is rising, giving the fish another reason to go begin going deep.

Make sure you still have a top water bait tied on, but be ready to start spooning as the fish are starting to go deep.

The Norfork Lake water depth is at 559.57 with the rise starting to slow. Generators are being run intermittently during the day. The surface water temperature was mainly in the low 70's this morning. With the upcoming hot days and warm nights the water temp should continue to climb. The water in the creeks are somewhat stained. The main lake channels are clear.


Happy fishing and see you on Norfork Lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The rain has finally stopped and a warming trend with clear skies is forecast to start tomorrow on Norfork Lake. It should be a great weekend to be on the lake fishing or just enjoying the scenery.
I haven't had a chance to get out fishing in almost two weeks. I am starting to get restless, but the resort work must come first. I will be out fishing tomorrow morning. I have been getting great reports on striper fishing from my guide friends. They are catching their limits and one guide last Sunday landed three 30+ pound stripers on one trip. That is a great catch. The stripers are schooling and feeding heavily. They are still coming up early in the morning and late in the day. If you are not using live bait, try throwing a Zara Spook or a fluke with a weighted hook. Other top water baits will work as well. As the day wears on the stripers are going deeper, feeding on shad and crawdads. Have a spoon ready and when you find a school feeding on the bottom drop the spoon and vertical jig. Try the backs of creeks. Typically when we have rising water the stripers go back to the mud line. This typically holds true for the black bass as well.

The largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky bass bite is still good. These fish are surfacing early in the morning and late in the day. During the heat of the day they are on the bluff lines in 11 - 20 feet as well as on the sides of points. Top water baits are working for the surfacing fish. Once they go down use a jig and pig or a plastic worm Texas rigged. Work the baits slowly along the bottom. The fish are hitting very lightly so watch your line.

The walleye are in the brush piles 20 - 30 feet down and are coming up in the shallows at night and early in the morning to feed. Crank baits and walleye assassins are catching a few when they are shallow. Live minnows are working well when they are in the brush. They are also suspended on the bluff lines with the bass during the day.

The crappie bite has been pretty good, but they have gone deeper. They are on brush that is in 30 - 40 feet of water and the fish are suspended over the brush at different depths. Live minnows with a slip bobber is working the best. Set your stoppers at different depths until you find where they are suspended.

I have had a chance to set my trot line a few times. The flatheads are coming in to feed. Jugs are also working very well. I have caught my flatheads on live shiners as well as crawdads. We'll be having fish tacos for lunch and will bread and freeze the rest for a big fish fry we have planned for June 4th.

The Norfork Lake level is rising and is currently at 558.06 feet. above sea level. (6 feet above normal pool) The lake water temperature is in the upper 60's to low 70's. The temperature should start to rise with the warm weather being forecast. The lake has gotten a little stained with all the rain we have had. We had almost 2 inches last evening.

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

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of you wonderful and amazing Mothers. I hope you all had a nice day yesterday.

Welcome Basscat Owners. We have a great group of guys and gals staying with us that are fishing in the tournament. Several cabins are filled with guests we have gotten to know over the 8 years we've been here plus we get to welcome a few that are new to us. Good to see you all.

The weather on Norfork Lake has turned a little south the last couple of days. It has gotten slightly cooler and it started to rain last evening. We did need the rain, sorry Basscatters. But the good thing is that the weather hasn't seemed to affect the fishing much. Bass are still biting well on just about anything you throw at them. They are hanging at the edge of the buck brush, points and also on the bluff lines. Plastics Texas rigged and crank baits are working. There is still some top water at sun rise and also at sun set, so have your favorite top water bait tied on.

Walleye are being caught by the bass fishermen on crank baits. The walleye are hanging around the brush piles in 20 - 30 feet of water as well as on the bluff lines anywhere from 11 - 20 feet down. They are both suspended as well as on the bottom.

The crappie are starting to come alive. Live minnows on sunken brush are catching many nice slabs. The fish are being caught above the brush suspended close to the surface as well as buried in the brush pile. Find a good brush pile and throw out your marker. Leave this site for about 10 minutes to let things settle then return and cast in your minnow with a slip bobber. Try different depths until you find the feeding fish. A 15 1/2 inch crappie was caught off of my dock yesterday by one of our guests.

Catfish are starting to hit live shiners and crawfish on my trot line. Jugs are also working. It looks like the cats are starting to find their spawning grounds as they are full of eggs.

