Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Merry Christmas to all my fishing friends. I am not on the lake but should be back to fishing in the next several days.

Have a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends. I hope that the New Year brings many memorable fishing trips and that trophy size Norfork Lake fish whether it be striped bass, walleye, black bass, crappie, ect.

Happy fishing and see you soon out on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake striper bite has been off the chart using live bait. The morning and evening bites have been really good. Fish are being caught from Diamond Bay to the dam. Guests in the photos have been fishing all week long and have been limiting out in the mornings as well as the evenings. Jeff catches live shad and this seems to be the bait of choice. Last evening Jeff and I were fishing next to each other off a point in the dam area. I watched him land two nice 12 pound stripers and miss 5 others. I was vertical jigging with a spoon and only had one hit and missed it. They definitely wanted fresh bait instead of artificial. The fish were 38 - 45 feet down either on the bottom or suspended in about 55 feet of water. This evening I am going to try live shiners to see how and if they will work. I will let you know.

I have been catching black bass and white bass with catfish and walleye thrown in for good measure. I've been fishing in 35-40 feet of water. These fish are on the bottom feeding on shad. White bass are back in coves and creeks usually towards the center of the creek not on the banks. The black bass that I have found are on points or the sides of points in this same water depth. The lake thermocline is hovering in the 35 feet range and varies depending on where you are on the lake.

The Norfork Lake level has risen to 552.3. The surface water temperature has stabilized in the low 80s during the morning and the mid 80s in the afternoon. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are still murky.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

If you can brave the cooler air temperature the fish are really biting well this winter on Norfork Lake. This is the time of year the trophies are caught.

What a fantastic and exciting day these three Hummingbird Hideaway Resort guests had today on Norfork Lake. They ended up with 3 limits of striped bass and released 6 others. These fish were all about 11 - 12 pounds but fought like 40 pound fish. They were all caught in 60 feet depths suspended 25 - 40 feet down. Large live shiners were the bait of choice. The best part is that they only had to travel 5 - 10 minutes away from the resort.

The Kentucky bass are schooling on the bluff line points in 30 - 45 feet of water and biting well on shiners. Vertical jigging with a spoon is also working for the Kentucky bass. Find brush piles in the same areas and the bite will even be better. Walleye and crappie are in the same area. Yesterday afternoon I ended up with 4 nice Kentucky's and lost 2 others. Today another guest visiting from Wisconsin, caught a nice crappie, two under size walleye and several nice bass.

The Winter bite has started!!

The Norfork Lake level is 559.8 and fairly stable. The Corps is starting to generate again with one generator intermittantly throughout the day. The lake surface water temperature is 47 - 49 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are stained.

Happy fishing, dress warmly and I'll see you on the lake!

Norfork Lake Fishing Reprt

The weather has been really nice the last couple of afternoons. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be even nicer. I fished yesterday afternoon until dark. I started in our cove looking for crappie but had no luck at all. For an hour I tried all the tricks I know, but could not get them to bite. I moved over a few coves closer to the bridges and fished the main lake points where I have sunken brush. I started to vertical jig with a 1 ounce green and white spoon with no luck. I tied on a 3/4 ounce white spoon and this was the ticket. I didn't get crappie, but wasn't really expecting them at this spot. I caught 5 bass, mixed largemouth and Kentucky. Two were keeper size. I also caught the largest white bass that I have caught on Norfork Lake. When I first saw its football shaped body I thought it was a hybrid. My fish were caught in 30 - 40 feet of water bouncing the spoon off the bottom. If you see suspended fish reel up though them real fast and usually the fish will attack the spoon. As for the crappie, I was marking fish over the brush, but couldn't get them to bite. I think it is only a matter of time until the winter crappie bite starts. The water temp is almost there.

The striped bass are still scattered. This is their normal winter pattern. They are located anywhere from Bidwell area to 6A and also from the 101 bridge to the Red Bank area. You can usually find them suspended at 40 feet in 60 to 120 feet of water.

