The bite for all species on Norfork Lake is getting better and better. September fishing can have its challenges due to the changing water temperatures, changing lake levels, and frontal systems, but all species are biting. Not necessarily every day, but I believe they call that fishing. The striped bass bite is getting pretty good. Crappie are moving back to the brush so at least you know where to find them. The walleye bite has been good, but it does take some work to locate them. The bass bite is almost always good whether you like to catch them in shallow or in deep water. 

Striped Bass fishing has really improved over the last week in various parts of the lake. I have found two different patterns for this species, but time of the day may have something to do with it. Early in the morning, occasionally starting before sunrise, I have found stripers on large flats feeding heavily on shad. They can be anywhere from 20 feet of water

out to 40 feet towards the bottom. They are starting to school and when you find that large school of fish it is a fantastic bite. Other times the fish are scattered out and it takes a little bit more effort to catch them. The early morning bite seems to last no later than 8am or so. This morning after the bite slowed on the flat where I was fishing, I decided to check out a different type of area for the striped bass. I have caught fish out in deep water along a bluff wall in past years, and this year appears to be the same. I was in 120 – 150 feet of water and the fish were suspended down 35 – 40 feet deep. I found a large school of feeding fish once in this area, but most of the time I was marking 1 to 3 fish at a time. I have been using several different methods to catch striped bass. I have been slow trolling a Berkley Flicker Minnow, size 7 & 9, with a 1-ounce snap on weight about 50 feet behind the bait with another 50 feet of line out. (This method is mainly for the flats.) I am also starting to

vertical jig with a ¾ ounce spoon more often than I troll. I have jigged up stripers in both of these areas. The hardest part about fishing for suspended fish with a spoon is getting it down to the right depth. If you have a  fish finder than picks your spoon up, this makes it simple, but if it does not, you need to either count down your bait, my rod and bait takes 8 seconds to get down to 40 feet, or drop it to the bottom and count the cranks up until you get to the desired depth. The stripers will continue to move around and as the water cools and the lake turns over the fish will be in many different types of area. 

Crappie fishing has been good, but has had its ups and downs, I believe due to the various frontal systems that has gone through our area. The best areas have been brush piles that are in 20- 30 feet of water. The fish will either be suspended on the top of the brush or

buried inside of it. Small jigging spoons or small plastics with a twister tail or a paddle tail are working great. Live minnows either on their own or tipped on a plastic jig will also work well. I have found crappie on both main lake brush, as well as, brush back in a creek. 

Walleye fishing has slowed a little, but we are still picking up some nice ones, along with a lot of shorts. Early in the morning and prior to sunrise

they are being caught on long rocky points that jet out into the lake. They have typically been on the sides any where from 16 feet deep, down to 32 feet deep. During the day and late afternoon, they seem to be in 25 to 34 feet of water. Crawler harnesses with a bottom bouncer or trolling with a minnow style crankbaits are both working. Drop shot rigs should also work with either a nighcrawler or large minnow. As the water cools, they will move up tight onto the shoreline and casting for them will start to work better, especially early and late in the day. 

Bass fishing has been good and they are being found in many different areas. Casting topwater baits, spinners and buzz baits are working for the very shallow fish especially where there is

lots of brush still under watewr. There will be many shorts in shallow water, but there will also be a few lunkers. Jigs and worms are also working along the bluffs and out in 15 to 30 feet of water. Vertical jigging spoons will pick up some nice fish. Work the deeper water, as well as, jigging near or on brush. Several days ago, I was trolling my Flicker minnow out in 80 feet of water and picked up some really nice largemouth that were suspend down 25 feet. Bass are on main lake points, as well as, back in the creeks. 

Norfork Lake level is falling and currently sits at 561.18’ MSL. The lake surface temperature this morning was in the high 70’s. The main lake and creeks are stained but should start to clear as the lake continues to cool.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake is trying to cool down a little. For the second time in the last month the lake surface temperature has dropped to around 76 degrees in the early morning. If this cool down continues it will help energize the fish and help make the fall bite take off.

