Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake spring fishing is at its best. Hummingbird Hideaway Resort guests are having a blast. Stripers, hybrids, whites, largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass, catfish, as well as some walleye, crappie and bluegills. This is really a fun time to fish the lake with either artificial baits or live minnows. The fish are feeding heavily and are found on both shallow and deep water, main lake and creek points. The bite is good lake wide so make your fishing plans now.


The striped bass and hybrid bass bite is excellent at this time. You can find these fish both on main lake points and deep water bluff lines as well as back in the creeks and small coves. Our resort had 5 different boats of fishermen out this morning. We were all in different areas of the lake, but still only 5 - 15 minutes away from our resort. Everyone caught fish. Look for coves that come off of a long deep water bluff line, as well as, points back in major creeks. I was actually out on a main lake wide point with bluff lines on both sides, fish were on the shallow flat of the point as well as off each side in deep water. Most fish that I marked were 10 - 20 feet down, but were coming up for top water and shallow running swim baits. I ended up landing a 18.5 pounder, a 10 pounder and couple 6 pound hybrids. Either cast or troll swim baits with a 1/4 to 1 ounce 5 - 6 inch swim bait. I like Heddon Zara Spooks for my top water bait. I have also added a trailer to the back treble hook and it seems to help attract the fish. The best bite is from daylight to around 8AM and also in the afternoon from around 6PM to dark.

The best top water action is for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. These fish seem to start feeding around 6:15AM.  Look for these fish in the same type of areas as the stripers.  Zara spooks, swim baits, flukes, and jerk baits are all working. During mid day time the fish will be slightly deeper so throw a lizard, jig & pig or a tube jig and work it along the bottom back to the boat in 10 - 20 feet of water. Spinner baits are working great after dark.

White bass are starting to show up in big numbers. I have found big schools on big flats in 20 - 30 feet of water. Top water early then down deep later. Blade baits, swim baits and spoons are working.

Catfishing is starting to get really good. This species has moved back into the creeks. Jugs and trot lines are working great, baited with a small bluegill or a shad if you have it. Look for them up shallow to 20 feet down.














Crappie and bluegill are finally moving onto shallow brush. Start looking for these species inside of the brush on the banks to right inside of the brush. Brush piles in 15-30 foot depths seem to be working the best. Use small jigs and minnows for crappie and crickets for bluegills.

Many walleye are being caught in similar areas as the stripers and largemouth. Small crank baits and swim baits seem to be catching fish. We're seeing a lot of short fish, but you get a keeeper on occasion.




The Norfork Lake Level is rising slowly with all the rain and currently sits at 557.3. Periodic power generation is keeping the level fairly stable. The surface water temperature is around 68 - 70 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are slightly stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.


Norfork Lake Fishing Report



 From what I have seen over the last couple of days the Norfork Lake fishing is starting to take-off, finally. The extreme weather changes that we have had during the month of April has made for an interesting time of fishing. The crappie should have been spawning a week or two ago, but it appears they have moved to the banks again and this time to stay. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have started to move to their beds over the last couple of days. We are a couple of weeks behind where we normally are, but for a positive note, this delay should make for a fantastic May bite. May is typically a good fishing month, but I think this year should be outstanding. All this said, I am assuming the air temperature is going to get back to normal and start to warm the lake. The other positive lake effect is that the water has risen a little and the buck brush is getting submerged. With this lake level the shad will move into the brush and the fish will follow making for a great shallow bite. Thread fin shad that I netted this morning are really fat, telling me they are ready to spawn. With all the brush in the water they will be all over the lake spawning. The fish will start to move out of the major creeks to feed on the spawning shad.

