Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been on fire since my last report on 5/8/13. Fishing was good 9 days ago and has only gotten better. I anticipate that fishing will continue to improve with top water action getting better and better. I have been using 3 main baits. A fluke or bass assassin with a 5/0 worm hook unweighted, a Heddon Zara Spook junior size and live shad. You can use large shiners if you don't have a shad tank. Rogues, or a similar type of suspending jerk bait, are working the best for walleye. The best bite has been at sunrise and at sunset. If you are fishing mid-day, you may need to go a little deeper for all species. A jig & pig has been working well for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass for one of my guests.

All species are showing up in the same areas. It is fun to go out fishing without really knowing what you are going to catch. I just love this time of our fishing year!  Fish are being found from the mouth of the major creeks to half way back into the creeks. Some fish have started to move out to the main lake points. This is still slow to happen, but it won't be long. The shad are in the buck brush possibly spawning. As I have said before, find the shad and you will find fish. I have found shad just going crazy on the shore because the fish have them cornered and are having a buffet.

This morning was no exception to prior mornings. I landed several good size bass and lost two really nice hybids. The first was lost when I was getting ready to net the fish and had the hook that was in the fish break. I have never had a spooks hook break at the barb. I guess I was placing too much pressure on the fish to get him in the boat so I could get back to fishing. The next hybrid was next to the boat still acting up, but when I reached for the net it came unhooked. I finally changed out the broken hook after this fish got away! One of my guests was in a different part of the lake and came across a huge area of water just boiling with top water fish. It was a fun morning.

Overall the best bite has been for largemouth, smallmouth & spotted bass. Striped bass and hybrid are probable the next best bite with white bass, catfish, walleye and crappie rounding out the species being caught. Look for points in the creeks with sunken brush and I bet you will find a few catchable fish.

Norfork Lake is rising very slowly and currently sits at 558.8. The surface water temperature is also rising slowly and was in the mid to upper 60's this morning. The main lake is gin clear with some of the major creeks somewhat stained.

Don't forget, on the evening of May 25th, Cranfield Marina will be shooting off fireworks over the lake. Should be a great show. It is really fun to watch fireworks out of your boat. We still have several one bedroom cabins available over the Memorial Day holiday period. If you are looking for a great place to stay give us a call at 870-492-5113.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake's fall fishing bite is changing for the better with the cooler water temperatures. The surface temperature ranged from 62 degrees to 64.5 degrees depending on the location on the lake and the time of day. The best bite is white bass with crappie and black bass not far behind. I have been fishing almost every day and yesterday I actually fished in the morning then went back out in the afternoon. What a life, but I guess someone has to do it! I strictly fished for stripers in the morning up north, with no success, but a friend landed a 25 pounder not far from where I was fishing. The striper bite has been slow, but fish have been caught in all parts of the lake. There has been some top water action in the mornings for stripers, but you need to be in the right place at the right time. Stripers have been caught over the last couple of weeks back in the Bennett's area, 6A area, Pigeon creek, Cranfield, around the bridges and so on. These are confirmed catches so you can see the fish are scattered with some schooling, but still a lot of fish just cruising the lake. I will keep plugging away at the stripers and will eventually find a consistent bite.

 As I mentioned above the white bass bass bite is getting very good. I fished two afternoons this week and have found schooling and feeding fish in 30 - 40 feet of water. I have been vertical jigging with a 3/4 ounce to 1 ounce spoon. When I find them schooled and in a feeding frenzy the color of spoon doesn't seem to matter. Last evening they were hitting the spoon on the fall. You have to be ready to set the hook as soon as you feel the fish attack the bait. I have been using my standard green or chartreuse and white spoon and also a blue and silver spoon. I have found the fish on flats in the mouths of coves. You will also find them on main lake flats from 30 - 50 feet. Electronics are sure nice in the search for the fish. The bite has seemed to stop as soon as the sun gets below the trees. I ended up landed 8 whites between 5 and 6PM. It was pretty windy so each time I caught a fish I would be blown off of my spot and then have to locate the fish again. It sure would be nice to have the wireless trolling motor with the anchor button on it. Some day! In with the whites are hybrids and striped bass. I caught a 20 inch striper last evening and released it to grow bigger.

The crappie bite has also improved. I have had the best luck on the bigger fish in the mornings. I find the fish in brush that is 30 - 45 feet deep. I have been using a 1/4 ounce white spoon. The crappie have been inside of the brush so you do get snagged up a lot, but if you just quickly twitch the spoon it typically frees up.

Smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass are getting aggressive. They are starting to move back to the banks to feed with this cooler water, but I have found the bigger largemouth out in deeper water, 35 - 50 feet down. I have vertical jigged up bass and have also gotten them on live bait when I am striper fishing. The bigger boys have been hitting my large gizzard shad with a vengeance. Rogue fishing slowed for me last week with the rise in the water temps, but this week it started to pick up again with the cold front that rolled though our area. As the water continues to cool the bass will be on the banks more and more. I have thrown my jig & pig a little and usually pick up a few smallies. I find the smallmouth on rocky bluff line points.

