Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake is always open. Today it is 61 degrees with the sun shining. Don't you just love this type of winter weather! The fish are feeding heavily and hitting very hard. No light bites today. Linda and I were in Houston, Texas over the Christmas holiday visiting family and friends. It was very enjoyable, but I still couldn't stop thinking about all the fish that I wasn't catching. I fished the last two mornings with success and had a ball.

Yesterday I caught one striper and missed two others and also landed several nice largemouth bass. I started fishing the beach area around Bidwell Point then headed to Float Creek. I caught bass at Bidwell and the striper bites were in Float. I was using medium to large size thread fin shad, but shiners have also been working. I found the bass in 25 - 35 feet of water suspended 10 - 20 feet down. The striper bites came 40 feet down in 70 feet of water off of a bluff line.

Today was much more exciting. I left my dock around 6AM and headed over to the Henderson bluffs. I graphed for a while, but decided to leave since the wind was blowing about 12 mph straight into the bank. I am sure it would have been a great place to start fishing, but I didn't want to fight the wind. It is also very hard for me to fish live bait alone in strong winds. I headed to the Diamond Bay area along a bluff line that I knew would be protected from the wind. I got there before daylight and marked plenty of bait on the surface, but no fish. I decided to fish for a while to see what would happen once the bait started to drop into deeper water. Once the sun came up the bait dropped to 30 - 40 feet and I started marking many fish slashing through the bait balls. I had 4 poles down with live shad and was casting a 3 inch green paddle tail grub with a 1/8 oz jig head. I started catching black bass immediately, both close to the bank and also in deeper water. I started the grub on the bottom close to shore and retrieved it slowly to the boat. Then the live bait started to get active. I had two poles down at 20feet and 2 poles down at 40feet.  I had poles going off one after the other. At one point I had 4 bass lying on the floor of the boat. Action was non-stop for about an hour. I landed 12 fish and missed many more. 7 of the 12 were keeper size. The photo above was and example of my catch. All bass were released. Once the bite slowed I headed to Float Creek. The wind was blowing hard straight into the creek, but I decided to fish anyway. I set out 4 poles with live bait, 2 at 30feet and 2 at 40feet. I fished the same bluff line as yesterday staying in 70 - 75 feet of water. I started marking big arcs down 60feet so I dropped a 1/2oz spoon right on the head of this one big arc and when I went to jig it upwards the fish was hooked. I knew immediately that is was a big fish as it was having its way with me. I think the fight lasted 20 minutes. Over half of this time the fish sat in 20 feet of water and would not budge. Half way though the fight one of my live bait poles took off. I didn't want to loose the fish I was fighting so I just left the pole in the rod holder. I kept an eye on the reel and finally could see the silver metal of the spool. The fish spooled me in less than one minute. I had at least 140 yds of line on that reel. I guess it was a good size fish and it must have known I needed new line.

I still haven't been crappie fishing myself, but friends and guests that have been crappie fishing have been doing well. Live bait is working the best, but small grubs tipped with a minnow is also working well. The fish are still on the brush in shallow water early and late in the day and go to deeper brush in mid day. You can also find them at all depths. From 6 - 10 feet down over the brush as well as closer to the shore line. They can also be found directly inside of the brush pile. Find brush in 20 - 40 feet of water and start fishing at different depths until you find them.

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady at 552.26. The Corps is running both generators a good portion of the day and this is maintaining the level. The surface water temperature this morning was a little above 50 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained. The upcoming weather forecast is calling for daytime temps in the 50 - 60's with evenings dropping into the 30's & 40's. Great winter weather. We brought our granddaughter from Texas home with us for a week and she is hoping for snow. This is one wish I hope is not granted:-)

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass and black bass are still schooling on Norfork Lake. Fishing has been good once you find the fish. They are moving constantly and you will find them in one spot and they stick around for 30 minutes to an hour then move off. You will need to move to different locations until you find them again. There is a good morning bite as well as a late afternoon bite. Early morning and late afternoon the fish that I have found are in 40 - 55 ft of water feeding heavily on shad and crawdads. Mid day they head out to deeper water and suspend in 40 - 60 ft of water still feeding on shad. Find the shad and you should find the fish. I have been fishing the dam area and find them back in coves as well as on main lake points. There hasn't been a consistent place to fish so use your electronics to find the schools. Example, I took out a couple of our guests on Labor Day and fished Point 1, Koso Bay, Sally Hand and a couple other points with little success. We ended up with one keeper walleye. I finally found some white bass and smaller hybrids in the Diamond Bay area. Yesterday I fished the same areas and found large schools of stripers and hybrids. I caught 2 nice hybrids and a 9 pound striper. I was able to release the hybids, but the striper just wouldn't go back down. The fish are constantly on the move! I guess that is why they call it fishing!!

I have found good schools of white bass back in coves and creeks in 30 - 45 ft of water. I've fished the Diamond Bay area with success later in the morning. I have also found whites and small hybrids in Panther creek and Float creek.