The striped bass bite for me is good one time out and non existent the next. Today was one of those good days, but the fisherman (me) was having difficulty getting a good hook set and when I did have a good fish on I was breaking off. I guess I still need more practice. :-) I was fishing with live thread fin shad. I managed to land 5 striper/hybrids, but should / could have had many more. All but one hybrid were released. The bite started around 5:15 AM and lasted until about 7AM. I was fishing in 25 - 35 feet of water and the fish were at all depths. One of my trolling guests is starting to pick up a few nice stripers later in the mornings in 100 feet of water. The fish are still 25 - 30 feet down. When you find shad in the deep water there more than likely will be some stripers hanging close by.

The crappie bite is still decent, but not great. There are crappie on brush in 23 - 30 feet of water and the fish are anywhere from 8 feet down to the bottom. You just need to keep fishing different depths until you find the level where the fish are feeding. I have found some big white crappie scattered on the big sandy flats. Live minnows on a slip bobber is a great method, but jigging a small hair jig or a spoon has also been working.

Walleye are scattered though out the lake and are shallow before dark then in about 25 - 30 feet of water the rest of the time. Crawler harnesses with a bottom bouncer or a drop shot rig are working very well. Today I landed a nice 22 inch walleye on a live minnow in 27 feet of water.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are also scattered though out the lake. There are a lot of smaller fish on brush piles (great spawn the last 2 years). I have been finding the larger fish in about 28 feet of water lying on or close to the bottom along bluff lines and also close to bluff line points. I have been vertical jigging a spoon looking for walleye when I run across big bass. Drop shot rigs with a jig or plastic crawler should also work. I have also noticed many suspended fish 10 - 20 feet down along the bluff lines. I have caught some of these fish with my spoon, but most are small, with a few bigger fish mixed in. There has been some top water feeding going on early in the morning and then again at sunset. All sizes of fish are feeding at this time when you run across this action.

Catfish are also at this same 25 - 35 feet depth. Today I landed 2 really nice channel cats while striper fishing. They really do not want to come off the bottom once you get them hooked. Lots of fun.

I guess in a nutshell the bite is basically the same or very similar to my last report and I don't expect much change until the water cools down into the 60's. There are many fish that can be caught at this time, but you do have to work for them. Work (hahaha) that is what I tell my wife when I head out to go

fishing. :-) I am going to work!!!

Norfork Lake level is falling slowly, close to 2 inches per day with slight power generation. The current level is 554.68. The main lake is somewhat clear, but the creeks and coves are stained. The current surface water temperature this morning was 76.5 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird HIdeaway Resort

Norfork Lake fishing has been OK over the last 2 weeks. All species are biting once you find them. Large schools of stripers, hybrids and white bass are cruising the lake feeding on shad. Crappie and bluegills are hanging around brush piles and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are starting to move to the banks, but a lot of the larger bass are still suspended chasing shad. Catfish are hitting worms and small bluegills very aggressively.

Stripers, hybrids and white bass have schooled up and are starting to fatten up for the upcoming cool winter months. You can find large schools of fish roaming large flats in 40 - 50 foot depths. I have been vertical jigging with a spoon. It does take some time to locate the fish, but when they are found they're a lot of fun. The biggest challenge has been that as I find them and catch a few, the school swims off and I'm back trying to locate them again. I have also found large schools of stripers in the mouths of coves, late afternoons in 70 feet of water suspended 20 - 30 feet down. Find a cove that the wind is blowing directly into, then if you find suspended bait start looking for the stripers cruising and feeding. For some reason these large schools of stripers are hitting my spoon only when I reel up through them. Trolling is also working in the afternoon. One of my stripers this evening came from trolling a swim bait about 20 - 25 ft down.

Not a lot of change in largemouth bass fishing from my last report. I am still catching these fish in 27 - 33 feet of water. Work a jig and pig or any plastic bait along the bottom. I have been casting out my spoon and bouncing it back to the boat along the bottom, this method is catching some nice fish. I am starting to mark some nice suspended bass along bluff lines down about 15 - 20 feet. Crank baits should start to work before long.

Catfish are biting very good on green worms and small bluegills. Jugs & trotlines are working the best.

Some crappie and bluegill can be found in and around sunken brush piles 25 - 30 feet down. The fish will be suspended over the brush, but mid day look deeper in the brush. Small grubs or a small spoon jigging in and around the brush will catch you a few nice fish. Crickets are the best for the bluegills.

