Striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, and crappie
continue to be the best bites on the lake.
Striped Bass Fishing: Over the last week there has been a
definite change in where to find the bait and then the fish. The bait had been
concentrated out on the main lake in the deep-water channels, but they have
recently made the move back into the major creeks and some of the smaller
coves. With this movement of the bait the striped bass has been following. Some
of the bait is also starting to move close to the shoreline. The bait movement
has currently created 2 totally different areas to fish. I have found bait near
the creek channel in 40 – 60 feet of water. The stripers have been very close
to the bait, either above it or below it. Several methods of fishing have worked
for me, so far. I have had luck vertical jigging a 1-ounce spoon or vertical
jigging a 3-inch soft plastic jig. I’ve been using a mini version of a fluke
called a Tater Shad, which is made locally,
with a 3/8-ounce jig head. Both the
spoon and the Tater Shad need to be worked slowly with just slight twitches for
the deeper water fish. The most important tip is to get your bait at the same
depth as the fish to get the most bites. Another method is trolling A-rigs,
crank baits or 5-inch swimbaits. Here again get your bait very close to where
you are seeing the fish. Fish have also been found tight on the banks,
especially at sunrise and at sunset. Some of the bait has moved very close to
the shoreline or the fish have started to push the bait tight to the bank.
Yesterday (3/1) I found feeding striper right on the bank. I casted out a
Kastmaster (blade bait) and worked it back to the boat very slowly with a
jerking motion. I replace the treble hook with a feathered treble hook which seems
to attract more fish. You should also be able to use long minnow type crankbaits
and swimbaits.
Bass Fishing: The largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass
have moved up tight to the bank especially early in the morning and late
afternoon. Other times they move off a little and will be 10 to 20 down.
Various lures are
working such as swimbaits, crankbaits (rock crawlers and
wiggle warts). On windy days don’t hesitate to cast a spinner or chatter bait.
You will find them in both the clear water as well as the stained water. I
found some nice ones the other day that had corralled some bait on the bank and
I was getting hits on my Kastmaster 3 to 5 feet from the shore. We have some rain coming up this weekend, so
after the rain head toward the running water coming into the creeks.
Crappie Fishing: This species is starting to school up and
roam out in deeper water. They are still 10 to 25 deep. I have found this to be
true with the white crappie. The black crappie still appear to be holding a
little tighter to the brush. Trolling crank baits have started to work and will
get better as the water warms a little more. Plastic jigs, spoons, and live
bait are producing some nice fish.
Norfork Lake surface water temperature is rising very slowly
and is the 45 to 48 degree range. The lake level has been stable with a slight
drop with intermittent power generation and currently sits at 554.19 feet msl. The
lake is clear to stained depending on where you are at in the lake.
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.
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