 

This morning was a fantastic striper bite. I caught my limit is less than an hour. I was using gizzard and thread fin shad and the fish were coming up to get the bait. I was also throwing a spook, but had no takers today, unlike a few evenings ago when I landed two nice stripers and missed several others on a clear spook with a hint of yellow on the top and a white feathered rear treble hook. That was a fun evening watching the fish jump out of the water to attack my Zara Spook. Once it became too dark to see, the bite seemed to quit. I haven't been able to get out after dark since my last report so I don't really know if the night bite has every taken off.  I do know that the stripers are in shallow water hitting rogues as Jerry landed this nice 24 pound fish in the Cranfield area last Wednesday morning, right at sunrise. The stripers still seem to be back in the major creeks in the off colored water.

 

Crappie fishing has been up and down over the last week or so. They start to move in to spawn then a cold front arrives so they move out. This weekend I had several boats out crappie fishing and even with the cool front and a lot of rain the crappie seemed to stay on the banks and on shallow brush. Try using a light weight hair jig, a paddle tail or twister tail grub. For best results tip with a crappie minnow or some crappie niblets. I had a fishing group in last week that were crappie fishing, bass fishing and striper fishing. The crappie bite was OK, but not great. They did manage to pick up enough crappie to feed 20 guys. The Eelpout Fishing Club has a great group of guys and Linda and I look forward to their next visit.

Largemouth and smallmouth bass have also started to move onto their beds over the last several days. They are coming up for spooks, rogues and flukes. You will also find some good top water action early and late in the day. I was back in Fall Creek earlier in the week and found the bass stacked on several points and off the sides of points. They were hammering my white with chartreuse head spook on just about every cast. Look back in creeks with gravel banks and you should find the fish.

Norfork lake is on the rise. We have had well over two inches of rain over the last couple of days and with little or no power generation the lake is coming up slowly. The lake currently sits at 556.7 which is only 3 feet above the new normal pool. I have been told there is a mud line toward Cranfield. I didn't go that way this morning so I can't confirm, but the main lake from Mallard Point to the bridges and beyond is very clear. Hummingbird Hideaway's cove did get somewhat stained over the gin clear conditions of 3 days ago. Great fishing color in the coves and creeks. The surface water temperature has fallen to the upper 50's, again. This should warm and stabilize over the next few days with our current beautiful weather forecast. Over all the lake is in great shape. I'm looking for an exciting May.

Don't forget to ask about the Norfork Lake Fishing Derby. The Derby continues though May 31, 2013. When you check-in to your Chamber member lodging facility sign up.  You could win $500.00.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.



Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Spring time fishing on Norfork Lake has been very exciting over the last 10 days. Last week we had a large group of fishermen from the Kansas City area. They had a great time fishing for striped bass. Last week the best place for stripers was from the Diamond Bay area to the dam. This group's bait of choice was to troll the new Alabama rig baited with 3.5" swimming minnows. This method proved to be very effective. We had a lot of weather changes during the week which affected the bite, but they ended up landing some very nice stripers. The top two photos are examples of the fish caught by this group. Live bait was also working, but the Alabama rig was outfishing live bait. This is not the usual case, but last week it was. Stripers are on the move and being found at different depths.  This gives you a lot of options to check out with your electronics. I have found fish on the shoreline as well as 30 feet deep on the bottom. I have also marked fish in the channels down deep. Look for the bait fish and you may find the fish. I have caught fish and have reports of other fish being caught in the mid lake area as well as up in Bennett's and over toward Cranfield. This is a normal occurrence for spring fishing. This morning I hooked into a nice size fish, but after about 5 minutes of fight the hooks on my spook bent out and the fish escaped. Yes, I said on my Zara Spook, I have been finding top water action for black bass as well as stripers. Keep your eyes open when you're traveling in your boat. I had several fishing trips over the last week and we had a lot of fun catching hybids, stripers, walleye, smallmouth, largemouth and spots. The third and forth photos are some of the fish we caught.

