Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

There are currently 3 good bites on the lake making fishing Norfork Lake fun for everyone. Striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, and crappie are the 3 best bites on the lake at this time.

You can find largemouth bass in several different types of areas. Bluff walls have been very productive. The fish can be up tight to the rocks or suspended out from the bluff. Most of these fish are 10 to 20 feet down either on the bottom or suspended over deep water. A-rigs are working great with white swimbaits. You can judge how heavy of a jig head you need

depending on the depth you want to get the bait to. Typical ¼ ounce works great. If you are using an A-rig that already has added weight to the center piece you may only want a hook with no weight. Crank baits, jigs and spinners are also producing some nice fish. There are still some nice fish hugging the bottom off of long rocky points from 30 to 40 feet down. My best way to catch these deep fish is to vertical jig a spoon slowly right on the bottom.

Striped bass are still in their winter pattern. Basically, this is saying that the bait has moved out to the deep-water river channels or very close to the channel. You will find streams of bait 10 to 30 feet thick and the stripers will be very close by. I find the striped bass on top of the bait, at the bottom of the bait or some are even buried inside the bait. If there is a deep flat next to the channel you may find large schools of stripers cruising through the flat, but they always stay close to the large streams of bait. The bait is typically suspended 30 to 60 feet down. This depth will vary, and the thickness of the bait will vary. The fish will be found suspended at the same depths as the bait. There are various methods to fish for this species. Live

bait is a tried-and-true method, vertical jigging a one-ounce spoon, vertical jigging a 3-inch swim bait with a 3/8-ounce jig head or trolling swimbaits, umbrella rigs, or hard crank baits. The key is to get your bait at the same depth as the fish. This pattern will stick around until the water temperature starts to warm, which should be in the next couple of weeks. With the warmer water the bait tends to start to move back in the creeks or farther upriver. When the bait moves the stripers will be chasing.

Crappie are on brush. Find brush in 20 to 40 feet of water. The fish will be at all depths depending on the time of day. Early and late in the day they are typically suspended on top of the brush and on occasion only 5 to 10 feet down. Mid-day they tend to drop a little deeper. Of course, the weather plays a big role on how the bait acts in the brush, and just like all fish species they tend to follow their food

source. This morning I hit a couple of brush piles. It was a very cloudy windy day and the fish seemed to be deeper and buried inside of the brush. Live bait, small twister tail grubs with a 1/16-ounce jig head and a small 1/8 – ¼ ounce spoon are all working great.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in the 45 to 46 degree range but may start to rise slowly with the spring type weather we are having. The lake level has been rising slowly with minimal power generation and currently sits at 552.75 feet msl. The lake is trying to clear but still remains slightly stained.

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Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

Over the last week we saw a big cold front with a major winter storm come through. After the weather improved, I was able to get back on the lake and found that not much had changed except for a slight drop in water temperature. I have mainly striped bass fished the last several days and found the bait and fish in the same areas as before the storm. There is alot of bait near deep water channels as well as right in the channel. When you find these massive schools of bait, you need to start looking with your depth finder until you locate the feeding fish. The fish are feeding anywhere from 20 feet down to 60 feet in 70 to 95 feet of water. I mainly have been vertical jigging with a one-ounce white spoon. I keep my bait at 30 or 40 feet down and when fish come though at a different depth I either reel up or drop the spoon down. You will need to figure out how many feet of line per crank of your particular reel to get the to right depth. When trying to go deeper, figure out how fast your lure drops so you can count down to get to the proper depth. Live bait is also working very well. I have also trolled Berkley

Flicker Minnows set at 30 to 40 feet down and have picked up some nice fish. My fishing area has not changed. I am finding fish from the Cranfield area down to the 101 Boat Dock area. Find the bait and the stripers should be nearby.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in the 44 – 46 degree range but may start to rise slowly with the spring type weather we are having. The lake level is fluctuating a little up, then down with intermittent power generation. The current lake level sits at 552.19 ft. msl. The lake remains slightly stained.

I post almost daily on facebook. If you want more frequent information, please visit and like Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s facebook page.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been concentrating my fishing habit on finding and catching striped and hybrid bass with a little bass fishing thrown in. The bite has been good for me. I’ve used several different fishing methods to catch this species. Live bait is the easiest and a very good way to catch striped bass. You can purchase large shiners, or you can try and net your own threadfin shad, but that is difficult at this time as they are deep. One of my favorite methods is vertical jigging a one-ounce spoon. My preferred color at this time is white. Another bait that I have been vertical

jigging is a 3-inch soft plastic spit tail bait, similar to a fluke with a 3/8-ounce jig head. This method is a little harder to fish due to the lightweight bait. It falls slowly and it’s hard to get to the fish in a timely fashion. I fished with a guide friend, Chad Bleeker of Norfork Bayou Fishing last week, and he showed me this method. It worked really well with using his Garmin Livescope. I have added this new electronic to my wish list. I also like to cast out a Kastmaster, blade style bait. I let the bait sink to the desired depth and slowly reel back to the boat in a jerking motion. The fish typically hit it on the fall. I use the Kastmaster when I see the fish on my sidescan and when they are shallower, say 20 to 30 feet deep. The final method that I

use is to troll a hard crankbait. I use the Berkley Flicker Minnow, sizes #7 and #9. I use the 50/50 rule with a one-ounce snap weight which will get the bait down to 30 feet. Use a 2-ounce weight if you want to get to about 40 feet. When I troll, I use my trolling motor and go about 1.4 mph. The key to catching these fish, once you find them, is to get your bait to the depth where the fish are.

I have been finding striped and hybrid bass in 2 types of areas. They have been out in deep water near the old river channel in 70 to 100+ feet of water. The second area has been on a large deep flat in 50 to 70 feet of water. The key clue for finding stripers is to find the bait fish. If you can find a large concentration of bait the stripers will typically be in the area. I have found bait and fish from the Cranfield area to the mid lake bridges, then from these bridges back

to the 101 Boat Dock area. The bait has been moving back and forth in this vast area and sometimes overnight. The stripers and hybrids have been suspended from 20 feet down to 60 feet and anywhere in between.

Largemouth bass fishing has also been very good. The fish I have been finding are out chasing shad along with the striped/hybrid bass. The Kastmaster has worked great for me as these fish seem to be only 20 to 30 feet down. The second and best area for me has been in 33 to 40 feet of water off of long rocky points. The points are usually at the end of a bluff line that leads into a cove. The outside edge of the point has been more productive for me than the inside. I use my 1-ounce spoon and jig it slowly on the bottom. Sometimes I leave it laying on the bottom briefly and it seems the bass suck it in at this point.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in the 45 – 46 degree range but may drop a little more with this incoming winter storm. The lake level is

holding fairly stable at this time with minimal power generation and currently sits at 552.61 ft. msl. The lake remains slightly stained.

I post almost daily on facebook. If you want more frequent information, please visit and like Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s facebook page.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.