Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Striped Bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and crappie are all being caught on Norfork Lake. The fishing has been really good and will only get better as the temperature rises. I have guests striper fishing using medium size gizzard shad and they are just hammering the fish. All of their fish were caught on free swimming baits and the stripers came out of the water to attack the bait. The best bite for them seems to be in the late afternoon. The Bennett's area has been their top location, but they have caught stripers in East Pigeon and the Cranfield area as well. I have heard that the night bite is taking off. I can't confirm that since I have fished after dark in several areas and have found no stripers. Or at least they didn't like the flavor of rogue I was casting. I will keep trying and will find them eventually.

Crappie, bass and walleye fishing yesterday under the cloudy skies was really good for Ed, a Wisconsin guest. Ed was using a small paddle tail with a 1/8 ounce jig head. The paddle tail was in the darker colors with a lighter tail. He found fish in shallow water 7 - 15 feet deep back in coves. He found some fallen timber that was laying on the shore and stretched out into the water and caught fish all day long yesterday. This almost 16 inch crappie was his prize. Ed was fishing the Cranfield area and coves heading up river. The fish were lying on the bottom to a few feet off of it.

As mentioned earlier I fished last evening. I started trolling a couple of shallow running crank baits because the wind was blowing pretty brisk. As the sun was setting I started to cast the shore with a rogue. All of sudden fish started to break the surface. I cast my rogue into the break, cranked down two cranks and largemouths would just hammer the bait. In about a 45 minute period I landed 6 bass in the 3 - 4 pound range and lost several other. It was fun!! Once it got real dark the fish went down and I started casting the shoreline again. I fished until about 9PM with only one strike. I think it was a bass. I was fishing back in the Bennett's area.

The lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 548.31. Minimal generation. The surface water temperature has fallen to 51 - 53 degrees due to the cool nights that we have been having. The water clarity is gin clear. The clarity may change a bit as there is rain in the forecast tomorrow, then the weather is to become gorgeous and warm again. Fishing in April should be out of site!

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Temperatures in the 70's for the past several days has really made the fish active on Norfork Lake. I had two different guests fishing, one up river past Cranfield and the other fishing in the Bennett's area. Walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass were the catches of the day up river. My guest was using a 3 inch paddle tail with a small jig head. He was finding fish on points. When he got off of the points, he got no bites. He ended up catching 6 walleye, only one keeper size and as many bass. He caught all his fish in 7 - 20 feet of water dragging the bottom. The water temperature up river was in the mid 40's. (hopefully I will be able to get the walleye photo tomorrow)

My other guest was striper fishing in the Bennett's area and using live shiners. The stripers were active and chasing shad to the surface. The water temperature was near 50 degrees. The big fish was 27 pounds and was caught on a free swimming shiner (no weights). He told me the striper came clear out of the water when it attacked the bait. (I just love spring time fishing!!!) They also caught this nice 15 inch crappie and several nice bass.

I have been homebound with the flu, but hopefully I will feel up to fishing in the next day or so. It seems like I haven't fished in forever with all the bad weather, our winter sport shows and now this yukky flu. I am really starting to get anxious to get back to fishing. The 10 day forecast shows that the temps will fall a little, but still should be great for fishing. Forecast is calling for highs in the 50's & 60's and lows in the 30's and 40's.

The Norfork Lake level is rising very slowly and currently sits at 541.35. No current generators are being run. The lake temp is in the mid to upper 40's. The main lake is clear, with the creeks slightly stained.

Happy Fishing. Hope to see you on the lake soon.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake for striped bass couldn't get much better. The morning bite, as well as the afternoon bite, is in full swing. The attached photos are from the last two days. I limited out this morning and ran across school after school of striped bass, hybrid bass and white bass. I was vertical jigging in 50 - 60 feet of water. The fish were suspended in 35 - 45 feet of water. Will, with his limit of striped bass, fished last evening with Tom Reynold's of STR Outfitters. Tom was using live shad and fished similar depths and occasionally in deeper water. Dustin, with the two stripers, fished yesterday morning and was vertical jigging in the same area that I fished this morning. The fish are really active at this time. If I had taken a spook along with me, I could have caught many black bass. When the sun was just starting to come up the bass were chasing shad to the surface and erupting all around me.