Catfishing is also picking up. I landed this nice 13.5 flat head on a 1/4 ounce spoon with 4 pound test. It was a good fight, but I finally won the battle. I was checking out some new areas off of bluff line points spooning in 45 feet of water when this guy engulfed the bait then the up and down battle began. The rod was doubled over and I thought it was going to break. Jug fishing is also picking up some very nice fish.

This time of year I vertical jig quite a bit. It is fun because you never know what type of fish you are going to catch. All species will hit the bait.

 

Again as the water cools the night bite will start. Striped bass, hybrid bass and walleye will be in very shallow water off of points that have flats off of them with deep water nearby. I use a Smithwick Rogue for this type of fishing. Cast your bait as close to the rocks as possible then reel back to the boat very very slowly and hang on. I will start to test those waters this week after dark.

 

Norfork Lake's level is falling slowing a currently sits at 543.77. The surface water temperature is around 63 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and covers are somewhat stained. Partial generation is sporadic, but generation has increased with the cooler nights.

                                                                              

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Own lawn maintenance crew has been working hard cleaning up persimmons at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. I guess these bucks know about hunting season so they are coming to a safe haven. We have seen 4 bucks at one time and a herd of 8 does and fawns. We also have a group of 8 turkeys feeding on the resort grounds on a frequent basis. It's a lot of fun watching the wildlife from the porch of your cabin.

I finally have my boat back and fished for a about an hour this morning, mainly breaking in the new motor. I did catch several white bass and two undersized largemouth bass. I was spooning in 30 feet of water off main lake points close to the 101 bridge. The whites are schooling and move quickly when you find them in the open water. There were a few bass coming up after shad. I tried throwing a spook, but had no luck with top water bait.

Fishing heats up and then the weather changes to slow it down. I hope Mother Nature starts giving us more constantly normal fall temperatures and weather conditions. Last week was cool with a strong north wind. With the north wind our cove was stocked full of white bass and hybrids, with a few stripers mixed in. Spooning was pulling in some nice 3 - 3.5 pound whites. This week the wind has changed to the south and conditions have changed. My fishing guests are finding large and small mouth bass off of main lake points typically on the bluff side. A few bass are being caught in the submerged buck brush in shallow water. A few are being caught on top water, but they're having the most luck in deep water 20 - 30 feet down. Jig and pigs with a 3/8 ounce jig head are working well, dressed in dark colors.

Reports from my guide friends are that the striped bass are moving up the lake. They are finding some nice fish in the mid lake area close to deep water. The fish are suspended 40 - 60 feet down in anywhere from 60 - 120 feet of water. The main lake points are producing fish, as well as, spots back in the channels of the major creeks. I hope to get out this afternoon to do a little serious fishing.

Crappie are being caught over brush in 25 - 35 feet of water. White grubs are working the best tipped with a crappie minnow. Drift slowly over the brush dragging your bait or cast out, let it sink, retrieve slowly, stop and let sink again. Repeat this action until you get back to the boat. The crappie are hitting the bait on the fall.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowing at 560.26. The corps is generating with one generator for over 12 hours per day. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are starting to clear but are still stained. The Norfork Lake surface temperature is around 66 degrees and falling slowly. I am looking for about 60 degree water temperature to help trigger the striper fall top water bite. Hopefully by the end of this month or the beginning of November.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Striped Bass Fishing

Here are some photos of recent catches on Norfork Lake. These vacationers fished with two different striper guides in the past week. Both guides use live bait and lite tackle. It is really a blast to catch one of these 15 to 30 pound fish on 8 pound test line and lite action rods and reels. If you are looking for a fishing experience of a lifetime come on down and visit us at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. We are located in Mountain Home, Arkansas in the Arkansas Ozarks. The two guides are Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line (www.leesliteline.com) and Tom Reynold of STR Outfitters (www.stroutfitters.com). Contact us and we will help you set up your guided trip or you can contact the guides directly. The big fish are really hitting well. I can attest to that because I caught a 20 pound striped bass this morning with Robert Lee.

Norfork Lake for smallmouth bass

Good morning from Hummingbird Hideaway Resort, your Arkansas Ozark vacation destination on Norfork Lake. Long time resort guest, Larry from Muncie, IN, caught this nice 18 inch small mouth bass in our cove. I believe he was pitching a pig & jig off of a point. He and his wife are here with their two granddaughters and are having a great time swimming in our pool and fishing Norfork Lake. In addition to this small mouth, Larry has caught many keeper size largemouth and Kentucky bass. I have given him a couple of potentially good walleye spots to try out so hopefully he will have success with them as well.

I caught a nice 17 inch smallmouth on a live crawdad in our cove. Since the smallmouth are coming into our cove the walleye should be right behind them if this year is consistent with past years. I went out for a short time this morning and caught two nice 2 1/5 pound largemouth bass on a Zara spook. I also threw a twin tail chomper for a little while and caught several short Kentucky bass.

The Norfork Lake level is 562.42 and holding steady. The Corp. is running two generators about 6 hours per day. The lake is clear in the main lake and clearing up in the creeks and coves. The water temp this morning was in the low 70's to mid 70's.

Have a great day and happy fishing.