Bass fishing has still been very good. I am finding largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass on main lake and secondary creek points. Early in the morning they are very shallow as well as pushing shad to the top. Caught several the last two morning  on Zara spooks. I fished with Grant this morning and caught fish on top water as well as on grubs and live bait. This  morning live bait was definitely more productive than artificial baits. But artificial baits are working, crank baits, spinner baits, jig & pigs, swimming minnows, you name it and it will more than likely catch some bass.

The crappie bite is good most days. My guests are catching a few off of my dock during the middle of the day. They fish on the lake early in the morning and in the evenings, then they get out of the sun under the dock and catch crappie and bluegills. What a life. Crappie are also being found over brush that is in 15 - 25 feet of water. The fish will be suspended over and around the brush so try different depths. Live minnows is working the best.

The Norfork Lake level is basically at normal pool 551.95. Power generation has been sporadic but is holding the lake level steady. The surface water temperature is in the up 60's to low 70's, but will be warmer in shallow water. The lake is clearing but still stained.

The fish are biting!

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Fall bite has started on Norfork Lake and will only get better as the lake continues to cool.

I am starting to see more and more top water action early in the morning and at sunset for black bass. We had a husband and wife team last weekend that caught over fifty fish one morning. They were throwing a shiny blade bait and caught many spotted bass, largemouth bass, bluegill and catfish. They also found some top water fish and started to throw a Zara spook. They said not many of the fish were of legal size, but they sure had a lot of fun. I caught several nice smallmouth earlier in the week. I was throwing a Cicada blade bait and a Zara spook. I let the blade bait fall about 20 feet, then start to reel in, then stop and let it fall again. This seemed to work with the spotted bass and smallmouth. I caught several small spots on top water. You will find bass on points at the end of a deep bluff lines and also on brush piles in the 25 - 30 feet range. The fish will be anywhere from 10 - 30 feet down. Jigging spoons or a drop shot rig are working if you are fishing over a brush pile.  Of course live bait is also working great for bass around brush piles.

Crappie have also come into the brush piles. Again find your brush in 25 - 30 feet of water and the crappie will be suspended from 15 feet on down. Live bait is working the best, but spooning is producing some nice fish.  Grubs tipped with a crappie minnow will start to work very soon if not already. I am also starting to see crappie come under my dock. One of our guests caught a nice 13 inch crappie under our dock yesterday.

Catfish are hitting trotlines and jugs. Live bait is working well, but chicken livers are also producing some nice fish on a rod and reel.

Pan fish are everywhere. Night crawlers and crickets are the baits of choice. Some really nice slabs are being caught from 3 feet to 25 feet down.

Walleye are being caught in 25 - 28 feet of water around brush piles and also on flats. Trolling a crankbait is working as long as you can get the bait down to this level. Lead core line will do the trick if you don't have a down rigger. Drifting with a crawler harness with a bottom bouncing weight is also producing some nice fish.

Striped bass fishing is still slow, but starting to pick up with the cooler water temperature. I would expect over the next couple of weeks the striper bite is going to just take off.  With the current warm water these fish just are not feeding normally, but when they get back to it,  it is going to be fun. I also expect a fantastic fall bite as well as a good top water bite for stripers once the lake cools. I hope I am correct in my expectations!!!

The Norfork Lake level is still falling about 4 - 5 inches per day and currently sits at 555.17. Just slightly above normal pool. The lake surface water temp in our cove this AM was 76 degrees, a drop of 4 degrees over yesterday evening. The main lake is clear with coves and creeks still stained and cloudy.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Last Friday I took a couple of our guests out striper fishing on Norfork Lake. We landed two nice stripers and missed 4 others. I was fishing in the dam area in 80 feet of water and the stripers were lying right on the bottom. The bite was tough, but we waited them out and they finally bit. I was using thread fin shad. I have had reports that trollers are catching a few using down riggers and lead core line. Vertical jigging with a spoon is also producing a few nice fish. The stripers will more than likely stay at this depth until the water starts to cool in September and October. Norfork Lake typically turns over sometime between late September and mid October. When this happens the stripers will be at all depths, from deep water to shallow water. Fall and winter fishing is typically a very fun time to fish for striped bass. Sometimes we get a good striped bass top water bite in the early fall.