Stripers and hybrids are being caught from the Robinson area and surrounding creeks down to the dam area. Early morning and late evening should be the best time to fish and then you can take advantage of the afternoon sun to play in the pool or lake.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady and is at 552.47. The surface water temperature is still in the upper 80's to low 90's. The lake is clear and in great condition to fish, ski or swim.

See you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Another great day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozark Mountains. I have electronics back on my boat again, so I had to go out this morning to try it out. Well it worked fine marking fish. I bought the Lowrance X135, since I couldn't justify buying the nice color units, but this one seems to do the trick. I headed out before sunrise and went to the #2 marker. I was marking huge schools of fish (I think?) but nothing would bite. The fish were anywhere from 40feet down to 70feet suspended in 120feet of water. I was spooning and also dragging a couple of large live shiners. I didn't get a bite. I then headed back into Float Creek. Several boats were already there fishing. I threw out my shiners and in about 5 minutes my pole bent to the water and the drag was just zinging. I thought I had a huge 20 pound or larger fish on. It ran so far it almost spooled me. I finally landed the fish and it was only a 8 pound striper. but it definitely fought like a much bigger fish. I was fishing in 60 - 75 feet of water and was marking fish top to bottom. I ended up fishing this area a couple of hours and broke off another nice fish on live shiners and caught 3 hybrids in the 2 to 4 pound range on my spoon. All the hybrids were caught when I was reeling up though them fast. Fishing wasn't fantastic, but I caught enough fish to make it interesting. I did not notice any top water fish, but I still have my hopes up. Last year it started in the second week of November and lasted a couple of weeks.

I have reset my trot line and started baiting it up the last couple evenings. I have caught 2 nice size channels and one baby channel cat, also a couple of keeper size Kentucky bass. I am using live shiners for the trot line.

The Norfork Lake level is currently at 569.93 and rising 1 to maybe 2 inches per day, but this seems to be slowing. The Corps is generating one generator on and off throughout the day. The lake temperature is 63 degrees and still slowly dropping. The main lake is clear and the creeks are muddy.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Since the wind and rain has stopped I have been working hard at cleaning up the yard with all of its millions of leaves. My granddaughter has been a great helper!!

The sky is clear and the sun is out, no rain, on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Finally we are having our normal fall type weather. The day time temperature is reaching 70 or close and the evenings are in the mid to low 40's. The weather forecast is predicting this type of weather for the next couple of weeks. The lake should stabilize and the fishing should ramp up. I have been out bass fishing the last couple of mornings and evenings and have caught some nice bass on a rogue as well as a zara spook. Most of the fish are on the short side, but I have caught two nice 18 inch largemouth. Most of the bass that I have caught are Kentucky bass. I have been fishing the deep banks as well as the submerged island in the Cranfield area. The fish are starting to come up in the brush, but I think most are still deep. The lake has come up almost 18 feet over the last couple weeks, with the biggest increase just last week end. The fish are most likely still getting acclimated to their new surroundings. Most fish should be holding at the old shore line depth of 20-40 feet.

I am a little vague on where the fish are because my sonar unit is on the fritz and I have been fishing blind. A new Lowrance unit is on its way and hopefully will be installed soon. It is really difficult to fish without electronics. I guess I have gotten spoiled. I seemed to do just fine fishing years ago without the benefits of technology, but I sure enjoy having the toys of today.

I have heard second and third hand that there has been some striper top water action in the mornings and evenings. I have not seen any yet, but if it is anything like last fall it should happen in the next couple of weeks. The stripers being caught by the guides are back in the creeks as well as on the main lake. The fish are 40-60 feet down, both on the bottom and suspended.

The Norfork Lake level is finally holding steady at 569.68. The Corps is generating one generator for over half of the day. The lake surface water temp. is 63-64 degrees and dropping slowly. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are somewhat stained, but starting to clear.

Hopefully later in the week I will be able to give you a more detailed report. Until next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It is a rainy morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. We have had our share of rain in the last week as has the rest of the country. The lake is rising slowly, which is a good thing. The buck brush and the shore line foliage is going under water which give the bass a great place to feed. My current guests are throwing crank baits that dive about 8 ft and catching many large and smallmouth bass. The water temperature is slowly dropping which is also a very good thing. With the 65 - 68 degree temperatures the bass, crappie and walleye are becoming much more active and are really starting to feed aggressively. Sunday afternoon one of my guests caught his limit of walleye using a 2 ounce bottom bouncing weight attached to a night crawler harness. He was fishing along bluff lines in 25 - 30 feet of water. Last evening another guest got into some top water white bass. They had a blast throwing top water baits and then spooning when the fish would go down. They were fishing at the mouth of our cove and said they could see the fish erupt all the way towards the 101 bridge. Another guest has been crappie fishing and the large slabs are being caught in 20 - 30 feet of water over sunken trees/brush. Live crappie minnows are the bait of choice. Roadrunners and curly tail grubs are also producing some nice fish.

