Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

The bite continues to be good for most species in the lake, especially striped bass, largemouth bass and crappie. It really surprised me that after the lake temperature dropped about 3 degrees it didn’t affect the feeding habits of the fish. What the drop in water temperature did was to make the bait move to other areas of the lake, but not necessarily far away from where they were. The fish will follow the bait.

Striped bass fishing continues to be strong. Yes, you will need to do some searching, but if you find some bait, I just about guarantee you will find striped bass nearby. The best areas to find these fish have been back in major creeks, deep flats and today I found them in the old river channel in the main lake area. In the creeks they have been on or very close to the banks first thing in the morning. After the sun gets over the tree line, they seem to concentrate more in the creek channel. Their depth will depend on the depth of the bait. The deeper flats have

started to hold more bait in the 40 to 50 foot range. The fish again relate to the depth of the bait. I have found that the stripers seem to be on the flats late morning. The bait that I found today was in the old river channel which, in this area, was roughly 70 feet deep. The bait was 20 to 40 deep and varied. The fish were at the same depths. The striped bass that I found today were in large schools that appeared to be feeding. My bait of choice for the shallower fish, say from the shoreline out to 30 feet down, has been casting a Kastmaster blade style bait. I do replace the hook with a feathered treble hook. I think that gives it a closer resemblance to a injured live shad especially if you work it in a twitching motion. I reel back to the boat very slowly letting it sink more as it is being retrieved. For deeper fish, I have been vertical jigging with a spoon or a small 3-inch plastic jig with a 3/8 ounce jig head.

Crappie fishing has also continued to be very good. Of course,

crappie as most species go through a feeding cycle. If you find them and they are not feeding, you will need to wait them out until they get energetic again or move to the next brush pile. Small spoons or small crappie jigs and of course live minnows are all working very well. The best brush has been in 20 to 25 feet of water and the fish will be on the tops to buried within the brush. You will just need to keep working different depth until you find that magic area.

I have not done a lot of bass fish lately, but they do appear to be going shallow.  Crank bait, wiggle warts, soft plastics, and a-rigs have all produced some nice fish. As the water temperature continues to rise back in the creeks the fish head back to the warmer water. Today I fished a brush pile to see if crappie were there. No crappie, but the brush pile was inhabited by some nice size largemouth bass. They loved my Tater Baits Electric Monkey crappie jig. The bass were buried inside of the brush

towards the bottom. I can’t believe I could pull these beasts out of the brush with 4-pound test.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is rising very slowly after the 3 degree drop from last weekends storms. The lake temperature was 48 - 52 degree this morning. The lake level has been stable with a slight drop with intermittent power generation and currently sits at 554.05 feet msl. The lake is clear to stained depending on where you are at in the lake. If our current forecast holds true, we have another deep freeze arriving Friday afternoon. I guess I will be out seeing where the bait moved to next Sunday.

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Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake fishing has been good for the last couple of weeks. The stripers and hybrids are doing what they should be doing this time of year. Big schools of stripers and hybrids can be found right before daybreak in 30 - 50 feet of water. They will be on the bottom or suspended 25 - 40 feet down. Main lake points and secondary points back in the creeks are good places to look especially where the old river channel swings in close to the shoreline. My guests and I have found stripers in the Robinson area and down towards the dam. Thread fin and gizzard shad for live bait and spoons and swim baits for artificial baits are great choices to use at the moment. Most of the stripers being caught in the shallow water early in the morning are in the 5 - 10 pound range with the bigger hybrids just starting to show up. The bigger stripers are being caught out in deeper water 70 - 80 feet down on the bottom. When the sun gets high in the sky is the best time to find the deep stripers.  Look at main lake points for these deep fish. Live bait and spoons are your best choices for deep fish. I expect to see these fish go a little deeper very soon.

Walleye, smallmouth, largemouth, spots, catfish and white bass will be found in the same general areas as the stripers. 25 - 35 feet of water is the best place to start. The fish will also be suspended at this same depth following the bait fish into deeper water.

Norfork Lake is dropping about 1 - 2 inches per day with power generation lasting about half a day. The water in the creeks and coves is some what stained as the draw-down is pulling silt off of the shore line. The main lake is mainly clear. The surface water temperature is also falling a little and is currently in the 82 - 85 degree range.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake!

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake Fishing is heating up. Stripers, bass and crappie are all starting to bite. The fish are moving to the banks to feed both in the day as well as in the dark. The lake surface water temperature has consistantly been in the low to upper 50s depending the location on the lake and the time of day.