This week I have started to target largemouth and spotted bass, walleye and crappie. Monday I did a lot of moving around to locate fish and check out the various brush piles near my resort. I did get into some nice top water action with the black bass, but if you luck onto this you need to be ready. They only come up momentarily and if you can get your Zara spook close to them they just erupt on the bait. Yesterday I tried several bluff lines and caught a few nice bass, but couldn't find walleye. I ended up moving to a main lake point that has some nice brush in 25 - 35 feet of water and marked a ton of fish. I had two down lines out with live shad and was also spooning at times, as well as throwing a green grub with an 1/8 jig head. I caught black bass on the spoon and grub and a couple on the live bait. I moved to the inside of the point and started to get walleye bites. I landed two walleye, but both were 1/4 inch under size. I also picked up a nice crappie on the spoon. I had one great bite on the shad and the fish spooled out over 1/2 of my line. I thought for sure it was a hybrid or striper from the way it bit and the way it was running. I finally got it to the boat and found a nice 15 pound blue catfish. This was one of the best fights I have had in a while:-)

Today I left my dock around 5AM and first went to catch a few shad. I then headed to the same point as I ended my trip on Tuesday. I put two down lines at about 26 feet of water and it wasn't 5 minutes before one of the rods bent to the water. This was the nice 4 pound largemouth in the photo. I continued to catch bass on the live bait and missed many more than I caught because I was also trying to spoon at the same time. I was vertical jigging a 1/4 spoon for a while and picked up one of the crappi,e then switched to a 3/4 spoon and picked up the other crappie and a few bass. Overall I think I landed 12 bass and two crappie, but no walleye today. The best part of the last three days is that I have found that crappie have finally moved back to the brush from 20 - 30 feet, the black bass are in the same area from 15 feet to 30 feet down and I think the walleye are in around 25 - 30 feet sitting on the bottom. If you start fishing the brush piles be prepared to do a lot of re-tieing as you will get plenty of snags. I lost several nice fish and tackle after they headed straight into the brush.

I am having a day off of fishing tomorrow (boat rental check-out's), but should be out fishing Friday morning.

The Norfork Lake level is falling around 3 inches per day and currently sits at 560.35 ft above sea level. This is only 8 feet above normal pool of 552. The surface water temperature this morning was 84.5 degrees. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are still cloudy.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather and the water temperature on Norfork Lake are perfect for your summer time pleasure. Whether it be skiing, tubing, swimming or fishing, Norfork Lake has it all.

Striper fishing on Norfork Lake has been outstanding lately. The fish have gone deep and you will find them on the bottom early mornings in 40 - 50 feet of water or suspended in 100+ feet of water 30 - 70 feet down. The stripers have finally started to school and when you find a school get ready!! Live bait is working great and vertical jigging a spoon through the school is producing some nice fish. Last Thursday I fished alone and landed 6 stripers by 8AM. I had to work at it but I finally got the first three fish to go back down, then I kept the next three fish. I am going to have to learn how to vent these fish because starting soon and for the next  couple months they will not be able to be released. When you catch your limit you will need to go do a little bass or crappie fishing. Friday I fished with my daughter and a couple of our guests. We had a great time. At about 6:45AM the stripers started to erupt all around my boat. Every rod bent to the water. We landed two and broke off two. Each time I rebaited and cast the bait out it got hammered within minutes. We ended up landing 5 stripers out of this school. The fish were from the surface down 40 feet. It was really fun. My top water rod with a Zara spook tied on had a malfunction so I could not cast it out which really disappointed me. I know I could have landed a couple more fish. This top water action is very unusual for this time of year. I also fished Sunday with my daughter and granddaughter. We ended up missing three good bites. I was on fish, a huge school which was 50 - 70 feet down in about 140 feet of water. Boats all around me were catching fish with live bait as well as by spooning. I guess I didn't have my bait deep enough as we only got one bite and missed it. My granddaughter had a blast playing in the bait tank :-) I think she was relieved we didn't catch a big fish because they scare her a little!!!

