Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake Fishing Report is written by Lou Gabric, owner operator of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. Open year round, Hummingbird Hideaway Resort has a cabin to fit your needs, whether it be for your vacation or a place for family and friends visiting you in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Call for more info. 870-492-5113

Fall fishing is in full swing on Norfork Lake. The stripers, hybrids and whites have moved into their fall patterns and will stay in the same general areas though November and into December. Of course this being said, if mother nature throws some really cold weather at us dropping the lake temperature into the mid to low 50's all bets are off. You are probably asking yourself "what the heck is he talking about"? From prior years fishing experience, I am seeing that the fish are moving into the same types of areas that they typically move to in the fall. This has been the same fall pattern year after year. Start looking for stripers, hybrids and whites from the 62 bridge up though the Bennetts Bayou area, and also from the 101 bridge though the Cranfield area up to and a little past the the MO/AR border. In the early mornings and afternoons fish can be found on large flats in all water depths, 20-50 feet of water typically feeding on the bottom. Large schools will be roaming these flats so electronics are very helpful. Once the sun comes up they typically move closer to the old river and creek channels so start looking in 50 - 70 feet of water, but still on the bottom. Over the last 4 days, I along with my fishing guests, have found stripers, hybrids and whites in these types of areas. The morning bite has lasted 2 - 3 hours and the evening bite seems to kick off around 3PM. Today after we lost the fish in the flats I started to look in the the deep channels and found roaming schools on the bottom at 50 ft close to bluffs. I am also very hopeful that we will get some consistent topwater action. This morning a handful of big fish came up on the flats, but it was sporadic. It could happen at any time. Slow rolling a suspending stick bait after dark will also be effective soon. A few more degree drop in water temperature and I believe the night bite will get active.

Crappie are moving back to brush piles in 20 - 40 ft of water. I caught a nice 14 inch slab with 3 other 11 inch crappies two evenings ago. I was jigging 15 - 20 ft down on the tops of the sunken trees. You will also find many of the big bluegills in these same brush piles. Black bass and walleye will also be hanging in the same areas, but you typically will need to get closer to the bottom of the trees for these species.

Most of the walleye that I have caught are still out in open water. I have spooned up several keeper size walleye along with a bunch of short ones in 40 - 50 ft of water. I catch these while striper fishing.

I have noticed big largemouth bass (3 pounders) roaming the shore line at dusk feeding on minnows and bluegills. I always check both sides of my dock walkway when walking onto my dock and I see several each evening. I have not targeted black bass lately, but these shallow fish tell me it is almost jerk bait time.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling very slowly and currently sits at 550.34 which is a little more than 3 feet under the seasonal normal pool. The water surface temperature this morning was 66 degrees. The creeks and coves are still stained and the main lake is somewhat stained, but clearing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norfork Lake Striper fishing has really picked up over the last several weeks. Stripers and hybrids have schooled up. When you find them it can be non-stop action. Live bait and vertical jigging with a spoon are both working great. I have been using a one ounce spoon, in various colors, white, white/chartreuse, white/green and white/blue. The spoon itself is a lead weight in the shape of a minnow with a treble hook at one end and a swivel at the other.There are many types of spoons on the market, but I use and carry a full stock of the Bink's spoons if you are interested in trying them out. I have caught and released 6 + stripers per day over the last three days. Today was no exception, I landed 8 and had to keep 3 today due to the fish feeding very heavily and swallowing the spoon so deep that after retrieving the spoon the fish could not swim away. So here is dinner for the next few days. After I had 3 in the boat I started to fish for other species. I caught a couple white bass and called it a day. Today I found the stripers in 60 feet of water suspended 30 to 40 feet down. I dropped the spoon to this depth then jigged it up, and let it float back down. Before my line got tight there would be a fish on the other end. Lots and lots of fun. Sounds easy, right! The biggest challenge is to find the fish. Today I looked at 3 different areas before I found them. Sometimes the fish will be in the same area day after day, but in the last week I found a huge school of fish back in Georges Cove, but I keep checking and they haven't found them again in that area. These fish keep moving and following the bait. The joy of fishing for me is the feel of success once I've find them and they start to bite.