I should have my boat back this week, I can't wait.

The Norfork Lake water level is currently at 558.7 and slowly rising. The corps is running one generator about 6 hours per day. The current water temperature is in the mid to upper 60's. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are dingy greenish brown with all the rain and runoff that we have had.

Have a great day and see you all on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I fished Norfork Lake this evening and had a lot of success. I was walleye fishing and ended up catching 3, but one got away before I could net it. I was vertical jigging with a spoon in 25 - 40 of water. I used several colors, white, white and chartreuse and white and green. I found the fish on main lake points that end on a bluff line, as well as along the bluff line. You will want to be fishing very close to shore as the water gets deep very quickly. Look for submerged boulders or ledges in the 25 - 40 foot range, the walleye will be hanging out in the creases and on the ledge. In the same areas are schooling Kentucky bass. I ended up catching 5 bass with 3 about 15 inches long. Nice size for a Kentucky.

The striped bass are being caught in deeper water. Early in the morning you might find fish in 35 - 40 feet of water, but as the sun rises they go down to 40 - 60 feet. I have marked some nice fish even deeper. The live bait guides are catching some really nice size fish (20 - 30 pound range)using gizzard shad. Thread fin shad are producing fish, but they seem to be much smaller. The bigger fish are also the ones found in the 60 foot depths.

Overall the thermocline in Norfork Lake seems to be 25 - 40 feet down depending where you are on the lake and who you are talking with. All types of fish seem to be hanging out at or near the thermocline.

The Norfork Lake level is 552.96 and falling very slowly. The water temperature this evening was in the mid to upper 80's, of course it's cooler in the morning. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still off color.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I was fishing with my nephew and Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line yesterday morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Robert was prefishing for upcoming trips and we tagged along. We headed south to the Diamond Bay area and found fish schooling in several areas. My nephew caught his first striped bass and hybrid bass for this year and had a great time with the fight both fish gave. I thought he was going to lose his pole several times when the fish made a run for the bottom, but he landed both and was really excited. In all we caught striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass, largemouth bass and spotted bass. The largemouth and spotted bass were caught on the bridge columns. We were using live shad which Robert netted early in the morning.

We have several guests fishing this week, as well as enjoying other water sport activities during the day. The little ones have been having a great time on the dock catching all the bluegill that they want. Many are cleaning size. Another group have been striper fishing and doing well. They fished with a guide the first day and caught many striped and hybrid bass. They have been fishing on their own since the guide trip and have caught several 13 pound fish. Over all, the stripers are hitting fairly well and are being caught in 30 - 40 feet of water. This time of year the fish are on the bottom. Vertical jigging and live bait fishing has been working well. For your live bait fishing use shiners or even better, shad, if you can get them. Once you find the schooling fish just hang on to your pole!

The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the low to mid 80's, but should be rising during the week with the warmer temps. The lake level is at 555.05 and falling slowly. Generators are being run for less than half of the day. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are still stained.

Start planning your fall fishing trip, it's just around the corner.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Hummingbird Hideaway's dock on Norfork Lake had a lot of action yesterday. We had several fisher people catching fish at the dock all day long. Bluegills and sunfish were being caught by kids of all ages with the nice panfish pictured above caught in 4 feet of water on a nightcrawler. A 3.5 - 4 pound largemouth was caught, as well as a 25 pound carp and a 4 foot long gar. Yes, the two gentlemen are brothers. One of them caught the big catfish that I blogged awhile back.

Another group of guests have been fishing the early morning hours for stripers. Yesterday morning they caught their first striper along with many largemouth and white bass. They were vertical jigging in 30 - 50 ft of water in the Cranfield area. They had successful mornings on both Thursday and Friday in the same general area.

