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

Norfork Lake fishing really has not changed a lot since my last report two weeks ago. The lake temperature has dropped a little and the thermocline has dropped to basically the edges of the old river channel. The deep water will eventually become totally oxygenated and the water temp will be consistent from surface to the bottom. I have mainly been fishing on the various flats in the mid to northern parts of the lake. Heading west of my resort, Hummingbird Hideaway Resort, the flats are near Mallard Point, Cranfield Island, Cranfield Campground, Seward Point, Briar Creek and then up around the Red Bank area. Heading east of our resort are the 101 Bridge Flat, Big Sandy which is a little past 101 Boat

Dock and the Cow Pasture, which is the area right before the 6B marker. (A few of the names have been given by local fishermen.) Striped and hybrid bass, white bass, largemouth and spotted bass, catfish and walleye can all be found on these flats at some point during the day and sometimes multiple times during the day. The bait moves onto the flat and the predators move in to feed. The best fishing depth seems to vary based on the time of day. But it seems that 30 – 40 feet of water has been the most productive depths during daylight hours. As the lake water cools the bait and fish will continue to move a little deeper. In the dark, the fish seem to move up shallower following the bait. My bait of choice for flat fishing has been to vertical jig a ½ to a 1-ounce spoon. The fish are currently feeding on 1 ½ inch to 2-inch thread fin shad. This does not mean they won’t attack a bigger bait and at times they may prefer a little heartier meal. I have also been casting out a 5-inch swimbait, as well as, my ½ ounce Kastmaster. Other styles of blade baits, such as a cicada, are working very well. Trollers are also picking up some nice striped bass by trolling umbrella

or Alabama rigs. Other areas where these species are showing up or will very soon, are back in the major creeks, such as; Big, Brushy, Float, Panther and Fall Creeks, as well as Bennett’s Bayou and up river around the state line.

I can not personally talk about crappie fishing as I have been spending the majority of my time locating and catching the species talked about above. From what I have been told by the crappie guides is that the bite has been good. The bigger slabs are starting to move into the brush and small jigs and minnows are working very well. I will take some time off from my striped bass fishing and check out the crappie bite myself before long.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature this morning was in the mid 60-degree range. The lake has become fairly stable with just slight variations either up or down and currently sits at 553.62 feet MSL. The lake is slightly stained from the mid-lake area and heading north, but there has been a slight clearing starting to

happen. The lake continues its slow progression to a total lake turnover. I am starting to mark bait and a few fish 75 – 80 feet deep which tells me the good cool oxygenated water is continuing to fall lower and lower until eventually it will reach all depths and the lake will be totally turned over. This year the turnover process has been virtually unnoticeable.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

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

I hope all had a great Thanksgiving. Linda and I hosted Linda’s side of the family at the resort and we had a great time and ate way too much. One of our meals during the week was a Norfork Lake Crappie fish fry and boy was it good.

Norfork Lake fishing has had some ups and downs this fall with all the changing
 weather patterns. This was especially true last week when I fished with family members every day except when the weather was too rainy or too windy. We caught some fish, but it was definitely a difficult fishing week. The last frontal system past through us yesterday morning (12/3), so the lake had a day to stabilize and today was a fantastic fishing and catching day. I began doing a lot of graphing. I started out on the 101 Bridge flat and found a lot of bait out in 70+ feet of water, but very few fish. I headed back to the  I was in 30 – 40 feet of water and was vertical jigging a spoon. After spooning up my first hybrid I decided to set out 2 down lines with live thread fin shad. I set one at 23 feet and the other was at 30 feet. It did not take long until the live bait was getting hit. To show how good the bite was, at one point I had my spoon on the bottom and saw that I missed a bite on a live bait. I set my spooning rod in a rod holder and started to reel in the live bait rod. I heard a rattling and saw my spooning rod double over. I landed a nice 10 pound hybrid. The stripers and hybrid have been very mobile, so you need to keep looking at the different flats on the lake, once you find the bait start looking around for feeding fish, if none move to the next

flat. The fish will be somewhere feeding. I often go back to the same flat where I had found bait and fish at a later time and many times the fish have gotten energized.

