Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake spring fishing bite is back better than ever. I have been out the last two mornings and the bite is fantastic for smallmouth bass, white bass, and hybrid bass. Ater the heavy rains last week that made the lake rise 11 feet the bite all but disappeared for a few days. That part of our life is over and the fishing is stronger than ever.

This morning I fished the Diamond Bay area and had a great day. I caught 12 fish and missed as many or more. I was using live bait as well as throwing a Zara spook (white with a chartreuse head). The bite started about 6:45AM and I quit fishing at 9 after having 3 fish on at the same time. I landed two smallmouth bass and lost the third. Literally I lost the third, if anyone catches a big fish with a Falcon rod and a Shimano reel attached, it is mine!! I was fighting a large smallmouth hearing the drag zinging out of this other rod. I looked back and it was gone.

My morning started out with the white bass erupting all around me. My live bait poles were dipping to the water and the fish were also attacking my spook. No way I could handle 5 rods by myself. Then the hybrids started breaking the surface. Again they were hitting both live bait as well as my spook. The the smallmouth started to bite. I caught a couple on my spook and the rest on live bait. I was sitting on the side of a point in 15 - 20 feet of water. I had two down poles set at about 12 feet and one pole that I was pitching into the buck brush. When I say into the buck brush that is what I mean. The fish are feeding inside of the brush and cruising in out. You will be retying hooks, but that is what it takes at this time. The stripers will be doing the same very shortly. I was using thread fin shad as my live bait, but shiners should work as well. Yesterday morning was very similar to this morning, but the eruptions yesterday were mainly smallmouth bass. I have had a limit of smallmouth each day, a limit of hybrids today and many white bass. It is time to fish Norfork Lake!!! The night bite for me is still slow, it should start to pick up though very soon.

My current fishing suggestion is to find the clearer water. Some of the major creeks I have been in are starting to clear and the water looks much better than the main lake. Over the last several days I have traveled most of the lake from Pigeon creek, up to Bennett's and down to the dam. Fish a point that has a lot of buck brush in the water.  Cast in live bait with no weight, or use artificial (flukes, spooks or rogues.) Of course there are many others to choose from. Continually watch out for top water action especially early in the morning. Even if you don't see top action the fish will come up for your bait.

I don't currently have any info on crappie, but will get the scoop soon.

The Norfork Lake level is falling about 2 inches per day and currently sits at 562.59.  The Corps is running one generator and is releasing the equivalent of a second generator to help bring the lake down. They are releasing water 24 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature was in the upper 60's to low 70's this morning. The main lake is still very stained, but some of the major creeks are starting to clearing.

To all my fishing followers- if you have information that will be helpful to others, please feel free to comment on these blogs or on Hummingbird Hideaway Resort's facebook page.

Happy fishing, be safe and see you on the lake.