Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It is another great day for fishing on Norfork Lake. The sun is shining, it's in the 30's, but should get up into the 50's and maybe even 60's as it did yesterday. I should be out on the lake, but I have decided that I needed to do some work in the resort before I head out to my last sport show. I will be in Oklahoma City this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Backwoods Hunting and Fishing Expo. It is being held at the fair grounds in the travel and transportation building. Come by to visit with me and talk a little about Norfork Lake fishing and Hummingbird Hideaway Resort. I will be more than happy to take your reservation for your spring fishing trip or summer vacation. We still have a few larger units available this summer, but they are going quick.

Since my last sport show in Tinley Park, IL I have fished every day except for yesterday and today. The best bite on the lake is for largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie. walleye and bluegill. I have been catching  bass anywhere from 10 feet to 35 feet of water. Early in the morning I have found bass close to the banks feeding on small shad. As the sun comes up and the shad go deeper, so do the fish. I have started throwing the new Alabama rig with small 3 inch Berkley's swimbaits.



This new rig does work. There was a lot of top water action one morning and they would not hit anything I threw at them. I hooked up the Alabama rig and started casting and started to catch fish. This rig gives the illusion of a school of shad and the fish can't resist it. I will be honest and say that you do get tired of casting (at least I do). I switch back and forth from vertical jigging in deeper water to casting the swimbaits. I have been fishing back in the East Pigeon, Pigeon and Float Creek areas. We have had several fronts move through the area in the last couple of weeks, which does affect the fishing on a daily basis. One day I go out and find and catch big fish, but the next day they have moved and the fishing gets tougher. I end up catching fish every day, but somedays they are just the smaller ones. I guess that is why they call it fishing and not catching.

Crappie are still biting well. My fish are coming from brush that is in 30 - 40 feet of water and the fish that I have been catching are inside the brush. Hard to get out once you hook them. I talked with Jay Smith, of Crappies Only, the other day and last weekend he hammered the fish. His fish were caught over brush only 6 feet down. When we get a few sunny days the crappie start coming up to the warmer water. Jay has been using crappie minnows and I have been using small vertical jigging spoons.

Walleye have started their spring run up river from the Arkansas border up to the Udall, Mo area. They are being caught in 5 - 15 feet of water using live bait. River chubs are the bait of choice, but shiners are also catching fish. The small males have been the predominant fish caught, but a few large females are starting to show up. The spawn should be in full swing by beginning to mid March.

I have been catching quite a few gills in 25 - 30 feet of water jigging a spoon. The size of these fish are amazing. Striped bass are starting to show up in shallow water. I have not been targeting stripers, but have been getting reports from many bass fishermen that they are catching these fish on their Alabama rigs in 15 - 20 feet of water. The Stripers never did get to their normal deep winter pattern, but are moving in shallow water feeding on shad and crawdads.

The Norfork Lake water level is fairly stable, but has started to drop slowly due to power generation and currently sits at 552.02. Basically at normal pool. The water temperature is ranging from 46 - 48 degrees in areas that I have fished and is in the low 50's up river. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Bass Fishing Report

The weather and the fishing on Norfork Lake has been very good. Largemouth and spotted bass fishing has been really good this winter. The fish are in their winter pattern so you will need to slow down your retrieval methods. With the colder water the fish have slowed down so you need to slow down as well. Yesterday I was using two methods to fish for bass; vertical jigging a spoon, and  throwing a 2.5 inch grub/swimming minnow. I found that after lifting the spoon off of the bottom to let it fall, most of my hits came when the spoon was on the bottom motionless for a few seconds. I then would start to pull up and the fish would be on the line. Basically I found that I had to slow down my jigging speed. I was jigging in and around brush piles in 30 - 40 feet of water and the best fish were found on both main lake and creek points. My second method of fishing was with a 2.5 inch Berkley Powerbait with a T tail with a 1/4ounce jig head. I have found this bait to be very versatile. I can work it on the bottom as if it was a worm or I can let is sink to a certain depth and retrieve slowly working it as a swimming minnow. With this bait you can fish for the bottom feeding fish as well as the bass that are suspended. I was using the T tail minnow around the same areas as I was vertical jigging. Yesterday I caught bigger fish jigging and the smaller ones came on the T tail minnow.
I caught well over 20 bass yesterday between my morning and late afternoon outings. I usually only fish once a day, but yesterday was so beautiful and warm that I had to go out again. The above photo shows the average size that I was catching, but of course there were the little guys in the mix. I have gotten reports from a few friends that they have been using wiggle warts and doing well casting along the deep bluff lines.