Cranfield Island flat and graphed, but saw little. I then headed back to the Pigeon Creek area and again found lots of bait and also found more fish, but the fish were scattered and did not appear to be feeding. I checked out a few other areas with little success until about 9:30AM. Once again on a large flat, I found streams of bait 20 feet thick with schools of fish on top of the bait. They did not appear to be feeding but within 15 minutes the bait began to scatter and more and more fish appeared in a feeding frenzy which lasted for the next 2 hours.

When you find the feeding frenzy of fish all species may be in the same area. Today I landed walleye and crappie on the spoon. Other days largemouth bass have been plentiful. With all the scattered fish I am marking, it might be a great time to troll. Keep your bait at 20 – 30 feet and stay in 40 to 70 feet of water. If you can stay on the bait, you will catch some nice fish. Umbrella rigs, A-rigs, swim baits or deep diving crank bait are good baits to troll with.

In general, crappie are still hanging in the brush on the tops of the brush. They will be anywhere from 8 – 25 feet down on brush in 40 feet or less. Don’t hesitate to check out some very shallow brush on these sunny days, the crappie may move up.

Bass fishing has basically stayed the same as my last report. Early and late in the day look up in 10 to 20 feet of water. Work a jig or worm slowly along the bottom.  As you know I like to find the deep bass. They will be in 25 – 40 feet of water on underwater drop offs or rock piles and will also be chasing the bait fish along with all the other species of fish.

Norfork Lake level is falling rapidly and currently sits at 558.96 feet MSL, The Corp of Eng. has

opened the flood gates to bring the lake level back to normal pool. The lake will be dropping about 5 to 6 inches per day for the next week or so, based on Corp. of Engineers communications. (Typically, with the lake level falling, the bait and fish tend to move out of the creeks to the main lake or at least to the mouths of the creeks.) The lake is somewhat stained and will stay this way until the water level stabilizes. The surface lake temperature this morning was 53.5 to 54.5 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Happy New Year to all. I hope the fantastic weather we have been having is allowing you to get out on the lake and do a little fishing. Norfork Lake is one of the best lakes I have had the opportunity to fish and I enjoy it most every day. Even though I have been out of pocket for the last couple of weeks I am back out on the lake finding and catching fish. Yesterday (1/7) was my first day out on the lake for 2019 and I spent the day traveling to different parts of the lake, doing a lot of graphing and looking for striped bass with very little fishing. Today was a different story. I retraced my travels from yesterday to the spots where I found fish. My first area at about 8AM was the Cranfield and Pigeon Creek area. I found bait and fish, but very few takers. I fished this area for about an hour with little luck then headed to a mid-lake creek that the wind was blowing into. Again I found scattered bait with fish following, and this time they were feeding. The fish were 40 to 60 feet down. The hybrids and whites were in the 40 - 50 foot range and the deeper fish were stripers. I was vertical jigging with a spoon and caught many big whites, a hybrid and 2 striped bass. I was jigging for the suspended fish 60 feet down and a small school of big fish came under me on the bottom at 80 feet so I dropped my spoon to the bottom. The spoon did not have a chance to hit the bottom as a striper just inhaled the spoon and the fight was on. The fish in this area were scattered though out the deeper water so I had to keep moving around until I located them. I finally decided to move to my next location and was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of active fish. I was in between the two bridges in 90 to 100 feet of water. This time I found schools of fish only 20 to 40 down, but lots of them. They would not hit my spoon jigging, but when I dropped it though the fish and reeled up fast though them they hammered it before the spoon got to the surface. One of the striped bass caught here hit the spoon almost on the surface then took a straight down dive to about 60 feet before I could turn its head. It ended up being a nice 14 pound fish. I ended up catching fish all the way up to 2PM, when I decided it was time to go home, but the fish were still there.

Winter time fishing can be a blast. The fish, as you have read, can be at any depth from surface all the way down to the bottom, located in very deep water. I did have a couple of live baits out part of the time and never got a bite on them, but they liked my spoon. Each place that I fished today are typical winter time locations based on prior years experience. It does take some time to locate the fish, but when you do, hang on. I still only use 8 pound test monofilament line so I do have my drag set a little loose. What is a little different this year, so far, is that the fish and bait typically move into the deep channels, but I am finding them near the channel or on very deep flats, but not in the channel.

Nothing to report on other species at this time as I am just getting back into the groove. But winter time bass and crappie fishing are both typically very good and lots of fun.