There is still a little top water action early in the morning for black bass. This action is typically just as the sun is starting to rise and can last a couple of hours. I have found bass around docks and also off of main lake points and creek points. The black bass are also starting to go deeper. You can find them on the bottom just outside of the brush line in 20 - 30 feet of water. They are also on sunken brush in 40 feet of water.

I have had reports that crappie have started to move to the deep brush in 30 - 40 feet of water. Live bait as well as small jigs are working. Crappie are also being found under docks.  Yesterday morning I netted 5 huge slabs by a dock where I was trying to net shad. These fished were 15 and 16 inches long. I released all.

Pan fish are plentiful under docks and in the brush. My granddaughter had fun fishing on my dock and caught some nice bluegills.

Catfishing with live minnows on trotlines are producing some nice fish. If you are pole fishing drag a nightcrawler on the bottom in coves after dark. You will find them in 20 - 25 feet of water and possibly  at shallower depths.

No reports on walleye, but they should be in the 20 to 40 feet range on the bottom off of points with rocky bottoms.

The Norfork Lake level is still falling slowly and currently sits at 570.59. The surface water temperature is in the upper 80's. The main lake is clear and the creeks are coves are continuing to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake has been on fire for the past week. I have been out in the mornings live bait fishing as well as throwing a topwater Zara spook . We have landed striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, with a few catfish thrown in for good measure.

The stripers and hybrids were caught in 25 - 40 feet of water. They seem to be suspended in the 10 - 25 feet range. I have been using all down poles with live shad set at 20 - 30 feet deep. My daughter and I arrived at my current fishing location at around 5:15AM this morning. I started marking fish, but nothing was biting. I was rebaiting a pole and had drifted into 25 feet of water when all of sudden one rod bent to the water. My daughter grabbed that pole and the fish started to swim into a line next to it, I grabbed this rod and as soon as I had it, it bent to the water. I got that pole out of the way and it had a large white bass on it. I flung it into the boat because a third rod took off. Both of us had a big fish on and it was really fun listening to the drag of both rods zing out to deep water. I had my fish close to the boat, it took a dive and my line snapped. I guess I should have retied after yesterday's trip. My daughter did a much better job and finally landed her 12 pound striper. With all the break-offs, missed fish and released fish we could have had 3 limits by 7:30AM. It was a really fun morning.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spots are coming to the surface early in the morning, off of points that have trees in the water. You need to have space between the trees to cast your lure. I caught 4 nice black bass this morning and I think around 6 yesterday morning all on a spook. Live bait still is working the best for the black bass. Today we released over a dozen bass including this nice 3 - 4 pounder that my daughter caught. Shiners should work as well as the shad. I have been using a down rod with a slip sinker and dropping it to the bottom. The fish are in the 20 to 25 feet range. Last Friday I had a couple of our guests (Jim & Scott) out and we started to pitch live shad between the trees with no weight. We were catching fish after fish. Jim also landed one nice striped bass. On Wednesday I fished with one of my guests (Greg) and my daughter and we landed one nice striper and many, many black bass. It has really been a great week of fishing for me..

I have been fishing the mid lake area both on points in the creeks and off of main lake points.

Pan fish are biting well on crickets, worms or nightcrawlers. Use a bobber and a small split shot. The fish are on the bottom in the trees and at the edges of the trees. You should be able to fill up a basket in no time.

Catfish are still biting well on trotlines with live bait.