The fish are still holding at the thermocline in 30 - 35 feet of water. Vertical jigging is working well once you find the schooling fish or the bait fish. Walleye are on the bottom and the whites, largemouth, and stripers are either on the bottom or in 50 - 70 foot depths suspended at 30 - 35 feet. Bluegill and sunfish are being caught at all depths. Crappie are hanging around brush piles in 30 - 35 feet of water.

The surface water temperature on Norfork Lake is in the mid to low 80's with some high 70's being marked early in the morning. The water temp. should rise with the upcoming warmer temperatures. The lake level is 555.22 with generators being run for half of the day. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are off color.

Well until next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Several of our fishing guests have had good luck with early morning and late afternoon fishing trips. They were fishing with a live bait fishing guide, Tom Reynolds, of STR Outfitters. The largest Striped bass was 16 pounds, but all fish gave a great fight on Tom's 10ft long poles with light line and tackle. They were using live shad and fishing in 35 - 55 feet of water. The stripers were on the bottom, as well as suspended in 20 - 30feet of water. The Striper bite is going strong and improving each day. The afternoon bite started last week and seems to be holding. The fish are being caught in the mid lake area not far from the bridges. Stripers are also being caught on spoons by either vertical jigging or casting the spoon and letting it fall to the bottom, then giving a few quick cranks and letting it fall to the bottom again. The fish will typically hit the spoon on the fall so watch your line carefully.

Spotted bass, large mouth and white bass are being caught close to the surface early morning and at sunset on main lake points. Keep a top water bait handy for these times. As the sun rises the fish including small mouth bass are going deeper to 20 - 40 feet of water. Throw a grub or your favorite plastic bait up to the shore and then let it drop to the bottom and retrieve slowly.

Crappie and walleye are being caught around brush piles in 30 - 40 feet of water. Live crappie minnows are working well for crappie. Night crawlers and shiners, Carolina rigged are working for the walleye. Vertical jigging or casting a spoon and letting it fall to the bottom is also working for walleye.

Since my boat is rented this week I haven't been out pole fishing, but I have been setting my trotline. I have been catching some nice flatheads, channels and blues. Jugging is also working well with live bait. I have been using shiners, goldfish and crawdad for my baits.

Start thinking about your fall fishing trip. The stripers and hybrids usually start surfacing once the water temperature gets back in the 60's and 70's. The crappie will stay over the brush, but will become more active in the cooler water. We will also start having our late night bite for striped bass and walleye. This is one of my favorite fishing times.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling and is at 556.36. Both generators are being run 12-18 hours per day. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat stained due to the receding water level washing mud into the water. This will clear once the water level stabilizes. The lake surface temperature52. is in the mid 80's and holding.

As for the vacationing non-fishing boaters. The water has been calm with little or no wind early and a slight chop in the afternoon. I find the water best for skiing, tubing and wakeboarding early in the morning. Not many boats are on the water and you can travel for miles and be in complete solitude except for the occasional eagle fishing or deer coming down to the waters edge for a drink. The air temperature has been in the 70's early and 80's in the afternoon. Overall a great week to play on Norfork Lake.

Until my next report happy fishing & skiing. See you on the lake.

Fishing Fun

One of our regular guests from St. Charles sent me this photo to do a little bragging. Even though Norfork Lake produces 60+ pound Blue catfish, this 84 pound Blue was caught on rod & reel in the Mississippi River. He and his partner caught about 600 pounds of fish one evening and all were released. Nice fish Kyle. We will try and catch a big striped bass this year when you are down.

I tried to go out fishing on Norfork Lake this morning, but the lightning kept me home bound, maybe I'll be able to go tomorrow morning. I did get out on Tuesday and Wednesday and had a good day Tuesday and a slow day on Wednesday. I have been fishing the Robinson Point area with live bait (medium size shiners and gold fish). I have had the best luck with shiners. The fish I caught have been on the small size 5 - 10 pounds, but I like catching any fish. I've released all fish lately. My secondary spot is off of a point heading back into the Bennetts area. On this point I have been catching some really nice spotted bass and a few walleye. Here again the shiners out fished the gold fish. I am going to try crawdads and shiners the next time. The fish are starting to school, but the schools are still small. There is some early morning and late evening top water for whites, spotted and large mouth bass. One of my guide friends fished until 9pm last evening and said the stripers really started to bite well around sunset. Hopefully this means the night bite has started.