There is still a good, but short lived, topwater bite for largemouth, smallmouth and spots at daybreak and sunset. Have your favorite topwater bait ready for some fun action. Once the sun gets high they start to go deep. I have heard that the after dark bite for black bass has been pretty good.

White bass are also schooling. It seems that after the stripers and hybrids take off from an area, the whites are nearby. I have caught them on topwater as well as down deep with a spoon.

I fished some for walleye two days over the last week and have caught several. I found them around brush in 30-40 feet on the bottom. The biggest problem has been that they have all been short. I guess I need to keep looking.

Catfishing is still good on trotline and jugs. Set your baits down about 15 - 20 ft back in the creeks and coves or next to a bluff line. This morning when I was cleaning fish the turtles were in feeding on the scraps as is normal, but then I saw two 10+ pound blue cats come in and start hauling off the carcusses. It was fun watching them feed.

The current water level is 551.3 falling slightly each day. The dam has been generating 6 - 10 hours per day on most days. The surface water temperature is in the mid to upper 80's which is getting close to normal for this time of year. The creeks and coves are somewhat stained and the main lake is still clear. The lake is in great shape for water depth and temperature.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake winter was abnormally tough for all winter time fishermen. I think it would have been easier to fish if we had had ice on the lake. Winter, I hope, is gone and spring is coming slowing, but still it will be here very very soon. Another cool front arrived yesterday, but the weather outlook is now back to spring type temperatures which will help to warm the water and get the fish active.

Striper fishing has been picking up every day. Until the main lake warms a bit more the best locations to find stripers are back in the major creeks where the water is warmer. Look back in the Bennetts area, up river around the state line, and more than likely back in Big Creek. I do not have any personal confirmation on Big Creek, but I do on the other two areas. The night bite has started with suspending jerk baits. Both a bone color or firetiger have been working well. A week ago I just slammed the stripers on stick baits. I landed 16 and lost as many more. The bite started at dark and was still going on when I left. I fished the same area two nights ago and caught 3 stripers, but the bite did not start until after 10PM. I think the rise of the moon is affecting the timing of the bite. I ended this trip when my boat started to ice up. I fished an early morning bite Saturday and caught one. I was on the lake at 4:30AM and tried a different area. The fish were there, but I could only get one taker. Live bait fishing has been slow, but it appears that is starting to pick up. The same areas that I fish in the dark are still holding fish during the day.

The cooler water temp is also affecting black bass fishing. Some fish are coming shallow to feed, but the bigger fish are holding out in deeper water and may be starting to stage for their spawn. I would still work deep brush piles and also look for suspended fish under the bait in open water. I have caught a few nice fish down 15 - 25 feet feeding on shad sitting in 80 feet of water.  They are a little more difficult to catch, but vertical jigging has worked for me. Jigging a spoon or small grub in brush is also working. Jerk baits are starting to work and will get better as the water warms. Crank baits are picking up some nice fish. For shallow fish you will need to get back in the warmer stained water.

 

Crappie fishing has also been affected by the cooler water, but I have noticed an increase in the numbers of fish starting to be caught. Look for brush in 20 - 30 ft of warmer water, there will be crappie on them. I was up at the state line about a week ago looking for walleye with no luck, but jigged around a few shallow brush pile, I landed 10 crappie in about an hour with most being in the 9.5 to 10.5" size range. The monster crappie caught by Clay was a 3lb 15oz fish, caught in open water with thread fin shad.  

Walleye should be up the river and back in the major creeks spawning. It will not be long until they start to move out and the night feeding bite will begin for walleye.

 

White bass are being found back in the warm water mainly in the the afternoon after the sun has warmed up the shallow water. Small spinner baits are working.

 

The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowly when generation occurs and rises slowly when the generators are shut down. The current level is 553.68. The main lake water temperature ranges from 44 - 47 degrees, back in the creeks are 2 - 5 degrees warmer. The creeks and coves are stained due to the heavy rains a week ago and the main lake is mainly clear.