The surface water temperature on Norfork Lake is in the 50 - 51 degree range. I am looking for the high forties to help the crappie bite. The water is clear in the main lake and still stained in the creeks due to the quick draw down of the lake. The Norfork Lake water level is 559.4 and falling about 5 inches per day. They have the flood gates closed and are only generating. It should take another couple of weeks for the lake to be at normal pool.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Another fantastic day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. It's currently 71 degrees and and sun is shining. I went striper fishing this morning. It started out slow but finished with a bang. I ended up with this nice 15 pound striper and lost 2 others. One of the fish that I lost, hit my other pole while I was fighting the pictured fish. I tried to set the hook, but just couldn't get enough pull with my left arm. All of my bites came between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. I was fishing back in Panther Creek in 95 feet of water. These fish were suspended in 40 - 50 feet. I was using large live shiners and also vertical jigging with a spoon. All fish and bites were on the live shiners. I first fished the Robinson area, then went back into Diamond Bay, but found nothing in these areas. Yesterday one of my guide friends caught three in the Robinson area. He caught one on a free line, one on a down pole and the other was on a balloon. His fish were mainly deep, but he has gotten a few on free swimmers so the fish are starting to come up. The stripers are scattered and moving in the deep channels. No top action that I saw today.

We plan on smoking one filet of the striper. We'll let you know how it turns out.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowly and is currently at 570.4. The Corps is running two generators for most of the day. The surface water temperature is still 62 - 63 degrees. The lake is clear in the deep water and slightly stained back in the creeks. The water is really starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather in the Ozarks is gorgeous, the Norfork Lake water level is stable and the water is clear. We have had some fantastic fall weather and by the forecast there is more to come. The temperature has been in the 70's during the day and mid to upper 40's at night. This is our normal fall weather. Can't ask for a better time to fish. The bass fishing has been really good. I have been fishing in the mornings and have caught bass with a top water bait along deep bluff lines as well as down deep back in creeks. The bigger fish seem to be in approximately 40 feet of water on the points of creeks, as well as, back into the creek where the water starts to get shallower. Most of my deep fish have hit on live shiners, but a jig & pig, plastic worms or a swimming minnow should work as long as you get it down to the 35 - 45 feet depth. Yesterday morning I caught 4 largemouth bass in the 3-4 pound range and 4 undersized Kentucky bass on a Zara Spook. I released all fish immediately except for the one in the photo. It was caught in deep water and could not swim back down. I haven't learned how to vent fish, but need to. This bass will make a good meal. I fished the Diamond Bay area and kept looking out to the main lake to see if the stripers are coming up. I still haven't seen any striper top water action, but feel certain it will happen soon.

The stripers can be found from the mid lake area, Panther Creek, Float Creek, Robinson flats and in the channel past Bidwell point. They are still in deep water from 60 to 170 feet suspended in 40-60 feet of water. Live bait is still working the best. Live shiners or thread fin shad are the baits of choice.

Catfish are biting well on trot lines baited with live shiners. I caught a 10 pound blue cat this morning. I have been catching channel cats and blue cats on a consistent basis. I have my line set in about 10 - 15 feet of water.

I haven't had a chance to crappie fish lately and have heard no reports. They should be over brush in 40 - 50 feet of water and more than likely are suspended over the brush. Try a grub tipped with a crappie minnow and slowly float over the brush.

No report on walleye's being caught, but with the cooling water they should be in 15-25 feet of water. Drag a crawler harness across main lake points and deep bluff lines. If you have a down rigger or can use lead core line, use a small crank bait in the same areas.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 570.58. They are forecasting that the lake level should start dropping slowly. The Corps is generating 1-2 generators for the biggest part of the day. The lake surface water temperature is 62-63 degrees and has held steady. We should start seeing another drop with the cooler nights being forecast. The main lake is clear and the creeks have a brownish tint, but are starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been gorgeous for the past few days on Norfork Lake and the forecast is calling for much of the same with cooler temperatures. The cooler temps should help to improve the already good fishing. We have several guests bass fishing and catching their limits and more each day. Many of the fish being caught are slightly undersized, but this morning one of our guests brought in a nice stringer of small and largemouth bass (3 - 4 pound range) as well as four 15 - 16 inch Kentucky bass. Their bellies were full of crawdads. Dark colors (browns) were working the best for him this morning. He likes to use a jig and pig and is working it off the bluffs down to about 35 ft. He caught most of his fish this morning in about 20 feet of water. I have heard from a few divers that they are seeing many fish over brush piles in 30 - 35 feet of water, large fish. Crappie are hanging around in the same area and can be caught on live crappie minnows with a slip float or with a 1/16 oz. jig with a twister tail grub. I have found it beneficial to tip the jig with a crappie minnow.