The lake level is holding fairly stable and currently sits at 553.23. Sporadic power generation is occurring during the day. The surface water temperature is falling slowly and current is 63 - 64 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are still stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

• Happy New Year To All! May 2015 bring many heavy limits!

Winter fishing on Norfork Lake continues to be good. As you can tell by my photos I enjoy striper fishing. The bite for striped bass has been strong. I fished today and ended up landing 2 limits of stripers and hybrids. The fish are in or close to deep water channels and they are suspended anywhere form 30 - 60 feet down. I did not see any huge schools of fish, but instead found small clusters of 2 - 10 fish swimming together. They are feeding on small 2 - 4 inch thread fin shad, so large baits are not needed at this time. Later in the day they seemed to move out of the channels to nearby deep flats. At around 2:30PM I started finding fish on the bottom in 60 feet of water. Yes, these fish are roaming so the main thing you need to look for is bait. Find bait and you will typically find the fish. It is a large area, but start looking from the 62 bridge down toward the 101 boat dock and over toward Walker Hollow. I have been using live shiners as well as vertical jigging with a spoon. When jigging with a spoon,
you do not need to move the bait very fast, small light twitches have been working for me.

Largemouth bass fishing is also good. I have been finding these fish in 2 different areas. 1) along deep water bluff lines in 45 - 52 feet of water. The fish are on the bottom and if you can find a point along the bluff line it will be the best spot. 2) suspended in deep water down 30 - 50 feet feeding on shad. I have been catching nice  largemouth out in 70- 80 feet of water in the same areas where I am fishing for stripers. I caught 4 keeper largemouth today. Slow down your presentation, with the cold water the fish are moving slower.

White bass are roaming and chasing shad. Three days ago I found large schools of big whites and smaller hybrids in 45 - 50 feet of water on the bottom in a large flat area. I have also been catching some really big whites while striper fishing. They are usually buried within streams of bait 60 feet down.

I haven't been crappie fishing lately, but I have been given good reports that they are on deep brush piles. You will find the fish 20 - 40 feet down over sunken brush. Look for the fish up higher on the brush at sunrise and sunset, down deeper during the middle of the day.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature today was 47 degrees. The water level is still rising slowly with minimal power generation and currently sits at 550.76. The backs of creeks are still a little brown from the resent rain, but the main lake is clear. Lake condition is overall excellent.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake Fishing Report is written by Lou Gabric, owner operator of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. Open year round, Hummingbird Hideaway Resort has a cabin to fit your needs, whether it be for your vacation or a place for family and friends visiting you in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Call for more info. 870-492-5113

Fall fishing is in full swing on Norfork Lake. The stripers, hybrids and whites have moved into their fall patterns and will stay in the same general areas though November and into December. Of course this being said, if mother nature throws some really cold weather at us dropping the lake temperature into the mid to low 50's all bets are off. You are probably asking yourself "what the heck is he talking about"? From prior years fishing experience, I am seeing that the fish are moving into the same types of areas that they typically move to in the fall. This has been the same fall pattern year after year. Start looking for stripers, hybrids and whites from the 62 bridge up though the Bennetts Bayou area, and also from the 101 bridge though the Cranfield area up to and a little past the the MO/AR border. In the early mornings and afternoons fish can be found on large flats in all water depths, 20-50 feet of water typically feeding on the bottom. Large schools will be roaming these flats so electronics are very helpful. Once the sun comes up they typically move closer to the old river and creek channels so start looking in 50 - 70 feet of water, but still on the bottom. Over the last 4 days, I along with my fishing guests, have found stripers, hybrids and whites in these types of areas. The morning bite has lasted 2 - 3 hours and the evening bite seems to kick off around 3PM. Today after we lost the fish in the flats I started to look in the the deep channels and found roaming schools on the bottom at 50 ft close to bluffs. I am also very hopeful that we will get some consistent topwater action. This morning a handful of big fish came up on the flats, but it was sporadic. It could happen at any time. Slow rolling a suspending stick bait after dark will also be effective soon. A few more degree drop in water temperature and I believe the night bite will get active.

Crappie are moving back to brush piles in 20 - 40 ft of water. I caught a nice 14 inch slab with 3 other 11 inch crappies two evenings ago. I was jigging 15 - 20 ft down on the tops of the sunken trees. You will also find many of the big bluegills in these same brush piles. Black bass and walleye will also be hanging in the same areas, but you typically will need to get closer to the bottom of the trees for these species.

