Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I have had a fun week of fishing on Norfork Lake. Not to mention that the weather has been just gorgeous. All species have been very aggressive and biting well on both live bait as well as artificial baits. I fished 4 mornings this week and did very well with bass and stripers. I fished with my son-in-law and one of his friends. The 16 pound striper that Jason is holding was his biggest striper so far on Norfork Lake. The hybrids that Vance is holding were the biggest fish he has ever caught. We also caught many largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass along with a few whites. I fished the mid lake area off of points. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters took four of our guests out last week and they just slayed the stripers. I believe these were the first stripers that a couple of the guys have ever caught. Tom was fishing the dam area. Fish are being caught all over the lake. This time of year is great for fishing Norfork Lake in the early mornings and afternoons. This frees you up to play in the water during the midday :-)

Striped and hybrid bass can be located on main lake points early in the mornings. They are feeding heavily on shad and crawfish. If you're fishing with live bait pitch a free swimming bait next to the trees and keep working the points and the sides of each point. If you prefer artificial baits try a fluke, bass assassin or a swimming minnow with a weighted hook. Cast between the brush and work it back to the boat as a jerk bait or slow it down and work it with slight twitches until you reach the boat. Grubs with a 1/8 ounce jig head are also working once the fish go down to the 20 - 25 feet range. Top water baits are working occasionally as well as shallow diving crank baits. Once the sun gets higher in the sky the stripers are moving into deeper water. Live bait will need to be weighted and set straight down next to the boat about 30 - 40 feet down. The fish may be suspending in deep water so watch your sonars. You can also slowly drag a long line with live bait with a split shot to get the bait down a little. Vertical jigging a spoon is starting to work once you find the fish.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are also in the brush early and late in the day. Same techniques are working for the black bass as for the stripers. Flukes, bass assassins, swimming minnow and crank baits. Top water for the black bass is found more frequently than for stripers. Live bait is working very well.

Walleye can be found in 20 - 30 feet of water on the bottom. Live bait on a drop shot rig is working as is vertical jigging a spoon. Trolling a crawler harness slowly is catching some nice fish.

White bass are schooling and can be found in the bushes with the black bass and stripers. Flukes are catching a few, but the hooks are a little big. Small spinners (rooster tails) are work well both in shallow and deep water. You can also find them in deeper water along chunk rock banks. Use a rooster tail and let it sink about 10 feet down then reel back to the boat slowly. If you find the school of fish you can also vertical jig a spoon.

Crappie are biting well if you can get to them. They are back in the bushes in very shallow water. You can also find them under docks that have brush sunken under them. I had a guest last week that had an under water camera and was seeing many crappie as well as large blue gills. The blue gill fishing has been really good. I have seen many huge slabs brought into the dock for cleaning.

Catfish are biting well on trot lines baited with live shiners. I pulled off three nice channels from my line this morning. One of my guests caught 6 nice cats fishing with nightcrawlers and stink bait last evening.

The lake level is falling slowly 1 - 3 inches per day and currently sits at 576.7. The surface water temperature is in the mid to up 80's. The lake is clearing and appears to have a 5 - 8 foot visibility.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.