 

The Norfork Lake 2014 Fishing Derby is in full swing and continues until June 15th. For a minimal registration fee you could win up to $1,500 for catching the longest striped bass, largemouth bass or crappie. In addition to the large prize money you could also win a free weeks stay at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort by staying with us. Another benefit to your stay with Linda and me is that you will be staying at a very nice & friendly resort that has an owner (me) who fishes most days and can help you find and catch fish. You will get first hand fishing info and not word of mouth!

 

Happy fishing and see you on the lake. 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It is definitely winter fishing time on Norfork Lake. No ice fishing, but plenty of good open water fishing for striped bass, and brush pile fishing for crappie, largemouth, smallmouth and walleye. All species are in their winter patterns and winter locations. I haven't been out fishing much. Going to Sport Shows, the holidays and the super cold weather have interrupted my play.  I will be home bound for a while longer since my new Minn Kota I-Pilot trolling motor fell apart. Yes, the motor came right off of the shaft while fishing yesterday, cutting my fishing time short. This was only the second time I've had it out on the water since Santa brought it.:-(

Striped bass are roaming in the deep water channels about 55 - 70 feet down in 100+ feet of water. Live bait fishing has been slow, but vertical jigging with a spoon has been producing some nice fish for me. I was out on the lake Tuesday and Wednesday with success on both days. Yesterday I landed this nice 13 pound striper on a green backed spoon. I was jigging in 60 feet of water and had a couple nice arcs come under my bait, I dropped the bait farther down and this fish hammered it on the fall. The way the striper ran and the strength of this fish made me think it was much larger. The stripers that I have been catching are very healthy with fat bellies. I guess we all put on a few extra pounds in the winter! All the fish I caught were released to be caught another day. I checked out Float and Panther Creeks yesterday and found a ton of shad. The shad was so thick that every time I tried to jig my spoon I snagged a shad. Lots of bait, but I did not mark much in the way of fish. I left and headed back to the deep water channel in the Henderson area. The best winter locations for stripers this year and in past years has been from the 62 bridge back to the 101 Marina area.

The big slab crappie have moved onto the brush piles, but look for deep brush. I haven't been out bass or crappie fishing, but a few of my lake friends have been doing pretty well. Fish over brush that is 30 - 50 feet deep. Most of the time the crappie will be on the top of the brush, but occasionally the bigger slabs are down in the brush.

Largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass will also be holding out near the brush. Most of the time I catch them vertical jigging on the bottom. With all the bait back in Panther and Float Creeks, I bet these would be great areas to fish for bass. Typically in this cold water you need to slow down your presentation and a lot of time downsize your baits.

When you are planning your spring fishing trip destination, consider Norfork Lake as a great lake to fish for all species. Another great enticement to fish our lake is our second annual Norfork Lake Fishing Derby. You will have the opportunity to win up to $1,500 for a very small investment. Give me a call for details at 870-492-5113. The derby runs from March 1 to June 15.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowly with some generation and currently sits at 553.56 feet above sea level. This is considered to be slightly less than the new normal pool of 553.75. The lake surface water temperature has fallen to around 43 degrees, but with the upcoming deep freeze we are to have, I expect this temp to drop a little more. The creeks and coves are stained and the main lake is clear with a slight green tint.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

I was going through fishing withdrawals, but finally was able to get back to my favorite past time. I can report that fishing Norfork Lake at this time should yield you great results. All species of fish are being caught in big numbers. Live bait and artificial baits are working.

Several species of fish and bait are not in their normal winter pattern. What has been typical for past winters is large amounts of bait suspended about 40 - 60 feet down in the old river channel in 80 - 150 feet of water. Normally stripers, hybrids and whites are above, under or inside of the bait. Assuming that this winter is normal, which is a big assumption, I think we will start to see this happen when the surface water temp falls below 50 degrees. We are currently in the low 50's. Other species such as crappie and the black bass species will start to migrate to deep 40 - 50 ft brush and hang out throughout the winter months. Crappie and bass at least for me are still in 20 - 30 ft of water with a few being found 40 ft down.