Most of the walleye that I have caught are still out in open water. I have spooned up several keeper size walleye along with a bunch of short ones in 40 - 50 ft of water. I catch these while striper fishing.

I have noticed big largemouth bass (3 pounders) roaming the shore line at dusk feeding on minnows and bluegills. I always check both sides of my dock walkway when walking onto my dock and I see several each evening. I have not targeted black bass lately, but these shallow fish tell me it is almost jerk bait time.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling very slowly and currently sits at 550.34 which is a little more than 3 feet under the seasonal normal pool. The water surface temperature this morning was 66 degrees. The creeks and coves are still stained and the main lake is somewhat stained, but clearing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

 NORFORK LAKE FISHING

















I hope everyone had a great Memorial Holiday. The weather was fantastic and all of our guests had a great time playing in the pool and lake. I think we all all glad to have summer like weather.

It has been a long time since I have written a report, not because I have not been fishing or that fishing has been no good, but instead because of time constraints. I am still fishing at least 5 days a week and the resort has been being really busy this spring so the report has taken back stage. I will try and do better. Actually fishing has been good most of this spring.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing continues to be the best bite on the lake. Striped bass fishing is the next best bite. Catfishing has been very good and crappie fishing has been fair.

There is still a good top water bite for bass at sunrise and sunset. Once the sun comes up, the fish stay down, but can still be caught in the sunken buck brush down through 20 feet of water. Spinner baits and crank baits are working good on windy days and soft plastics when it is windy or calm. Shaky heads, tube jigs, jig & pigs, Texas rig worms or just about any type of plastic bait you like to use. Look for bass off of secondary points back in creeks and coves, close to submerged brush piles or on shallow flats. Spots can be found on the deeper rock bluff walls again off of points and the sides of the point.

Striper fishing keeps getting better. I have only been using artificial baits up until yesterday. I have had luck with top water baits as well as flukes and jerk baits (when it is still dark). Top water action for stipers has been spotty, but when you find the fish it can be a blast.  Over the last 2 days I have started fishing with live bait. I have found fish half way back in major creeks. At this time of year and with this water temperature you will be able to find stripers on the surface down to around 30 feet of water. At this 30 foot level they can be suspended in the deep channel water or sitting on the bottom. The stripers are almost everywhere on the lake at this time. We should start to see schooling fish so get your spoons ready as it will soon be vertical jigging time for stripers. You can also troll umbrella rigs or Alabama rigs to catch some of these strong fish. If you find fish down 30 feet you may need to add in-line weights to get your artificial bait down to the right depth. Don't forget about top water action for stripers, hybrids and whites, I have seen plenty of this action during the month of June in prior years.

Catfish are hitting really well on trotlines and jugs. The use of live blue gill, nightcrawlers, chicken livers and shad are all working really well. Set your trotlines in 10 - 25 feet of water. Jug fishing works the best if you weight the jug to the bottom. This way you will be able to find them when you are checking them. Crawler harnesses are also working very well for catfish for you rod and reel fisherpeople.

Crappie fishing is starting to slow a bit with the warm weather. You can still catch some nice fish on brush piles in 20 - 30 feet of water. The crappie will be inside of brush or suspended as the water warms.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 556.81 which is normal pool at this time of year. The lake surface water temperature was in the mid 70's this morning. The main lake is very clear with the creeks and coves slightly stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.
.



All photos are of recent catches.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake striped bass and hybrid bass fishing has been on fire the last 4 weeks. As you can see from my photos, striper fishing has been the targeted fish for our Hummingbird Hideaway Resort guests and me. The stripers can be found on the bottom in 65 to 85 feet of water in the main lake toward the dam area. You will also find them suspended 60 - 80 feet down in 100 - 150 feet. of water. There is a good bite in the morning as well as the afternoon. I have been mainly fishing two methods, live thread fin shad and vertical jigging with a spoon. Live bait has definitely been the best bite, but I usually have 4 live baits out versus one spoon, 4 times the opportunity. It has really been a blast with many doubles and triples on at the same time. Lately most of the fish that were will not swim away. If you get a floating fish make sure you pick it up and eat it for dinner. Striped bass is really good fried or baked. Once you have your limit of 3 striper/hybrid in the boat per fisherman you need to target another species or call it a day.