Today the weather has changed to lots of rain. This may be a very good thing for Norfork Lake. So far today we have had close to 2 inches of rain and have more in the forecast for this evening. The lake will be on the rise and the off color water will increase back in the creeks. One good rule of thumb is to find where the muddy water line and the clear water line meets. Fish in this area and you will find fish.

Norfork Lake has risen over 4 inches since last evening and should rise more unless generation increases a lot.The lake level currently sits at 551.37. Sporadic power generation, just a few hours at a time. The lake surface temperature was 47 - 48 degrees yesterday evening and was 46 degrees in the morning. The main lake was very clear and the creeks and coves getting clearer. This will change over the next couple of days due to the run-off.

If you like Cajun food, gumbo in particular, check out the blog on our website. Linda made seafood gumbo today with Norfork Lake striped bass. It really hit the spot. The recipe can be found at http://hummingbird-hideaway.com/

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

My guests and I have had a lot of fun Crappie and Bass fishing since my last report on Norfork Lake. The current best bite on the lake is for crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass and bluegill. I have not been catfishing lately so I really can't speak about catfish, but looking back at last year, November should be a great time to catch catfish. The striper bite may be starting to get active so keep checking back to see when it kicks off.

I had a couple of guests out fishing the last couple of days and they caught some really nice slab crappies. A couple of them measured in at 15 inches. They were using live minnows, both crappie minnows as well as shad. The bite wasn't non stop, but it definitely kept their interest. They were catching fish on brush piles close to our resort. The brush should be in 25 - 35 feet of water with the tops around 15 - 20 feet. The fish are suspended on the top of the brush as well as on the bottom. Big thumper bluegill are in the same brush piles and also on the inside of the piles closer to shore.

I also fished this morning and caught two nice 15 inch crappies and several smallmouth bass. I was using a Berkley's 2 1/2 inch T-tail minnow (or grub) with a 1/4 oz jig head. The bass were hitting the jig in 10 - 20 feet of water and the crappie attacked the grub when I started to bring the bait straight up to the boat. I try to keep the boat in about 35 feet of water. Anytime I was sitting on a brush pile I caught a crappie. Earlier in the week I was bass fishing with another guest. The first day we did really good on keeper size smallmouth, but the second day slowed and we just caught a few. I was using my grub and Grant was throwing a Texas rigged worm. Both baits were being worked slowly back to the boat.

Congrats goes out to all the participants in the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Pro-Am Classic. It was held on Friday, Saturday and the finals were today. We did have the winning amateur staying with us. He took home a nice check for 1st Place. Congratulation to Kevin Crow. Kevin said he had all his luck casting a Wiggle Wart. The keeper size bite was tough for all (but plenty of undersized fish were caught) and after the weigh-in on Saturday the top 10 Pros weighed in from 19 - 28 pounds for a two day total. Those top 10 fished today, but I was unable to attend the weigh-in to see how they did. It seemed like they caught keeper bass all over the lake. They were fishing in shallow water in the backs of creeks to deep water bluff lines and brush piles. They were catching fish on crank baits, swim baits, jigs and spinners. It does seem like all fishing techniques are starting to work. This is very typical for bass fishing this time of year.

Striper fishing has still been slow, but all hope that it picks up very shortly. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters fished yesterday and landed 3 nice striper and missed two others. Hopefully this is a sign that things are about to change with the striper bite.

The Norfork Lake surface water temperature has dropped to the high 50's to the low 60's. We have some rain and cool weather coming in the next few dasy so it should help to drop the temps a little lower. The Norfork Lake level is at 549.23 and dropping slowly at about an inch per day. The main lake is clear with the creeks and cover starting to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It was another beautiful morning on Norfork Lake. I started out from our dock with one of our guests at 5AM and started fishing before 5:30. We started out in the Diamond Bay area, but were not marking much to vertical jig. Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line was fishing close by and was catching his fair share using live shad. I moved to a different area around 6AM and immediately marked a huge school of feeding fish. We both hooked into white bass, we dropped again and hooked into more fish. We lost over 10 fish and landed 6. We kept a couple of the whites and a nice 6 pound hybrid. The fishing remained pretty steady for about an hour, then it slowed so I kept moving around trying to find the schooling fish without much luck. I ended the trip in Float Creek and fished an area I did well in yesterday morning, today I marked a ton of bait, but no feeding fish. Reports from various guides and fishing friends are that they are catching striped bass and hybrids near the Robinson area and surrounding creeks to the Diamond area and around the dam. The fish are definitely schooling. When you find a school of feeding fish drop a spoon and vertical jig, you will catch a fish. The schools keep moving under the shad.