Yesterday was a fantastic fishing day for all. Stripers, hybrids, white bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass were  found in the mouths of coves and creeks. I found a cove not far from our resort that had a lot of seagulls feeding on shad at day break. The bait was all the way back in the cove and I could see fish coming up to feed. Slowly the bait migrated out of the cove toward the main lake. The fish followed the movement of the shad, as did the birds. By staying with the bait I caught several species of fish. I was vertical jigging with a spoon in 45 to 60 ft of water and the fish were feeding at all depths. A group of my guests came over and was fishing the same area and slammed the fish. The two photos on the right is a sample of their catch and the top photo was some of my catch. Good day!! I lost a couple of big fish that just came unhooked.

After a couple of hours of catching fish in this area I decided to do a little crappie fishing. Again I was just vertical jigging with a small 1/4 spoon over brush. I picked up some really nice slabs in 20 - 40 ft of water. All of my fish came within the brush, but I was marking some suspended crappie 10 - 20 down. Live bait would have worked great for these guys. The crappie were hitting the spoon really light. I could hardly feel when they would suck in the bait and if I didn't set the hook quickly I lost the fish. Today my guests went out and had a good day of crappie fishing. Photo of their catch is to the right. They were casting out a small grub/minnow with a 1/16 ounce jig head and letting it sink until it gets to the right depth, then retrieve a little then let it sink again.

The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the low 50's. The lake currently is on a quick rise due all the rain we have had since last evening. The lake level currently sits at 554.11. I expect another foot or so rise before things start to stabilize. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained.

Keep in mind the 2014 Norfork Lake Fishing Derby starts March 1, 2014 and ends June 15, 2014. For details give me a call at 870-492-5113 or you can go to our website at www.hummingbird-hideaway.com and click on the Derby link at the top.

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.

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

I am finally able to get out on Norfork Lake and fish a little more than I have the last couple of months. This means that I will be reporting a little more frequently than what you have seen lately. The resort business has been good this year so it has been keeping me  busy. Fall business continues to be steady. This is a good thing, but I have missed being out on the lake. This past week I have been on the lake 3 times, which is still off from my 5 - 6 times a week. Today is a non-fishing day since well needed rain has come again.

I have found that the best bite on the lake is largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass. Last Wednesday I headed back into the Fouts area and found alot of top water action. The bite didn't start until around 7:30AM, but when it did the fish were erupting everywhere. I used two different baits, my favorite top water bait, the Zara Spook Jr.(white body with chartreuse head) and I also started to use a Kastmaster blade bait (silver with white hair on the treble hook). I fished for a couple of hours and landed a dozen fish. The biggest one 19 inches long. I let the Kastmaster sink a little, but still kept it close to the surface. The fish would hit this bait no matter how I retrieved it. There were alot of small fish but it was really fun. I think I would have hooked up more if I had down sized my spook to a puppy. Thursday I headed up river a little and fished Stewart Point looking for walleye. I was dragging a crawler harness, but only caught 2 short fish. I switched to vertical jigging a spoon and found some nice sized bass. I found fish in 30 - 35 feet of water on the bottom, off of bluff side rocky points. I should have landed five  4 - 5 pound largemouth bass, but I guess I have forgotten how to land a fish with a spoon. Every time I hooked a fish I managed to get it up to the boat, then when I tried to lip the fish it would give a nice tail dance and spit the hook out, or when it got to the surface it would give a big head shake and there goes the hook. When the fifth fish did the same and swam off I just started to laugh and shake my head. I guess I need to practice much more. Yesterday was more of the same, I started on points up river and also headed back into the Cranfield area and worked rocky points with a spoon. Same results, I hooked up some very nice fish but they would get their freedom quicker than I really wanted them too! I was always planning to catch and release, but I did want a few photos! I have a guest who is strictly bass fishing and he has been landing many fish using soft plastics. Tony has been casting worms and lizards. Most of his success has been to stay in around 20 feet of water with his boat, cast parallel to the shore then bring the bait slowly back to the boat along the bottom. He has been catching smallmouth bass on the lizard and largemouth bass on the worm.