The next best bite on the lake is crappie. Yep I did say crappie. Very unusual for this time of year, but I guess the cooler than normal water temperature and the better than normal oxygen level and relatively shallow thermocline has made the difference. I talked with two crappie fisherman on the lake this morning and the first one had several in the boat already at 6:30AM and the next person had limited out on crappie. John, with the limit was fishing brush piles with a hair jig and finding the fish in about 25 feet of water. The crappie are ranging from 10.5 inches to 12 inches, not monsters, but respectable fish
Today I did change gears from striper fishing to try and find walleye. Ever since we had the rise in water back in early August, the walleye disappeared for me, and today was not different. No walleye, but I did run into several large schools of white bass in about 36 feet of water. The problem with these schools is that they are moving very quickly and not staying in the same location. I would spoon up 2 or 3 then lose the school. I was working main lake points in 25 - 40 feet of water. I'm hoping that when the lake stabilizes from its current fall and gets a little cooler, the walleye will move back to the brush.

I have not been bass fishing, but I did notice something very interesting this morning. I was marking many bass suspended at 20 - 25 feet deep is all depths of water. They were not on the bottom, at least where I was fishing, but hovering just above the thermocline level. Throwing a deep diving crank bait or a weighted swimming minnow should catch you some very nice fish. The arcs were good size for bass. There is also on most mornings good top water action for bass, so have your favorite top water bait handy. Today, however, was one of those days and very few fish were coming up. The bass are on main lake points as well as back in creeks off of secondary points.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowly and currently sits at 555.82. A foot or so above normal pool. One generator is running most of the day. The lake surface water temperature was 85 degrees this AM. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat stained.

A quick note to all those lake loving enthusiasts. It is still summer on Norfork Lake, the water is warm, the day time temperatures are warm, and the lake is calm. There is still plenty of time to plan a little lake vacation. Our pool is open and cabins are ready for your stay. Give us a call at 870-492-5113. Priceless vacation memories made affordable at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Happy New Year to all.

I have been out of town a good portion of the time since my last report. But I had fun playing with my grand kids over the holidays and already miss them. I have also missed fishing Norfork Lake and I am finally back at it. I went out several times over the last week, but today was an all around great day. First off it was 58 degrees, can't ask for anything better for a winter fishing trip, and secondly the fish were very active.

I landed a nice 20+ pound striped bass on a live shiner. I was fishing in 85 feet of water and the fish were in a line of shad 60 ft down. I had my shiners set at 44 feet and 55 feet and was able to watch the fish come out of the shad to go after my bait. I missed two other good bites and had several other light pull downs. What I did find is that I needed to set the hook as soon as I saw the rod tip start to bend toward the water. I usually wait until the rod tip almost touches the water, but today if I waited too long the fish released the bait. The stripers are in their typical winter pattern and I am finding the fish in the typical winter locations. This fish that I landed was a very strong fish, it did not run a long way, but took a dive down, then did not want to budge from its deep water depth. It was a real tug a war, but I won. Places to look for stripers are part way back in creeks such as Float Creek, in the deep river channel in the Hendersen, Bidwell, 101 and 6A areas. They should be in the Cranfield area, but I have not checked this area out yet.

I fished for stripers for a couple of hours then I decided to switch to bass. My first location was a deep water bluff line close to a point on the main lake. The spotted bass bite was non-stop. I was vertical jigging with a small 1/4 ounce spoon in 28 - 40 feet of water. I ended up culling a few fish as they kept getting bigger. The spots all ranged from 13 - 15 inches. I caught a few largemouth bass while striper fishing. They were suspended at 30 - 40 feet in 85 feet of water. I also caught 2 in the same location that I was catching all the spotted bass, but the best location that I found was near brush in 30 - 40 feet of water.

The Norfork Lake water level is currently at 540.63 and rising slowly. The lake has remain stable for the last couple of days with no power generation. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat stained. The surface water temperature was 49 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

PS. I can't seem to get this google blog to upload photos. If you would like to see pictures of today's catch go to Hummingbird Hideaway Resort's Facebook page.