The best bite for striped bass is still back in the creeks. A few fish are starting to move out into the main lake, but the water temp will need to rise more for a consistant main lake bite. Look for stripers on shallow water points and flats at night as well as during the day, especially if you are in the warmest water. The stripers seem to be in deeper water when the water is cooler. Live bait is working very well, shiners, threadfin shad and gizzard shad are all working. The size of your bait does matter at times, but I have no clue why? Only the fish will be able to tell you. I have mainly been fishing after dark. This is the best time for me to be away due to the work load at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort. I have been in kind of a slump lately, I have been catching many stripers each time out but the biggest has only been around 7 pounds. I keep checking out new areas after dark, and I catch fish, but the big boys and girls are eluding me. This will change for me soon. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters had a fantastic day yesterday. His group landed many big fish using gizzard shad. One of my good friends landed a 30 pounder late yesterday afternoon. Hopefully I will get his photo. If you are live bait fishing make sure you have several lines out with no weights, the fish are coming up for them. It will not be long before fluke and spook fishing will start to take off.

Over the last several days bass fishing has become much better. Largemouth, spots and smallmouth bass are moving into the shallows feeding on bait fish. Stick baits, swimming minnows, crankbaits and plastics are all starting to work. What a change since the last couple of tournaments. I am also starting to catch bass after dark which tells me they are getting very close to spawn time.  I'm sure a few are already on their beds.

Crappie have also started to move into shallow water over brush. I am  seeing many big slabs under my dock and this has happened just over the last several days. The water is pretty clear so when you are fishing brush piles you will need to stay away and cast into them. The fish will not be very deep so you don't want to spook them. Live bait with a slip cork or smal paddle tail baits tipped with a minnow will work great.

Walleye, white bass and catfish fishing should start to heat up very soon. Look for these species on shallow flats and main lake points. Currently the walleye and white bass are back in the creeks and will be moving out. Catfish will be starting their spawn soon if not already so look shallow.

The Norfork Lake water level is rising slowly and currently sits at 553.90. The surface water temperature has a wide range 50 - 58 degrees depending where you are at on the lake and the time of day. There has been periodic water generation by the Corps of Engineers. The main lake is clear and the coves and creeks are slightly stained, a very good fishing color.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been really good after the rise in the lake level. We received over 7 inches of rain in a week period and the lake has come up about 7 feet from two weeks ago. The lake level is perfect for fishermen and pleasure boaters alike. Plenty of lake to play on with little or no diminished amenities at area resorts and campgrounds.

 

The striped bass have finally started to school. This morning I caught 8 legal length stripers and hybrids with 2 stripers in the 10 pound range and 2 hybrids about 8 pounds each. I released all fish except for a hybrid and a striper. Neither of these fish would swim away so they will become dinner. No photo since my photographer brought the camera down to the dock, but the battery had no charge! I was vertical jigging with a spoon in 105 ft of water and the fish were suspended in 40 - 60 ft of water. There was also plenty of top water action where I caught several 15 inch spotted bass and some smaller hybrids and stripers on a Zara Spook. It was a blast. A few days ago I was fishing with my daughter and she landed this monster 25 pound striper. I was trolling a white headed Hyper Striper with a 6 inch green with silver fleck tail. I was using 6 ounces of clip on weights about 60 feet back of the bait then another 150 feet of line. I think my bait was down close to 30 feet deep.  A father and 2 son team fished with Jim Nichols about a week ago. They landed a nice 25 pound fish and several others. Jim was fishing with live gizzard shad. With the rise in the water level the fish have moved back into the creeks and coves. Start looking for fish from 30 ft down out to the deep channel. Once the lake stabilizes the stripers will start to move out to the main lake points if this hasn't already started to happen.

Believe it or not, but crappie fishing has also been really good. Typically this time of year crappie are very hard to find as they suspend out in deep cool water. With the cooler water temperature and the relatively shallow thermocline crappies have moved back to the brush and at times are only 5 ft down. Bob and Angie caught well over a 100 crappie last week with maybe 40% of them being of keeper size. Lots of 9.5 inch fish, but anytime you can catch 32 fish in day and have 15 keepers you have had a great day. Small jig heads with a 2 inch swimming minnow tipped with a live minnow did the trick. Find brush in 30 - 40 ft of water then start fishing at different depths until you find where the fish are feeding.