The striped bass are being caught all over the lake from the dam area to mid lake to the upper parts of the lake in Bennett's and before you get to the Missouri line. Live shad is working well, but artificial baits are also working early in the morning and right at sunset. Some top water action, but I am still hoping that the schooling top water is yet to occur and will happen soon. The stripers are feeding on shad as well as crawdads. Spooning may start to work when you find a school of stripers feeding at the bottom.

The Norfork Lake level is at 556.09, but will start to rise due to the rain. We have had close to an inch so far, with a 50% chance of more tonight. Right now there is no rain in the forecast for tomorrow. The lake surface water temperature last evening was in the mid 60's. The lake is clear, but might get a little stained with the rain.

Happy fishing and see you all on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake keeps getting better and better. Last Sunday two of our guests, Steve and Jeff, took a guided striper trip with Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line and caught several nice stripers and plenty of bass. The largest striper was 14 pounds. They used live shad were casting the bait without weight to a point in the dam area. The bite is still an early morning bite. In the afternoon look for the fish in deeper water. The fish are coming shallow again at sunset.

I have been fishing for the last 3 mornings and have been slamming the white bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass. We have also caught a few smallmouth and a nice 6 pound hybrid yesterday. This morning we caught eight 2+ pound white bass and at least 6 largemouth bass with the biggest weighing about 3.5 pounds. We missed more fish than we caught. All fish were caught on a Zara Spook and we worked it at different speeds. The fish were erupting all around us until the sun got over the trees. Then as stated before the fish switch was turned off. I have reports that fish are being caught in various locations, 6B, 6A, Panther, Float and also up the river from Cranfield. The top water bite is starting to take off and I hope it continues to improve. You will need to be out on the water before the sun rises. An additional report from one of my scuba diving guests is that he is marking fish from 11 - 17 feet down suspended on the deep bluff lines. Nothing is below 17 and nothing above 11. He is marking a lot of walleye and large bass.

I have been catching a catfish or two each day on my trot line. I caught my first blue for this year yesterday morning and it weighed 12 pounds. The rest of the cats have been flatheads. I have been using large live shiners.

Crappie are starting to bite again. Guests have been catching on brush piles that are in 20 - 30 ft of water and the fish are anywhere from 4 - 12 feet down. Live minnows have been working the best. The hottest spot has been under my dock. Two days ago a guest limited out and yesterday he caught 8 with the monster being 15 inches long. These fish are being caught in the middle of the day.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly with no generation and currently sits at 555.92. The surface water temperature was 64 - 66 degrees this morning. The lake is very clear.

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

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It is a beautiful day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. The lake is calm, the sky is blue and the air temperature in in the upper 70's. Definitely shorts and t-shirt weather if not your bathing suit. (Our pool is OPEN) I have fished the last two mornings and today did very well, yesterday was so so. We caught 15 fish with a mixed bag of white bass and Kentucky bass all in less than 2 hours. I arrived at my fishing spot at day break and immediately Jason caught a nice Kentucky. We were throwing Zara Spooks. A clear one and a white and chartreuse. The fish were surfacing and hammering the spooks until the sun moved over the trees, then it was like a light switch. The bite turned-off. That was fine as I had to get Jason back to the house so he, my daughter and granddaughter could head to Silver Dollar City in Branson. The white bass are also hitting spinner baits very well. You can find the whites in the backs of creeks in the Bennett's area, Float Creek and Panther Creek. Bass are also hitting crank baits and plastics worked close to the buck brush. Black bass, spotted Bass and smallmouth bass are being caught all over the lake. The bite slowed a little the latter part of this week due to a cold front that moved through, but it looks like the bite is back on.

Our guest's guided crappie trips with both guides (Jay of Crappies Only and Harvey of Hard times) had to be cancelled due to weather last Friday. The wind was blowing 20 -30 mph with higher gusts. Since they couldn't get on the lake they decided to head to the river and had a great time catching rainbow trout. The crappie are biting at least today under our dock. One of our guests has caught 12 crappie so far in the last 2 hours. He is using live minnows and the fish are only about 4 - 5 feet down. He should have his limit by now. The best part is that while he is entertaining himself with fishing, his wife is laying in the sun in her bathing suit on our swim platform. A vacation made in heaven!

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently is at 555.75 with no generation. The surface water temperature was 65 degrees this morning. The lake is clean and clear. It is so much fun and a pleasure living and vacationing on such a beautiful lake.

Have a great day filled with lots of fun and of course fishing. See you on the lake.