I haven't fshed for striped bass for a couple of weeks, but from what I hear, things have not changed much over this time. The biggest change is that they have gone just a little deeper, Look in the 30 - 40 feet water depths, both on the main lake points on the bottom as well as suspended in the deep water. When you are looking for the fish in deep water concentrate on the old river channel. Trollers are still catching fish, but you must get your baits down. Live bait fisherman are also catching fish by using the larger gizzard shad (5 - 7 inch) as bait.

Catfish are being caught by pole fishing using nightcrawlers and also on jugs and trotlines. I am seeing many nice 4 - 7 pound fish coming into our dock.

As the water cools crappie will start to migrate back to the brush piles in the 30 feet deep range. Keep checking the brush it will not be long.

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady and sits at 544.74. There has been very little power generation over the last couple of days. The lake surface water temperature is falling slowly and is in the upper 70's to very low 80's. The water clarity is still very stained, but I am starting to see a little clearing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake fishing Report

If you are wanting to catch largemouth, smallmouth, hybrid and striper bass as well as catfish now is time to come and fish Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. The sun is shining and the air temperature will be in the 70's today.

I must apologize for the lateness of my report, but I have had no time to get out on the lake myself. With the cancellation of the Basscat Owners Invitational Tournament on May 6th, a group of us got together and started to form our own fishing Derby. My time has been consumed in the venture. Our fishing Derby will be held on May 20th and 21st for any Basscat boat owner that would like to participate. Registration is this Thursday, May 19th at the Lake Norfork Inn from 4 - 7PM. Take-off will be at Panther Bay Marina and Weigh-in will be at Cranfield Corps of Engineers pavilion by the launch area. Registration Fee is $100.00 and several other option side pots are available. Should be a great time. Call me for more details 870-492-5113.

All my current reports are coming from my guests and guide friends, good credible information. Largemouth and smallmouth fishing has been really good. You will find the fish on sunken roadways and parking lots as well as in the brush. Spinner baits, floating worms and grubs with a 1/8 ounce jig head are working well. You may want to go to a weedless hook set. Most of the black bass have spawned out so they are starting to feed heavily. Top water activity is still going on so be ready.

Stripers and hybrids are feeding along the brush line early in the morning. I have had reports of good fish being caught in the Cranfield, Bennett's, midlake creeks and in the dam area. Top water baits are working early and late in the day. Flukes with a weighted hook and grubs are producing some nice fish. If you are a live bait fishermen then pitch your bait as close to the brush line as possible with no weight then just wait, they will come out after it. If no hits in 15 minutes or so go to the next point until you find them.

Catfish are hitting jugs and trotlines really well. Live shiners are a good bait at this time. I usually set my line late in the day and check them at first light. If your pole fishing find some flooded grassy areas and cast out a night crawler with a weight on it. The cats, hybrids, walleye and black bass are feeding in these areas, you will have fun.

Walleye are starting to hit all the above baits. Use whatever method of fishing you prefer. Walleye are being caught in the brush on spinner baits or live minnows, and along the grassy banks with nightcrawlers and floating worms.

The Norfork Lake level is still falling slowly and currently sits at 577.9. The surface water temperature has dropped to the low to mid 60's, but should start rising again with the upcoming warmer temperatures. Most of the lake is stained (great fishing color). The mud has settled out and clearing is happening daily.

Happy fishing and hopefully see you on the lake very soon.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Spring has finally arrived on Norfork Lake. It has been sunny and warm the last couple of days and more of the same is in store for us next week. There are a few days of rain forecast, but this will only help the spring bite get better.

The striped bass, hybrids, white bass, black bass and crappie are starting to get very active with the warming of the lake. Yesterday I was marking 50+ degree surface water temperature for Norfork Lake.