A few of my fishing guide friends have been fairing well on striped bass and hybrid bass. They have been fishing near the bridge columns using live threadfin shad. They have also been catching many Kentucky bass right on the columns in about 20 feet of water. With the water temperature cooling slightly the striped bass seem to be dispersing a little. Hopefully with about another 10 degree drop in water temperature we will get into our fall top water bite.

I have been going through fishing withdrawal. My Yamaha four stroke engine threw the nut off the drive shaft that holds the fly wheel on and did a lot of damage. The motor is only a few months out of warranty and I have been working with Yamaha to hopefully cover the damage. I should know this week who gets to pay for it. I have asked around and so far no one has heard of this happening before. I guess I'm lucky to get to be the first!

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady at about 557, which is 5 feet above normal pool. The Corps. is running two generators about 6 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the mid 70's and falling slowly. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves cloudy.

Happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake soon.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fishing patterns on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks has been unchanged for the last 3 - 4 weeks. The fish are deep, but once you find them you will have a great time. I have been out the last couple of evenings for about an hour around sunset and have had good success. I have been vertical jigging with a spoon in 30-40 feet of water and have caught white bass and kentucky bass. I have been fishing main lake points on bluff ends. I have mainly been working the Cranfield island area.

September through November is a popular time of year for bass fishermen on Lake Norfork. We currently have several guests fishing for bass and having a good time. They are using plastic worms and lizards. The fish are around the bluff banks and on bluff points in 25 - 35 feet of water. Yesterday one guest caught over 20 largemouth, smallmouth and kentucky bass with the largest being 4.5 pounds. Darker color baits have been working the best since it has been cloudy. Lighter colors seem to work good on clear and sunny days. Jig and pigs are also working very well.

Walleyes are being caught in the same areas and depths as the bass. You can either vertical jig with a spoon or drag a Lindy rigged crawler harness. Try to find big chunk rock on the points or bluffs.

We have another guest who is fishing for striped bass. He landed a 18, 15 and 12 pounder yesterday afternoon and this morning landed a 20 and 15 pounder. He is using live shad and catching the fish on the bottom in 60 - 80 feet of water. Vertical jigging with a spoon will also work. Watch your fish finder and when you find the school drop your spoon through the school and start jigging up and down. The Striper usually hit the spoon on the fall. If you see your line go slack set the hook quickly.

Catfish have been active on trotlines and jugs. Live bait is working the best. Use small bluegill, large shiners or crawfish. I have been catching blues, flatheads and channels.

Blue gill are still biting very well. Nightcrawlers and crickets are the best baits at this time. You can find the panfish close to shore as well as in 20 - 40 feet depths.

Crappie are holding over the deep brush piles. I have caught several while jigging with a spoon. They are in 20 - 40 feet of water over the brush piles or large trees that have been sunk. When you find the brush, use a live crappie minnow and a slip float for best results or a twister tail grub with a 1/16oz jig head. Tip the jig with a live crappie minnow, cast the jig over the brush and let it sink to the top of the brush pile then pull back and let it sink again. Watch for your line to go slack or start moving sideways, then set the hook.

The Norfork Lake level is mainly holding steady at 553.2. The lake surface temperature is in the low 80's. Main lake water is clear with a slight green tint, the creeks and channels are stained. The Corps is running one to two generators for about 5 - 6 hours per day.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.