Walleye fishing has also been pretty good. They can be found in 30 - 40 ft of water near brush. I have been vertical jigging a spoon at this water depth bouncing the spoon off of the bottom. If you don't catch walleye you will catch white bass as well as black bass and catfish.

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady at 562 with a slight rise when no generation and a slight fall when the generators are turned on. The lake surface water temperature ranged from 79 - 82 degrees this morning. The cooler nights are starting to drop the temp. Our forecast is for warmer temperatures in the next few days. The water is starting to clear after all the rains. Very little floating debris in the lake, but still be on the look out for any floating logs that may have broken loose from the shore line. Be safe and wear your live jacket and kill switch lanyard.

We still have a few cabins available for the Labor Day holiday week end. Our mid season rates went into effect today. A get away to Hummingbird Hideaway Resort is always great but it is a real bargain this time of year. You get summer weather with fall rates. We have great dock access, plentiful dockside parking and a hard surface launch.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fish on Norfork Lake are transitioning to their normal summer pattern. Basically, I am saying the fish are going deeper and deeper and schooling.

Striped bass fishing has been good. I am finding stripers in the mid lake area down to the dam. I have been fishing with my nephew and we have been doing pretty good. We have caught stripers on live bait and by vertical jigging with a spoon. Most of the fish that I have found are in the old river channel 30 to 60 feet down suspended in 100 plus feet of water. I am fishing main lake points where the channel swings in and also deep water flats. You will need good electronics this time of year to mark the fish especially if you are vertical jigging. When I am vertical jigging I drop my spoon down to 30 feet and start to move around slowly with my trolling motor. I pull the spoon up a good 5 feet and let it free fall. If I mark fish deeper I drop the spoon down to their level, but be alert, as it is falling they suck it up so be ready to make a good hard hook set. When live bait fishing I have had the best luck with large gizzard shad. They still seem to want the bigger baits over the smaller ones. I have been setting my bait at 30 - 45 feet down and moving around slowly with my trolling motor.

Largemouth and spotted bass fishing has also been really good. I am finding these fish around 30 feet sunken brush piles, and main lake points in 20 - 30 feet of water. Early in the morning there still is some good top water action, so have your spook handy. Most of the top water fish have been small, but you can still get the occasional lunker. Crank baits that go about 10 feet down are working as are standard Texas rigged worms and jig & pigs worked slowly along the bottom.

Crappie are on the move, you can find a few on the 30 feet brush, but most are starting to migrate out to deeper water and suspend along deep bluff water ridges.

Catfishing has been good on rod & reel as well as jugs and trot lines. You can get them in about 20 feet or less of water. Live bait is working the best. Try minnows or nightcrawlers.

The Norfork lake water level is falling a couple of inches per day and is currently is at 556.3 which is almost normal pool. Generation is occurring most of the day, but seems to be slowing a little as the lake approaches normal pool. The surface water temperature cooled to 81 - 82 degrees with the cool front that came through the other day. Day time temps have been in the 80's and the night time temps have been dropping into the high 50's to low 60's. It has been great weather for sitting outside. Things will start warming up very soon. Creeks and coves are a little stained and the main lake is still very clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.



Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been exciting this spring. I love living in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains. Come stay at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort and experience the fishing fun I have almost every day.

 

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing has been outstanding. The numbers and the size of the bass in Norfork Lake is getting better and better, year after year. Top water action has been good at sun rise and again at sunset. I have been catching most of my bass on Zara spooks and unweighted flukes, and am finding good fish on main lake points, as well as major creek points. If the point has good sunken brush in the water try fishing it. Mid day bass fishing you will need to go a little deeper. They are moving out and going down to 18 - 30 feet of water. Find some brush at these depths and you will find some really nice fish. Try using a jig and pig, Texas rigged worms, or your favorite bait. Work the bait along the bottom. For fishing after dark, throw a black spinner bait. I expect the bass fishing to remain the same for the next couple of weeks. Keep your top water baits ready and have fun. Billy's big bass in the photo above is going to become a wall mount. It was very nice 23.5 inch fish, if I am remembering correctly.