Ed, a guest from Wisconsin, was thrilled with the battle given to him from this nice 23 pound striped bass. He states that the stripers are much stronger fish then Muskies. He caught this fish yesterday trolling a Shad Rap back in the Bennett's Bayou area. He was following the channel in around 20 feet of water and his bait should have been about 7 to 8 feet down. He was also using light tackle with only 6 pound test. The fish are coming up. He also noted that there were other boats in the area, both trolling and using live bait, that he saw boating fish. Ed has also caught his share of white bass and hybid bass in many different areas of the lake. I believe the whites have started their spring run and fishing for them will only get better. Look for the whites and hybrids on shallow sand flats. Small crank baits, jigs, rooster tail spinners and gulp minnows should all start to work.

After working around the resort all day yesterday, I decided to see if the night bite was heating up. I have heard though the grape vine that stripers are being caught after dark, but I guess I was not in the right location. I was throwing several different colors of rogues and did catch a few nice largemouth but no stripers. The largemouth bass were caught right as the sun was setting, then I did have a few bumps after dark, but did not hook them. I only fished till about 8:30PM so the bite could have been later.

Crappie are on the brush and should be close to their spawn. Whenever I crossed a brush pile last evening the fish were just stacked from 5 to 15 feet down. The brush that I was marking was in 20 - 30 feet of water. Live bait on a slip bobber should be the most active bait, but throwing a small jig tipped with a minnow will entice a few fish.

The surface water temperature last evening was 50 degrees in the main lake up to 55 degrees back in the creeks and coves. The main lake is clear with the creeks off colored due to the rising water. The lake is rising slowly and currently sits at 545.2 feet above sea level. Currently no generators are running and they have mainly been shut down for that last week or so.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

LINDA AND I WISH ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The weather warmed and the fishing heated up over the last several days on Norfork Lake. Striped bass fishing has been good, but the fish are moving. It appears that they are shallow (30 - 40 feet deep on the bottom)early in the morning, then they go deeper as the sun comes up. When they go deep you can find them on the bottom or suspended at 50 to 60 foot depths. You need to use your electronics to find the fish and the word is that they are hanging close to deep bluff lines. Fish are scattered and can be caught all over the lake. My guests have caught fish over the last several days in Float Creek, in the 101 and Bennetts area, the Henderson area and also in the Cranfield area. I caught and released fish in Panther Creek as well as Fall Creek on Monday. Live large shiners are working well fished straight down next to the boat.

Crappie are over the brush piles from 15 to 40 feet down. I fished for Crappie on Sunday afternoon and caught several in our cove and also over brush in the Cranfield area. I was using a small white grub tipped with a Crappie minnow. This method also caught 5 black bass. Bass are being caught in all depths of water, but I have been having the best luck in 30 - 35 feet of water. I have been releasing the bass and crappie under my dock. I hope they stick around.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowing and currently sits at 545.65. The Corps is running a couple of generators sporadically during the day. The surface water temperature is close to 50 degrees or just a little lower. The lake is clear.

It appears Basscat Boats has elected to stay at Norfork Lake for their 2011 Owners Invitational. It will be held on May 20th and 21st. Plans for a week long list of events and activities are being put together to make the 25th anniversary OI a great success. They are gearing towards making the event even more family friendly. If you need a place to stay give us a call for reservations.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I am back on the lake after a weeks worth of wedding celebrations. Our daughter was married last Saturday at our resort and we had close to 150 family and friends visit with us. It was a great time and we are very happy with our new son-in-law. The Friday night fish fry went off very good and all loved the Norfork Lake fish. We ended up deep frying catfish, white bass, crappie and striper. It was tasty and there were no left overs. I am sure you saw photos of what we ended up eating. We bread it before we freeze it and it goes into the fryer frozen. Just about as close to fresh caught as we can do with so many to serve.

