Early spring fishing on Norfork Lake is starting to take off. Striped bass are hitting during the morning hours and the after dark "night bite" is getting exciting. Largemouth bass and walleye are in shallow water and the crappie should be staging for their spawn. What more can you ask for?
I have been fishing the "night bite" for the last 3 evenings and am catching walleye, largemouth bass, spotted bass, striped bass and the occasional gar. All fish except for the walleye have been released, some at the dock after their photo op, some at the fishing location. We had stuffed fresh Norfork Lake walleye last evening and it was really really good! Some of you may ask what is the "night bite"? The striped bass and walleye are on the shoreline feeding after dark. I have been casting Smithwick Suspending Rogues to the shoreline. I get the bait as close to the shore as possible. Then let the bait sit for about 15 - 30 seconds before I start to reel it back to the boat very very slowly. If you think you are going slow try to go even slower. I have even stopped reeling half way back to the boat to let the bait sit for a couple seconds. I typically go out around 7PM and return around 10PM to the resort. I'm sure the fish will still bite later if you want to fish though out the night. 10 PM is late enough for me. I use a 6.75 ft medium light action rod with a spinning reel which has 8 pound Ande green monofilament line. So far this year, I have been fishing main lake points that the wind is blowing into. Typically you find the wind will lay down after dark. This wasn't the case last night. I fish points in the Cranfield area, Benetts/Fout area, Bidwell area, Float Creek, and have gone as far as the Diamond Bay area. I like to venture out and try different areas of the lake. Last evening was very windy which made it very difficult to control both the boat and the cast. I did manage to land one nice 14.75 pound striper which had a belly on it bigger than mine! I also caught a 4 foot gar, no fight until it was sitting next to the boat then it decided it had enough, it flipped, cut the line and swam off with my lure! You never know what is going to hit your bait. The morning bite for stripers is also starting to take off. Jeff in the above photo landed this nice 28 pound striper yesterday morning fishing in 20 feet of water. I fully expect the topwater bite for stripers to start very soon. Have your topwater baits ready. We carry a good supply of rogues and topwater baits in our resort store at reasonable rates.
Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and spotted bass are all up in shallow water early and late in the day. Casting rogues, working the bait as a jerk bait is working. Any jerk bait lure, soft or hard will work. Casting the Alabama rig is also catching fish. It is more difficult to cast and work with, but it will catch fish once you find them.
I don't have much news on crappie as I have been targeting stripers lately, but they should be staging for their spawn. The water temperature is getting right and the dogwoods should start to bloom very shortly. Find brush and fish shallow.
The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowly and currently sits at 552.13 feet above sea level. This is only slightly above normal pool of 552. The Corps is generating heavily to bring the lake back to normal pool. The lake temperature is in the mid 50's. In fact, I found the water temperature would change by 3 degrees depending where I was last evening. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are starting to clear, but still a nice stained color exists.
Happy fishing and see you on the lake.
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