Striped bass fishing has gone though many changes since my last report. Top water action for stripers is slowing, but has not totally stopped. I have seen several big fish chase shad on the surface the last couple of days, but they seem to stay about 20 feet farther away than I can cast. Look for this top water action on the shoreline, as well as out in deep water. The feeding frenzies can happen in any depth of water. Most stripers are being found part way back into the major creeks. A few fish are starting to show up on main lake points which is a normal occurrence this time of year. The stripers are starting to go deeper. If you are a troller or live bait fisherman you will need to fish from the surface down to 40 feet of water and maybe even deeper. The fish are at all depths. Yesterday morning I landed 2 nice stripers, both suspended at 30 feet down in 70 - 80 feet of water. The fish that I cleaned yesterday were full of crawdads. This is telling me they are feeding on the bottom so get your spoons ready. I expect to see the stripers and hybrids start to move out to the main lake points and flats. Start looking for fish in the Robinson area as well as the dam area. Striped bass, hybrids and white bass should start to school before long. They will be feeding on the bottom so if you like to vertical jig with a spoon get it ready.

Catfish are moving into shallow water to feed. Use live bait, either large shiners, nightcrawlers or small bluegills. Jugs and trotlines are working very well.

Crappie are scattered, but starting to show up on brush in 20 - 30 feet of water. They will be at all different depths, so the trick will be to find the right depth. Live minnows are working the best. Some real nice crappie are showing up under my dock in about 25 feet of water.

Overall the prediction for fishing Norfork Lake is good to very good for the next couple of weeks!

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 560.47. There has been 6 - 10 hours of power generation over the last couple of days. The water surface temperature was 75 degrees yesterday morning. The main lake is clear and back in the creeks and coves the water is somewhat stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Wow what an unusual fishing week and a half on Norfork Lake. We have had cold fronts, very windy days, and the lake level dropping. During the past 10 days I have gotten into top water action for hybrids and whites then the next day a cold front moved in and the wind started. Prior to the cold front the fish were in shallow water being caught on free swimming shad and shallow running lures, but from what I have seen over the last couple of days the fish went deeper. It is very hard to determine what the fish will be doing over the next couple of days as the lake level is stabilizing, the air temperature is on the rise and no frontal systems for a while.

The largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass bite is still one of the best bites on the lake. Crawdad colored crank baits diving 10 - 15 feet have been one of the best baits. Sunday, when the wind, started to blow 10 - 30 MPH, a few fishermen braved the wind and caught a lot of bass on spinner baits in the wind blown pockets close to the shoreline. The smallmouth bass that I have been catching have moved out to about 25 feet depths but are still hugging the bottom. Early and late in the day you will still find the bass along the shore line feeding.

Crappie are starting to show up on shallow (15 - 25feet) brush piles. They are suspended over the brush so you will need to find the depth where they are hovering. More small crappie are being caught but it sounds as though you get a nice slab about every 4th fish or so. Live minnows are working very well. We had a family that took a guided trip with Jay Smith, of Crappies Only, a couple days ago. They were fishing sunken tree stumps with live bait and had a good day, catching a lot of fish, many keepers.

Catfish are hitting trotlines and jugs on live bait. They are coming into shallow water to feed.

Striper fishing, my favorite past time has been up and down. I have mainly been using live bait and have caught nice fish on points close to shore in shallow water, then things changed up a lot. Sunday I was finding striper in 120 feet of water suspended 40 - 60 feet down. This is very unusual for this time of year. I guess the fronts, the lowering of the lake level and the lower surface water temperature have effected the normal spring time pattern. I ended going with my summer and winter rigged poles with a 2 oz. weight and fishing straight over the boat. This method worked for meon Sunday and from what I have been hearing, from some guests, it also worked this morning. ( I slept in this morning, but will be back at it tomorrow early) Another bait that is actually out producing live bait is the Alabama rigs, I have a group of fishermen here this week and they have been trolling the Alabama Rigs. They have caught as many if not more than I have been catching. Great job guys. The lake level has stabilized at normal pool and the weather pattern seems to becoming more stable so maybe things will get back to normal. If you can't find the striper in shallow water check out deep before you give up. There was top water action starting to happen right before the cold front rolled in. Last Thursday evening I got into some nice hybrid and white bass action casting Zara Spooks.

The lake level currently sits at 552.06. The surface water temperature has fallen to the low 60s to high 50's. The main lake is clearing and most creeks and coves are also clear, but still somewhat stained. Periodic power generation is occurring to help maintain the normal pool level.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

All fish in the photos were released except for the Striped bass. These photos only show a sampling of my catches as I do a lot of releasing on site. Check out Hummingbird Hideaway Resort's facebook page for additional current fishing information.