Norfork Lake has risen about 3 feet since my last report and currently sits at 556.34, which is less than 3 feet over the normal seasonal pool. The main lake is clear. Some coves and back in the creeks are stained. The water temperature this morning at 7:30 AM was 48 degrees and by the time I headed back to the dock it was slightly over 49 degrees. The lake is in great shape and the fishing is looking to be a lot of fun.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake is trying to cool down a little. For the second time in the last month the lake surface temperature has dropped to around 76 degrees in the early morning. If this cool down continues it will help energize the fish and help make the fall bite take off.

The striped bass bite for me is good one time out and non existent the next. Today was one of those good days, but the fisherman (me) was having difficulty getting a good hook set and when I did have a good fish on I was breaking off. I guess I still need more practice. :-) I was fishing with live thread fin shad. I managed to land 5 striper/hybrids, but should / could have had many more. All but one hybrid were released. The bite started around 5:15 AM and lasted until about 7AM. I was fishing in 25 - 35 feet of water and the fish were at all depths. One of my trolling guests is starting to pick up a few nice stripers later in the mornings in 100 feet of water. The fish are still 25 - 30 feet down. When you find shad in the deep water there more than likely will be some stripers hanging close by.

The crappie bite is still decent, but not great. There are crappie on brush in 23 - 30 feet of water and the fish are anywhere from 8 feet down to the bottom. You just need to keep fishing different depths until you find the level where the fish are feeding. I have found some big white crappie scattered on the big sandy flats. Live minnows on a slip bobber is a great method, but jigging a small hair jig or a spoon has also been working.

Walleye are scattered though out the lake and are shallow before dark then in about 25 - 30 feet of water the rest of the time. Crawler harnesses with a bottom bouncer or a drop shot rig are working very well. Today I landed a nice 22 inch walleye on a live minnow in 27 feet of water.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are also scattered though out the lake. There are a lot of smaller fish on brush piles (great spawn the last 2 years). I have been finding the larger fish in about 28 feet of water lying on or close to the bottom along bluff lines and also close to bluff line points. I have been vertical jigging a spoon looking for walleye when I run across big bass. Drop shot rigs with a jig or plastic crawler should also work. I have also noticed many suspended fish 10 - 20 feet down along the bluff lines. I have caught some of these fish with my spoon, but most are small, with a few bigger fish mixed in. There has been some top water feeding going on early in the morning and then again at sunset. All sizes of fish are feeding at this time when you run across this action.

Catfish are also at this same 25 - 35 feet depth. Today I landed 2 really nice channel cats while striper fishing. They really do not want to come off the bottom once you get them hooked. Lots of fun.

I guess in a nutshell the bite is basically the same or very similar to my last report and I don't expect much change until the water cools down into the 60's. There are many fish that can be caught at this time, but you do have to work for them. Work (hahaha) that is what I tell my wife when I head out to go

fishing. :-) I am going to work!!!

Norfork Lake level is falling slowly, close to 2 inches per day with slight power generation. The current level is 554.68. The main lake is somewhat clear, but the creeks and coves are stained. The current surface water temperature this morning was 76.5 degrees.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake's fall fishing pattern is under way. The lake is finally starting to cool down, but additional cooling is needed to bring on the full blown fall pattern.

Striped bass are biting well up in the coolest water at the Arkansas / Missouri border. Live shad (big ones) are working the best set at 12 - 18 feet, but trollers are starting to pick up a few fish on big swim baits. The stripers up north seem to be cruising in the shallow water and not necessarily in the old river channel. A few nice stripers and big hybrids are starting to show up on the big flats from the Cranfield area up to the Red bank area. Vertical jigging with a spoon is working the best as the fish are hugging the bottom in 30 - 40 feet of water. The fish are showing up all day long starting at sunrise up to sunset. This doesn't mean they are biting all day long. Over the last week I have caught stripers and hybrids at sunrise, at noon and tonight I found them around 4PM. I guess you need to fish all day long to be there when they are biting. Just take a cooler along with some water and sandwiches. :-) I try to vary the time I'm fishing so I can know what's going on different times of the day. It's a fun time of year when you never know when the bite is going to happen. I have a fishing prediction that over the next week the lake will cool to the upper 60's, the lake will finalize its turnover and the striped bass will start to show up on the large flats starting in the Robinson area up to Missouri and also up towards the Fouts area. Inaddition topwater action will increase.

