Over the last couple of weeks striper fishing has been slow to say the least, but that is starting to change. In the past several days I have found stripers and hybrids in the mid lake area 35 - 50 feet down, either on the bottom or suspended in deeper water. I am not marking schools of fish, but see several fish at a time and they are starting to become aggressive. The last striper I caught that was lying on the bottom in 90 feet of water, came up to the boat without any fight, but the fish I have caught over the last couple of days have hammered the baits and have given great fights pulling out drag continuously. They have become rejuvenated:-) I have been fishing with live shad set at 35 - 40 feet down and moving around slowly. Trolling for stripers will become very productive as it is much easier to get your bait down to the 40 feet level. Trollers can use down-riggers or snap on weights to get to the proper depth. Vertical jigging may still be a little more difficult as the fish are still scattered and not schooled up. This is not to say you can not catch a striper jigging a spoon or some other similar bait.
Most other fish species that my guests and I have found are in shallower water and typically close to sunken brush piles. Concentrate on brush in 25 - 35 ft of water and the fish can be at any depth close by the brush. Crappie fishing has been fair to good over brush with a small 1/16 ounce jig , 1/4 ounce spoon or a small minnow with a slip bobber worked around and in the brush. Crappie, bluegills, walleye and catfish are all in this similar area. I landed this 25 pound flathead catfish on 4 pound test monofilament line with a 1/4 ounce spoon. It was a blast landing, it took me 45 minutes of being drug around the lake. I saw the fish 4 different times and each time it saw me and took a dive back to the bottom. Once in the net I gave out a loud hoot and if anyone else was in the area I bet they thought I was a crazy man. If your after crappie, typically the bite will slow after you catch a few fish, when this happens move to the next brush pile and catch a few more. This is my tip to you.White bass have started to school on main lake flats. A couple of my guests had a blast several different times, landing many whites on a Kastmaster. Top water action galore. The biggest problem is that they are still the smaller whites not the big 2 - 3 pound fish. The bigger whites will start to show up as the lake cools in the same and similar areas. Top water actions for the bigger whites and stripers could happen at any time.
I have fished for black bass several times over the last couple of weeks and have caught quite a few fish. Most on the short size. So I guess what I am trying to say I have not been able to figure them out, yet. There has been some top water at sunrise and sunset. My spook worked great. Some of my bass fishing guests have caught nice fish throwing a jig and pig and plastic worms. Most of their fish came anywhere from 10 to 25 ft down and typically on rocky points and the deep bluff lines. The bass fishing will pick up with the cooling of the water and they will continue to move closer to the banks. In a few more weeks depending on the water temperatures, jerk bait time will begin.
The Norfork Lake surface water temperature has fallen to 74 degrees and warms slightly during the day. A cold front is coming into the area this week so I predict the water temp to be in the upper 60's by the beginning of next week. The main lake water is clear and creeks and coves are stained. As the water cools the water will continue to clear up. Not much water outflow from power generation, but small flows are occurring due to minimum flow. The lake is falling very slowing and currently sits at 553.15.
Happy fishing and see you on the lake.
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