I have been out fishing the last two mornings and the top water bite is fantastic. From 5AM until around 7AM you can see the whites, black bass and stripers breaking the surface. I have been throwing a zara spook and almost every cast I get a fish or at least had a fish slapping at my bait. I took a couple of our guests along this morning and they had a good time. I am finding the fish back in the creeks. Check out the Bennett's area, Float Creek and Panther Creek. I have also gotten reports of top water action in the dam area. Yesterday I was spooning after 7AM and caught 2 keeper walleye. One flipped off the hook as I was trying to reach for the net. I also caught a nice 20 pound Blue cat. The Cat also got it's freedom at the dock. I was taking it out of the live well and it flipped and bounced right back in the water. I guess they will be able to grow bigger and I will catch them later!! Guides are still doing well catching stripers with live shad. They are fishing my end of the lake and also at the dam area. The stripers are scattered all over the lake. The guides are catching stripers on both free swimming shad as well as down poles from 30 - 50 feet down. Some of them are suspended in deep water as well as hugging the bottom.

Crappie are being caught around docks that have brush on them as well as over brush piles submerged in the lake. The fish are anywhere from 10 - 30 feet down. Live minnows are working the best.

The Catfish are spawning, but should be close to complete. Jugs and trot lines are still doing well with live bait as well as cut bait.

The Norfork Lake level is falling and currently sits at 559.41. All generators are currently being run. The lake surface water temperature is in the low to mid 80's. The lake is gin clear all over. It is the clearest I have seen in quite some time.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Linda and I got home from our Collinsville Sport Show Sunday evening. We met several of our old friends and made many new ones. Overall the show was a big success. I will be at the St. Charles, MO sport show this weekend. If you're in the area please stop by and talk about the your vacation needs for this year and of course get the latest fishing report on the lake.

The weather has greatly improved on Norfork Lake and the future forecast shows it is only going to get better. The freeze is over, finally! I have fished the last couple of afternoons and have been successful in catching largemouth bass and Kentucky (spotted) bass. I have been vertical jigging with a small spoon and also casting a small grub tipped with a minnow. The bass have been hanging out in my sunken brush piles in 30 - 45 feet of water. My guest from WI has also been doing well with bass. He has had his luck casting a jig head tipped with a Gulp smelt flavored minnow. He has been casting the rock bluffs. The bass seem to be hanging on ledges where there is a drop off from 20 to 30 feet.

I fished awhile this morning for stripers and only had 4 short bites. I was marking plenty of bait fish in the 40 - 60 feet range with some occasional big arcs. No big bites today. I fished Float Creek and Panther Creek. The fish were there, but I guess I wasn't presenting my bait the way they wanted today.

The Norfork Lake level has fallen to 554.11. The lake surface water temperature ranged from 42.5 to 44 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are clearing somewhat, but still stained.

Have a great day and see you on the lake next week.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I enjoyed a beautiful morning on Norfork Lake. Not only was this 20 pound fish gorgeous and fun to reel in, but the sunrise with the fog lifting from the water was breathtaking. I fished with one of my guide friends, Robert Lee, of Lee's Lite Line and we had a good morning for big fish. I landed this 20 pounder, but we also broke off two others and missed 4 good hits. I think we must have been talking more than watching the poles to lose this many. That's how it goes sometime. We were fishing with 4 to 5 inch gizzard shad in 45 - 80 ft of water. The fish were on the bottom and occasionally suspended. I did notice a few fishermen spooning and saw them catch a few. I will post some additional photos later of guests to the area catching large striper on guided trips. The big fish seem to be keying in on the large gizzard shad over the smaller thread fin shad.

I haven't been out in a few days fishing on my own, so hopefully, if I get my work done today, I can get out this evening or tomorrow. I plan to walleye and bass fish using artificial baits. I will let you know how it goes.

The Norfork Lake level is at 552.73 and falling slowly. Two generators are being run for 6 - 9 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature was at 82 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still cloudy.