One of the main reason I like to vertical jig with a spoon  this time of year is that all species will be found in the same areas and at the same depth. I also like flat fishing, but it can be a little tedious so patience and good electronics do help a lot. Over the last week except for one day up river fishing with gizzard shad, I have been vertical jigging flats in 28 - 40 feet of water. This evening, as well as, yesterday morning I landed walleye, white bass, largemouth bass, crappie, hybrids and stripers. What more can a fisherperson ask for. Big schools of fish are just starting to show up and this will be more commonplace as the water continues to cool.

The best places for crappie are on brush piles that have been sunk in 25 - 40 feet of water. The crappie will be anywhere from 10 - 30 feet down. The hardest part of crappie fishing at this time is finding the best depth to catch the fish. Live minnows are working great, but vertical jigging a small spoon or jigging small plastics tipped with a minnow is also working very well. If it is blue gills you are wanting, work the same brush piles as for crappie, but use crickets for the bait.

Largemouth bass are all over the place. You can find them suspended 15 - 20 feet down off of the deep bluff lines. They are also laying on the bottom early and late in the day on the shallow banks.  You will also find some nice fish hanging around the crappie brush piles. Crank baits are picking up some nice suspended fish and plastics of all kinds are working for the bottom feeders. The bass hanging around brush are hitting spoons or drop shot rigs.

Norfork Lake is falling slowly due to one generator being run for a good portion of the day and currently the level sits at 552.84. The surface water temperature has been on a roller coaster ride. With the very hot days we have recently had the temperature has risen slightly and this evening was around 75 with the morning temperature around 73 degrees which is a couple of degree rise over the last couple of days. The creeks and coves and main lake flats are stained with the rest of the main lake is clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

 

 

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake is providing some exciting fishing for all the anglers with all species. During the month of  March we had warm fronts followed by cold fronts on a continual basis. Very typical of March, but I prefer warm fronts. The lake temperature is in the mid to upper 50's and should cross the 60 degree mark very soon. The fish will get even more active and top water action should become more consistent. We did have some good top water action days in March, however, which is not typical. I will take it!


Striped and hybrid bass action has been improving daily. Live bait is working really well. A couple of my guests took Jim Nichols of Nichols Guide Service out Saturday morning and the big fish was 15+ pounds. Look for stripers on shallow flats and points early and late in the day as well as after dark. The best depth at these times are in 5 to 20 feet of water. They will be chasing shad so have a good top water bait handy or do what I have been doing and use a Kastmaster or blade type bait. The Kastmaster can be used as a top water bait or as a bait to sink to get to those deeper fish. I cast it, as well as, vertical jig it when I find fish on the bottom. The after dark bite is still going strong. Look for an elongated shallow point with deep water nearby and if you mark bait the stripers will be in the area. Throw out a suspending stick bait and work it slowly back to the boat. You can also try other methods of retrieval such as jerking and stopping, on occasion this will work, but the slow retrieval is typically the best. Last night a few twitches then stop method was working the best. We landed a hybrid and striper and missed several others. The fish were really tight on the bank last night. We had to get the bait within a foot of the shoreline, so to say the least we caught a lot of buck brush last evening. :-) During the middle of the day look out in deep water near the channel, and again, if you can find the bait the stripers will be close. They are being found 20 - 35 feet down and trolling is a great method of catching these fish. Fish are being caught all over the lake from Big Creek to the Fouts area and back towards the Red Bank area and a lot of places in between.

Largemouth bass fishing is still very active. The fish are feeding along the deep bluff lines during the day and are on the flats feeding on shad early and late in the day. I landed a nice 4 pound fish last evening vertical jigging with a spoon in 23 feet of water on a big sandy flat. Too bad that John didn't catch this bass as it would have been in the running for a Hummingbird Hideaway Resort Derby winning fish. The white bass and largemouth were schooled up in small pods and feeding heavily on shad. Wiggle warts are still working as well as spinners, jerk baits and soft plastics. Watch for top water action early and late in the day.