Kentucky and large mouth bass are chasing shad on the surface at sunrise and also sunset. Have your favorite top water bait tied on so you are ready. The top water action only lasts a half hour or until the sun gets over the trees. I have noticed that on cloudy mornings it will last longer. I have also spooned up some nice blacks in 30 - 40 ft of water feeding on the bottom. Again they are located on main lake points, bluff lines and also back in creeks on the secondary points.

No word on Crappie, but with the cooling water they should start moving back to my brush piles. I will keep you posted.

Catfish are being caught on trot lines and jugs with a lot of success. Use live bait for a better bite.

The Norfork Lake level is at 550.49 ft, a few feet below normal pools. The lake surface water temperature has fallen to 79 - 82 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are cloudy. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, but the forecast shows clearing by Friday. Should be a great weekend.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Yesterday morning was a success for one of our guests at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. He caught this 20+ pound Striped bass using live Gizzard Shad on a planner board. He was free swimming the shad. He fished the Bidwell area close to shore. The fish are moving up in shallower water feeding on shad. Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line was fishing at the same time on the opposite bank and landed 4 stripers in the 10 pound range on Thread Fin shad and also one on a fluke (artificial). He to was fishing close to shore.

I fished last evening and started before sunset on a deep bluff line before the 6A marker. I caught a largemouth or Kentucky Bass on every other cast. I was throwing a bone colored rogue and they couldn't leave it alone. On my very first cast I caught a nice 4.5 pound largemouth. In a hours time I caught 7 bass and 4 were keeper size. At sunset I headed to a point up closer to Bidwell hoping for stripers. Finally at around 9PM I landed a small striper and quickly unhooked and release the fish. On my very next cast I hooked into a nice size fish. It ran for deep water into the wind. I was having a hard time keeping up with the fish with the windy conditions and finally my line snapped. I guess I had my drag to tight with the wind compounding the stress on my line. (Here we go, excuses again) I tried to retie a rogue, but with the wind and my old age eyes I couldn't do it. It was late so I decided to head home.

This morning another of our guests from the Collinsville, IL area fished the same area that I had fished the night before and caught a dozen nice bass all on flukes. The bass are hanging out on the deep bluff lines close to the bank.

Fishing conditions today is on the poor side as the wind is just howling. Hopefully it lays down a bit as my fishing guests are itching to get back out on the lake, not to mention I am too.

The water where I was fishing last evening was gin clear. The lake level has risen to 554.16 and rising very slowly. The Corp is running one generator around the clock. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature last evening was 52 - 53 degrees.

If your out on the lake today be safe. The white caps are rolling. See you all on the lake.

PS: Forgive all my grammatical errors as my wife is out of town and she is my editor.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been fantastic the last couple of days. The sun has been out and that is warming the lake. That's a good thing! The nights are still a bit on the cool side, but if you dress for it you can still fish any time of day.

Ed just had a dynamite day yesterday. He caught almost all species of fish in the lake. He caught Walleye, Crappie, White Bass, Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Bass. Most of the Crappie, White Bass and a few Largemouth Bass were caught back in Pigeon Creek. He was using several different baits, small grub with a twister tail with a 1/8 oz jig head, a small paddle tail minnow with a 1/8 jig head, a #7 Rapala and a hard jerk bait. He caught white bass after white bass in shallow water with the occasional crappie attacking his bait. He fished Pigeon from around noon to 4pm. After he left Pigeon Creek he decided to check out the rock bluff that I have been fishing. He found the right location and boated 6 walleye and several really nice bass. The walleye all measured 17 1/2 inches with milk pouring out of them. I guess the spawn for walleye is on or very very close. Ed does practice catch and release fishing. After the photo op these bass were released at my dock for another angler to tangle with.

I am getting reports that stripers are being caught all over the lake early in the day mainly on live bait (shiners and shad) but some on jerk baits, at the Red Bank area, Bennett's area and down by the dam. I have heard the night bite for stripers is on and they are being caught on suspending rogues. I haven't found the right location yet, but I will.

I hope to get out on the lake this afternoon, but the work around the resort must come first, even though I need to fish often to be able to help our fishing guests. At least this is what I tell Linda.

The Norfork Lake surface water temp ranged from 47 - 49 degrees. The lake level is holding fairly steady at 551.9. The main lake is clear and most creeks and coves are starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a difference a year can make in the weather conditions on Norfork Lake. Last year on 1/3/09 I was out fishing and catching crappie and small mouth in just a light weight tee shirt. This year I am stuck in the house with cold temps and snow on the ground. The fish are still biting well so when the weather breaks get out on Norfork Lake. Yesterday a fisherman was fishing for striped bass on Cow Point and limited out in 20 minutes. He had a heater in his boat, but when he tried to pull his boat out of the water he had to be towed out.

For those people in the St. Louis area, Linda and I will be at the Collinsville Fishing Show at the Gateway Center this coming weekend. The Show starts on Friday at noon and lasts until Sunday at 5PM. Come by and visit with us or come by to book your vacation for this season. We do offer a sport show special if you can book at the show.

The Norfork Lake water level is 558.4 and falling around 4 - 5 inches per day. The Corps has all generators running full blast. The lake surface temp is 47 - 48 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained. The creeks and coves will clear once the lake stabilized and a constant level.