Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake striper bite has been off the chart using live bait. The morning and evening bites have been really good. Fish are being caught from Diamond Bay to the dam. Guests in the photos have been fishing all week long and have been limiting out in the mornings as well as the evenings. Jeff catches live shad and this seems to be the bait of choice. Last evening Jeff and I were fishing next to each other off a point in the dam area. I watched him land two nice 12 pound stripers and miss 5 others. I was vertical jigging with a spoon and only had one hit and missed it. They definitely wanted fresh bait instead of artificial. The fish were 38 - 45 feet down either on the bottom or suspended in about 55 feet of water. This evening I am going to try live shiners to see how and if they will work. I will let you know.

I have been catching black bass and white bass with catfish and walleye thrown in for good measure. I've been fishing in 35-40 feet of water. These fish are on the bottom feeding on shad. White bass are back in coves and creeks usually towards the center of the creek not on the banks. The black bass that I have found are on points or the sides of points in this same water depth. The lake thermocline is hovering in the 35 feet range and varies depending on where you are on the lake.

The Norfork Lake level has risen to 552.3. The surface water temperature has stabilized in the low 80s during the morning and the mid 80s in the afternoon. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are still murky.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.