Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort



Norfork Lake Fishing continues to be good for striped bass, hybrid bass, large and smallmouth bass and crappie since my last reporting period.

I am finding stripers and hybrids in 2 different types of area. The first area is part way back in major creeks with a deep channel swing. I am finding fish in 50 - 80 feet of water suspended from about 40 feet to the bottom. Live bait is working very well, but artificial baits are also working. Vertical jigging and throwing a swim bait with a heavy (up to 1/2 ounce) jig head are my artificial baits of choice. All three of these methods of fishing will work throughout the summer. The second type of area where I am finding stripers is along deep bluff lines where the old river channel swings in close to the bluff line. The above methods of fishing will also work in this type of area. I have found fish suspended along the bluff lines from 40 - 80 down  in 80 to 120 feet of water. If you find fish 60 - 80 feet down jigging a spoon will work the best.

Crappie fishing has been abnormally good this summer. The fish are on deep 35 - 45 feet deep brush and are typically suspended 20 - 30 feet down. Slip floats with minnows are working the best. Night fishing for crappie has also been producing some really nice slabs. Use the same style of fishing as during the daylight hours. A light in the water helps with after dark crappie fishing.

Large and smallmouth bass fishing has also been good. There has been some nice top water action early in the morning and a spook is working great. As the sun comes up start working the bottom from about 15 - 40 feet deep. Jig a spoon or cast out a Texas rigged worm and work it back to the boat slowly.

Norfork Lake water temperature is rising and currently in the mid to upper 80's. The lake level is also rising slowly and currently sits at 570.4. A short period of power generation is occurring each day, but not enough to start lowering the lake. The higher water has not affected activities on the lake. Plenty of boating, skiing, tubing and fishing going on. The higher levels just makes for more lake to play on. Our guests are having a blast on the lake with the warm sunny days. The current forecast is not predicting any rain for the next couple of weeks. Yay!

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake fishing at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort has been outstanding the last couple of weeks. All species are biting and biting well. With the weather changes and the slow rise of the lake the fish are constantly on the move. In my last report fishing was good back in the major creeks, but here recently the fish are moving out to the main lake area. Of course this may change if we receive more rain and the lake starts to rise more quickly. Oh, by the way the lake is at a great level for fishing and boating sports and our dock is easily accessible with easy parking and launching facilities. You will find stripers on top as well as down 20 - 40 feet. Top water baits and swim baits are working the best for me. If you can get live shad you will catch a lot of fish. Stripers are all over the lake. Trolling a swim bait is still working, but recently I have switched to a 1 ounce jig head instead of the quarter ounce. Soon the bait will need to get deeper. When you are searching for stripers look at main lake points with deep water nearby and as always find the bait and you will find the fish.

The largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass bite is at its best. Live bait and artificial baits are both working well. Top water action happens most mornings and evenings, but sometimes not for a long period of time. Once they go down try throwing a 3 - 4 inch swim bait, it worked for me this morning. My 5 - 6 inch bait was getting a lot of hits, but no one would take it until I down sized. You can also work the bottom with plastics from 10 - 25 feet down. The bigger smallies are in 15 - 25 feet depths. Look for the bass in the same areas as the stripers, but they will also be back on secondary points in the creeks and off of deep bluff lines.

The white bass bite has been sporadic. One day many are caught and the next day they are gone or not feeding. Yesterday a couple of my guests were slamming the whites on a spook, but today I found them on the bottom in 50 feet of water, but could only get 1 taker. Main lake points is where they are currently being found, but they should start to move back in the creeks soon.

Panfishing is improving. Bluegills can be found up on the banks, but the bigger ones are still about 20 feet deep off of bluff lines. Find a small cut in the bluff and get up close and fish straight down. Use crickets, worms or niblets. Crappies have moved out to the brush in 15 - 30 feet of water, main lake and creeks. They will be at all depths depending on time of day and sunny conditions. Live crappies minnows are working the best. Crappie at my dock have been going nuts over the last week. Many 13 - 16 inch fish have been pulled up.

Catfishing is also good in the coves and creeks. Night crawlers and small bluegills are a great bait. Jugs, trotlines and rod and reel are all working.

The current Norfork Lake level is at 560.52 and rising slowly with intermittent power generation. The lake has risen 3.22 feet since my last report which isn't bad considering all the rain that we have had. The surface lake temperature is about 72 degrees in the main lake and slight warmer in the creeks. The creeks and coves are stained and the main lake is clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Happy Halloween all! Today was a Zara Spooktacular fishing day!

In my last Norfork Lake Fishing Report I mentioned that the big stripers and hybrids will move in shortly, well today I have confirmation! This morning was a day to remember. I caught 8 stripers and 4 hybrids all on a Zara Spook. Top water action galore and it lasted the whole time I was fishing. I found the fish heading back into a major creek on a shallow flat. The stripers were skyrocketing out of the water chasing shad. They were feeding on very small 1 inch shad, but had no problem hammering my Zara Spook Jr. (white with a chartreuse head). The schools of fish were roaming and feeding in 20 - 60 feet of water. When I got in deeper water I could see huge schools of fish under the boat so dropping a spoon and vertical jigging would have worked great. Get out on the lake at sunrise and if you find the fish, the top water action should last until the sun gets above the trees, but today was very overcast and lightly raining so the action lasted much longer. The same action should also occur in the afternoons around sunset time. Remember the clocks fall back 1 hour this coming Sunday. Other baits to try would be a blade bait such as a Kastsmaster or a spinner bait like a Rooster Tail. I like the blade baits a lot because you can cast them a mile. When the stripers go down start looking in the 30 - 50 feet of water, both on the bottom and also suspended in deep 100 foot channels.

Crappie have been biting pretty good lately. I have been using a 1/4 ounce jigging spoon in and around brush piles. The crappie are on the top and within the brush. What I have found is that after I catch a couple of crappie the bite stops, so all I do is move to the next brush pile and catch a couple more fish. You can limit out on nice 12 - 14 inch fish, but you do need to keep moving. Small swimming minnows and twister tail or paddle tail grubs will also work, tip them with a live minnow for better action. Live bait with a slip float will also work well. You will find the fish in 20 - 30 feet of water suspended from 6 to 25 feet down.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are starting to move in to shallower water. I have caught some nice spots in the brush piles while crappie fishing. Today I found the largemouth bass along a deep water bluff line chasing shad on the surface. My Zara Spook did the trick. Once they go down try using crawdad colored crank baits or one of my favorites, a jig and pig. The after dark bite has been the better bite for bass lately.

The bigger white bass are starting to show up in similar areas as the stripers and hybrids. I got into some top water action a few evenings ago in a deep water channel close to the shoreline. I found several schools of fish that would erupt for a few minutes then go back down to erupt again in a different location in the same general area. I have also found them on a big flat in 30 - 40 feet of water. Early morning or late afternoons have been the best fishing times for me.

Walleye fishing ?? at this time. They should start to show up in shallow water once the water cools a little more.

It is looking to be a very good fall fishing season, so make your plans to get out on the lake and if you need a place to stay give Hummingbird Hideaway Resort a call 870-492-5113 and book a room. I will give you all the fishing information you need to help make it a successful fishing trip. The fall leaf color this year is also one of the best I have seen in years. Pretty scenery and good fishing, what more can you ask for!

The Norfork Lake water temperature was 67 degrees this morning and holding steady until the next cold front rolls through. The lake level is currently at 552.53 and is dropping very very slowly with slight power generation and small minimum flow releases. There has been a slight increase in the lake level today due the rain. The main lake is clear with the creeks and cove somewhat stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.