Fish are being caught at 30 - 40 feet of water either on the bottom or suspended in 50 - 70 feet of water. Fish main lake points or flats at this water depth. Vertical jigging is also working very well at this depth. I will start spooning soon after I finish testing out the live bait.

Norfork Lake water level is dropping 3 - 4 inches per day and currently is at 557.37 feet, only 5 feet above normal pool. The lake water temperature has fallen slightly, but is still in the mid 80's. The main lake is clear and the creeks and cove are a little muddy due to the 3 inch rain last evening.

See you on the lake and happy fishing.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fish are still biting and top water action is active at sunrise and sunset on Norfork Lake. I went fishing yesterday morning and caught two nice hybrid bass. One was 8 pounds caught on my top water Zara Spook, the other was 7 pounds caught on a 2 inch "Baby N" crank bait. I was fishing the Robinson Point area close to the Big E. A couple of guides were fishing with live shad closer to the island. One limited out by 7:30AM and the other landed an 18 pound striper. The striper bite, white bass, Kentucky bass and largemouth are still active back in Bennetts area as well as outside of our cove. The fish are coming up in the main channel and some are suspended in 20-40 feet of water. The fish are in transition, but soon they will all be down around 40 feet. One of our guests has been fishing back in the Bennetts area with live shad. Today they caught over 20 fish, 3 were stripers, one walleye, and the rest were white and largemouth bass. They had a great time fishing and enjoyed their time swimming in the pool and lake this week. We enjoyed having them here at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort. Seeing our regular guests return year after year reinforces that we are doing what we need to do to keep them coming back.

The Norfork Lake level is being lowered by the Corps. They are running 2 generators most of the day. The lake level currently sits at 560.56. The Corps forecasts the lake to be at normal pool by July 26Th. The Norfork Lake temperature has dropped slightly over last week and is in the low to mid 80's. The water is clear with a slight stain in the creeks and coves.

No pictures or fishing for me for a week. My boat is rented out and my daughter has taken my camera for a few days. I will keep you informed with the information I get from my guide friends and fishing guests.

Until next time happy fishing and have a very happy and safe 4th of July.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

For those heat and sun worshippers, summer has arrived to Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake, Arkansas. The weather has been just gorgeous, evenings in the 70's and daytime temps in the 90's with little to no wind and bluebird skies. We have a great group of guests this week, many are with a large family reunion and others are repeat guests that visit often. Tonight will be our first "dive-in" movie of the season. Spiderwich Chronicles will be playing poolside on a large screen.

This young lady out fished me. In a few weeks she and her family will be back for another visit. I think she will be able to show her grandpa a thing or two about fishing. I had a tough day yesterday morning and just caught a few white bass and several largemouth bass. The top water bite early and late seems to be slowing quickly, but it is still there if you're in the right spot at the right time. I'm not sure what level the thermocline is at, but with this heat it won't be long until it settles at 40 ft. When this happens spooning becomes my choice of fishing techniques. The striped bass, white bass, walleye and crappie will all be close to the thermocline level. The bluegill still can be caught at all depths.

My fishing excursions will slow some in the summer months since I have more day to day work at the resort, but hopefully I will still be able to get out several times a week.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 562.7. The lake water temp is from the low 80's early to upper 80's late. The lake is getting back to gin clear with a green tint in the coves and creeks, but still good visibility.

Until next time happy fishing and boating.

Norfork Lake crappie catch

Here's a happy couple just back from crappie fishing on Norfork Lake. They have had just a fantastic week of fishing. This stringer and the smiles on their faces testifies to that. They ended up fishing the same hole as yesterday and caught twenty fish with 10 keepers. Check out that 14 inch slab! They were using crappie minnows with a small weight and also used twister tail grubs. They started fishing this morning before the sun came up, but found that the fish did not start to bite until the sun had warmed up things a little. There bite started around 8AM. In addition to the crappie they played with a Zara spook and caught many largemouth and Kentucky bass.

I fished awhile this morning and got into some top water action. I caught several Kentucky bass as well as white bass. It was non-stop action for about 1 1/2 hours. The whites were in the 1.5 - 2 pound range and many of the bass were keeper size. I put them back so they're here if you want to come and catch them!

The Norfork Lake conditions are the same as I wrote yesterday, except for the clarity in creeks and coves. We had a quick 1/2 inch rain today which made the creeks flow quickly. It should take a couple of days for the creeks and coves to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.