Walleye, white bass and crappie fishing are also heating up. From the fish that I have cleaned the majority of them have not spawned yet. This is getting late for the Walleye and whites, but they are ready. I have found the whites and walleye in the same type of areas as the stripers. Crappie are showing up back in creeks in shallow water around brush. I also ran into a huge school of crappie in the back of a small creek in 35 feet of water. The school was 15 - 30 feet thick. I did not have my crappie rod with me so I used my casting rod with a Kastmaster and vertical jigged up 5 fish before I lost the school. They were not on brush, but roaming and feeding on shad.

Norfork Lake level is falling slowly and currently sits at 554.11. The water temperature is slowly rising and was 58 degrees last evening. The creeks, coves and main lake are all stained, with a great fishing color. You can tell that the main lake trying to clear up.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

 

The fall fishing season on Norfork Lake is starting to take off. The stripers, hybrids and white bass are schooling and following the bait fish. I have fished the last 7 days with success each day, but as usual some days are better than others. I have been fishing anywhere from my cove then going east of Cranfield and also north of Cranfield. All my fishing areas have been within .1 to 8 miles from our resort. This isn't to say fish are not in other areas of the lake, I am sure they are, but I can only cover so much water in a day. The continual weather pattern changes effect the fish and the locations where you will find them. On windy days go into the wind blown creeks and coves especially if the wind has been blowing into the area for several days. Wind blown banks are also a great place to check.

I have had good success for stripers, hybrids and white bass. One of the biggest changes that I have noticed is that the better bite for me has been mid day. I typically sunrise and sunset times, but for whatever reason it is different right now. I am sure the feeding time will change soon so I guess you all will need to fish from sunrise to sunset. :-) Earlier in the week I was finding them halfway back in creeks and coves in 30 - 40 feet of water. As the week progressed I noticed the bait fish were moving out to the mouth of the creeks and coves and also into deeper water. Yesterday I found a lot of bait on the bottom in 40 - 50 feet of water and the fish were in the area. The biggest challenge that I have had is that when I find a big school of feeding fish and hook up immediately, but by the time I get the fish in the boat the school has disappeared. I continually move around in the same area slowly until I find the next school of fish. They may be close to the bank or out in the middle. Over the last week I have only been vertical jigging with a 3/4 ounce spoon. Color really doesn't matter much when you get into a school of fish, but I typically use a spoon with the predominant color being white. As the lake water cools the bait will start to migrate out to the main lake and the fish will follow. It will not be long before fishing the big flats will become the main areas where I will concentrate my fishing habit.

Bass fishing has also been good. My main area of success has been part way back into creeks and coves, vertical jigging a spoon in 25 - 35 feet of water. Here again I move slowly jigging as I move trying to keep the spoon as vertical to the bottom as possible. Casting out a jig & pig or really any plastic bait on the bottom in the 15 - 35 feet water range will bring up some nice fish. Two days ago I landed a nice 20 inch largemouth that I released immediately. Walleye will also be in the same area. Yesterday I landed 3 walleye, but all were 1/4 - 1 inch short of the 18 inch minimum length limit.

Not a lot of news on crappie fishing. I pick up a few strays while striper fishing. I did catch a nice 15 3/4 inch crappie in 50 feet of water the other day. I have heard you can find them on 20 - 35 feet deep brush, but here again one day they are there, but the next day gone. As the water cools they will start to associate more to the brush piles than they currently are.

Bluegill fishing is still very good with crickets being the bait of choice. Find brush in 20 - 30 feet of water and drop the bait down from 15feet to the bottom and you will catch some nice big slabs.

Catfish are biting good on trot lines and jugs using live bluegills as bait. Coves and creeks are a great place to set up. I have also picked up the occasional catfish while vertical jigging with a spoon. They do give a great fight.

Norfork Lake level has finally stabilized at 553.72 which is basically normal pool. Very minimal power generation has occurred over the last several days. This will be a great thing for fishing as the continual draw down of the lake has effected the bite. The lake surface water temperature is 66 - 68 degrees depending on the location on the lake. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves stained. The clearing of lake will start to happen as the water cools.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Norfork Lake fishing at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort has been outstanding the last couple of weeks. All species are biting and biting well. With the weather changes and the slow rise of the lake the fish are constantly on the move. In my last report fishing was good back in the major creeks, but here recently the fish are moving out to the main lake area. Of course this may change if we receive more rain and the lake starts to rise more quickly. Oh, by the way the lake is at a great level for fishing and boating sports and our dock is easily accessible with easy parking and launching facilities. You will find stripers on top as well as down 20 - 40 feet. Top water baits and swim baits are working the best for me. If you can get live shad you will catch a lot of fish. Stripers are all over the lake. Trolling a swim bait is still working, but recently I have switched to a 1 ounce jig head instead of the quarter ounce. Soon the bait will need to get deeper. When you are searching for stripers look at main lake points with deep water nearby and as always find the bait and you will find the fish.

The largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass bite is at its best. Live bait and artificial baits are both working well. Top water action happens most mornings and evenings, but sometimes not for a long period of time. Once they go down try throwing a 3 - 4 inch swim bait, it worked for me this morning. My 5 - 6 inch bait was getting a lot of hits, but no one would take it until I down sized. You can also work the bottom with plastics from 10 - 25 feet down. The bigger smallies are in 15 - 25 feet depths. Look for the bass in the same areas as the stripers, but they will also be back on secondary points in the creeks and off of deep bluff lines.

The white bass bite has been sporadic. One day many are caught and the next day they are gone or not feeding. Yesterday a couple of my guests were slamming the whites on a spook, but today I found them on the bottom in 50 feet of water, but could only get 1 taker. Main lake points is where they are currently being found, but they should start to move back in the creeks soon.

Panfishing is improving. Bluegills can be found up on the banks, but the bigger ones are still about 20 feet deep off of bluff lines. Find a small cut in the bluff and get up close and fish straight down. Use crickets, worms or niblets. Crappies have moved out to the brush in 15 - 30 feet of water, main lake and creeks. They will be at all depths depending on time of day and sunny conditions. Live crappies minnows are working the best. Crappie at my dock have been going nuts over the last week. Many 13 - 16 inch fish have been pulled up.

Catfishing is also good in the coves and creeks. Night crawlers and small bluegills are a great bait. Jugs, trotlines and rod and reel are all working.

The current Norfork Lake level is at 560.52 and rising slowly with intermittent power generation. The lake has risen 3.22 feet since my last report which isn't bad considering all the rain that we have had. The surface lake temperature is about 72 degrees in the main lake and slight warmer in the creeks. The creeks and coves are stained and the main lake is clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Winter fishing on Norfork Lake near Hummingbird Hideaway Resort is in full swing. Fishing is good for most species. My favorite, striper fishing, has been good.  To find the stripers find the bait. Bait and stripers are both suspended 40 – 70 feet down in 80 – 120 feet of water. The stripers will be on top of the bait, buried in the middle of it and sometimes on the bottom of the bait stream. Electronics are very helpful this time of year in finding the bait and marking the fish. My favorite winter spot for striped bass is anywhere from the 62 bridge columns down to the Howard Cove area. The fish and bait are moving to different spots throughout this area. Four days ago, I was marking bait and catching stripers in front of Howard Cove and for the last several days they were located between the two bridges. On January 15^th I landed a monster 25 pound striper in front of Howard Cove. Yesterday a friend landed another 25 pound fish by the 62 Bridge. I don’t know why, but the bait moves and the fish follow. Vertical jigging with a spoon is working very well as is live bait.

The big 3 pound white bass bite is also very good. You will find them in the same location as the stripers. The whites will typically be buried in the bait down 60 feet. Vertical jigging with a spoon or live bait is working. When jigging with a spoon only light twitches are needed and you need to be ready to set the hook, the bite is very light. The same slow presentation for striped bass is working.

The bite for largemouth and spotted bass is good. Look for these fish at points on the deep water bluff lines. I have found the bigger fish in 40 – 50 feet of water and the smaller ones up in 20 feet of water. I like to vertical jig with a spoon, but jig & pigs as well as grubs are working well. ¼ ounce or a little larger jig heads should be used. Cast your bait out and let it fall to the bottom then work it back slowly. Watch your line as the bait falls since the fish may pick it up at any time.

Crappie fishing has also been OK. I have not been crappie fishing myself, but crappie are being caught on the deeper brush piles in 40 + feet of water. Crappie are suspended on the tops of the brush. Small spoons, grubs or live minnows are all good baits this time of year. Same as the other species work the bait slowly.

The Norfork Lake level is currently at 550.65. The surface water temperature is in the mid 40’s. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are still stained.

 

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.