Norfork Lake is still falling slowly (about 2 - 3 inches per day) and currently sits at 573.91. The water temperature is in the low 80's. The main channels are clear and the creeks and coves are clearing up nicely.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Linda and I are back at our resort after a long overdue vacation. We both had a great time. We are hard at work around the resort and I have also started fishing again on Norfork Lake. So far we have had a relatively warm fall and the fish are starting to bite. Yesterday I took some of my visiting family out striper fishing and we did Ok. We landed 2 stripers, one 15+ pounds. We broke off another and missed four other strikes. We were fishing up the river past point 8 with live shad. They were not the big jumbos so we were doubling up the shad on one hook. A couple of my guide friends have also been fishing the same area and are doing well. Yesterday Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters landed 10 stripers and hybrids and the day before landed 14. I guess my boat missed too many of the strikes.

Today I fished with my brother-in-law and we slayed the bass. We ended up landing over 20 largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass and lost over 5 fish at the boat. We limited out on spotted bass and released the largemouths and smallmouths. We started at sunrise and were throwing Zara Spooks around some docks. The fish were out in deep water (25feet) as well as right on the shore line. Next we headed over to the Big E area and switched from artificial baits to live bait. We used Carolina type rigs with a 1 ounce weight, then a couple of feet of leader with a number 4 kahle hook. I was fishing around some brush that is close to a point on the bluff line. The spotted bass were stacked. We landed 4 fish in this location then they seemed to turn-off. Next we headed to Panther Creek. I was graphing at different locations looking for striper without success. I stopped on a point and started to use live bait. We landed 3 spotted bass. Again the fish were in 20 - 25 feet of water. My third location was past Bidwell point. This was our most productive area. Again the bass were stacked and were very aggressive. We caught our first 3 fish in 8 - 10 feet of water and continued to catch fish after fish in 10 - 30 feet of water. I really think spinner baits and crankbaits would have worked great, but we were having so much fun with the live bait I could not get myself to switch. It was a great great day.

Two 17 inch smallmouth, a 16 inch spotted bass, and a white bass (all caught today) were given to an advertising firm that is photographing for 2011 fishing equipment catalogs for Northland and Frabril, both Minnesota companies. Arkansas is having over 19 nationally known reporters in the area fishing and exploring to see what Norfork Lake and Mountain Home have to offer. I am taking some of the writers out fishing on Friday and Saturday, My trip for today was cancelled.

From reports, crappie fishing is starting to get really hot. Small twister tail grubs tipped with a minnow and just minnows are working well. The fish are suspendied over brush piles anywhere from 10 feet to 20 feet down. Keep trying different depths until you find the one that works the best.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowly and currently sits at 547.45. The surface water temperature was 62 - 63 degrees today. The main lake water is clear and the creeks are cloudy but clearing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Well, I ended up missing out on a good time this morning. I was just too tired (work interfering again) to go out fishing on Norfork Lake, so I slept in. Boy was that a mistake. My phone has been ringing non-stop with guides asking me how fishing was at my end of the lake. Of course I had to tell them that I slept in. The responses from all were "you messed-up". I guess the stripers erupted all over this morning. The live bait guides gave up on using shad and changed their rods over to Zara spooks and their clients had a blast. All whom I talked with limited out in an hour with big fish. I'm going to have to go without sleep, I guess! I did go out Sunday morning with no luck. I went to a location where I got into top water action on Saturday morning, but on Sunday nothing was happening. I left that area as the sun was coming up and headed across the channel and saw the fish coming up all over. The sun was starting to get over the trees, and as I got closer they all went down and did not come up again. What's that saying? Something about a dollar short! The fish are there, but they are moving constantly. If the fish aren't surfacing by six you better move to another location because by seven the sun's too high and the fish go down.

We have a couple of guests crappie fishing and they caught several nice crappies using minnows yesterday over brush in about 20' of water. They also caught a nice walleye in the same area on a twister tail grub. I haven't heard how their fishing was today.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 562.4. Water temp is in the mid 70's. Water clarity is gin clear with creeks and coves clearing steadily. Two generators are being run about 6 hours per day.

I am definitely going out in the morning, hopefully I will have a success story to tell later.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.