Until next time happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I finally made it out fishing on Norfork Lake. I had a fun day, but don't have stripers to brag about. I caught white bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass. At one point I had three fish on at the same time. It was kind of hectic for a while, but I enjoyed dealing with it. I was catching the whites on a white spoon vertical jigging in 38 - 45 ft of water. I caught all the black bass on live shiners. I haven't fished the dam area in a long time so I decided to head that way. I fished at point #1 for a while with no luck then headed back into Sally Ann and had a great time. The whites were schooling and moving quickly. I marked some big arcs on my fish finder so I know there were stripers and/or hybrids in with the whites. The whites are definitely the more active fish. There were several fishermen trolling Thumb point and Koso point. I saw two nice stripers brought in. On my way home I stopped and fished the bridge piers and caught several spotted bass on live shiners. Some really nice stripers 20 - 35 pounds are being caught by the guides. Most guides are fishing from Tick point on down to the dam. Gizzard shad are producing the larger fish with thread fin shad producing the bigger quantity. The fish seem to be on main lake points as well as back in creeks that have deep holes off of secondary points.

The attached photo is one of our guests from a few weeks back. He caught this nice largemouth vertical jigging at our dock. This has been a good year for catching bass, bluegills and sunfish at the dock.

The Norfork Lake level is holding steady at 553.3, only 1.3 feet above normal pole. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat off color. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the low to mid 80's, The Corps has been running both generators from 4 to 8 hours per day.

I plan to be fishing more often now, so until the next time happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a great day on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks! The temperature this morning was just fantastic. It was in the mid 60's and with the lake being warmer there was light fog lifting up from the lake, a gorgeous morning.

It was also a fun morning fishing. I caught white bass, smallmouth, largemouth, Kentuckys and walleye. I was in a slight predicament though, the fish were breaking the surface all around me plus I was marking fish on the bottom. I didn't know what to do first! (What a terrible situation to have!) I ended up starting to fish top water. I caught several largemouth and Kentuckys, but most were 1.5 pounds or less. I switched to a spoon and immediately landed a nice 3 pound largemouth, then another, all the while other fish were breaking the surface around me. I hooked a nice 3 pound walleye. I actually had another walleye, but while I was trying to get my net, the fish flopped on the surface and came off the spoon. I was fishing a main lake point in the Five Fingers area. The top water fish were being caught anywhere from the shore out to 100 feet of water. My spooning fish were caught in 30 - 35 feet of water. The fish are starting to go deeper, last week I was spooning fish out of 20 - 25 feet of water. If the weather stays warm we should be in our normal summer pattern of most fish being around the 40 foot mark. Vertical jigging with a spoon is the way I typically fish during the summer months.

I did try to find some deep striped bass at sun -up without luck. I fished Tick Point, then at the number 2 marker, and then the bluffs a little farther south-east of number 2. I caught several smallmouth, but did not mark any striper. White Bass are still coming up early in the morning and later in the afternoon. You can throw a small spinner or use your favorite top water bait. The whites are coming up in the Cranfield area as well as at Bennetts area. Crappie are still being caught in about 15 - 25 feet of water over brush. Live crappie minnows are working best. Blue gill are still hitting very well all over the lake. Nightcrawlers and crickets work the best, just be prepared for a lot of action. Catfish are still being caught on jug lines as well as trot lines. Live shiners and cut bait are working well.

The Norfork Lake level is falling about 2 - 3 inches per day and is currently at 561.6 feet, one foot below last week. The Corps. has estimated that the lake will be back to normal pool towards the end of July. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the mid 80s. The lake is clear all over.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake fishing report

Another beautiful morning on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. Slight to no ripple on the water. The surface temp was in the low 80's and will climb steadily during the day. The Norfork Lake level is at 562.7 and holding steady. Water is getting back to gin clear.

I spent the first hour of fishing just boating around trying to find some striped bass in deep water. No luck today with the stripers. The guides are catching a few stripers and hybrids from the Bennetts to dam area. The fish are still scattered and just starting to school up, at least that's what I am hoping. I headed back to the Bennetts area around 6:30AM and found a huge school of white bass busting the surface. There were two of us in the boat and we started throwing Zara spooks and had a blast. We were catching a fish almost every cast for about 45 minutes. None of the whites were huge, but they were a lot of fun to catch. My friend had a nice 2.5 - 3 pound largemouth on but decided to release it before he got it into the boat. It was a nice fish, I saw it swim away.

Until next time have a great time fishing and boating.