The Norfork Lake water level has fallen to 554.62 with one generator currently being run. The surface water temperature of the lake was in the low 90's this morning. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves somewhat hazy.

Have a great day and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The sun has been shining on Norfork Lake for the last week. Our guests are having a great time fishing in the morning, playing in the water in the afternoon, then fishing again in the evening. Can't ask for a better vacation than that.

Fishing has been great for the past week and seems to just keep improving. The white and black bass as well as stripers and hybrids are chasing the shad to the surface. It is Zara Spook time! One of my guests just came into the office really excited stating that he was in the Cranfield area and all of a sudden the water just started to boil. They had spooks tied on and had a field day catching white bass. He did say he saw some really big fish busting the surface farther out in the channel. Other guests have been fishing Float, Panther, and Fall Creeks with the same results. The top water action is currently in full swing in both early mornings and late evenings. Once the fish go down, vertical jigging is working. Fish are being caught on a spoon in 30 - 40 feet of water. Fish creek channel swings as well as main lake points.

Walleye are being caught with crank baits. The fish are back in coves in 15 - 25 feet of water. Try using a crawdad colored crank bait. Troll it slowly. I have also spooned up some walleye in 30 - 40 feet of water off of rock bluffs. It should be time for the walleye to be on the flats. Start checking out the Cranfield flats, Robinson Island flats, Koso Point flats. The fish should be in 25 - 40 feet of water.

Crappie are being caught on main lake and creek brush piles in 30 - 40 feet of water. Live minnows are still working the best, but twister tail jigs are also catching some nice fish.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowly and is at 558.58. Only 6 1/2 feet above normal pool. The surface water temperature is in the mid 80's. The lake is clearer than I have ever seen. I can see fish swimming in 20 feet of water. It's amazing.

Have a great day fishing tomorrow and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather is finally changing for the better on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. We have had wind, wind and more wind the last 3 days with a couple of inches of rain. The rain is over for now and the wind is supposed to diminish this evening and get back to normal. The windy weather has actually been good for fishing for those that can take it and hold their spots, but it has definitely been a real challenge for our fishing guests as well as the guides. Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line took a couple of our guests out on a striper trip Sunday morning and had a good day. They landed these five stripers/hybrids and numerous other smallmouth and Kentucky bass. They also had 4 other stripers break off before they could be netted. They were fishing with live shad in the dam area. Due to the wind they were long lining the shad as it was too windy to pitch the points.

The last time that I fished was last Friday evening. I headed to the Bennett's area at 7PM to hopefully find some top water action. As the sun set I saw 3 separate striped bass surface so I started to fan cast my spook. I was casting to the shallow water as well as to the deep water. I ended up landing two stripers and missed three others. They were not chasing the shad to the surface, but they still came up after my Zara Spook. The fish were all on the small size 6 - 8 pounds. As it got really dark I switched to a rogue and immediately got a good strike, but missed it. I fished this area for another 45 minutes without a hit, I moved to a point across from Bidwell and caught a bluegill, then I had a massive hit and it was pulling drag then just disappeared. (I have been getting a lot of that lately?) No more hits so I headed for home around 10:30PM.

We have had guests bass fishing since Saturday and doing very well. They have been throwing plastics with and without weights and are catching smallmouth, largemouth and Kentucky bass. Their big fish so far has been an 18.5 inch smallmouth. This fish was caught in our cove. All colors have been working for them. They have been fishing next to the buck brush, letting their bait fall to the bottom then slowly retrieving with a twitching motion. Most times the fish hit the bait as it is fell next to the buck brush. Last evening a few of them stayed out until after the sun set. The hybrids, black bass and whites started to erupt in the back of our cove in only one foot of water. They started throwing poppers and spooks and got the thrill of their life. They never landed a fish, but lost several nice ones in the brush. They told me that they have never gotten into top water action like this before, grinning ear to ear. One said his heart was still pounding.


The blue and channel catfish are starting to come into the shallow water and are hitting my shiners on a trot line. This morning I caught a nice size blue, but lost it as I was bringing it into the boat. (I forgot my net!!!)

No current reports on crappies, but I have several guests taking two crappie guides out on Friday. More to come later.

Watch for the top water action as the sun is starting to rise and after the sun has set. I am getting reports that the top action is just starting to take off. The full moon should really help, and of course the light winds.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 555.31 with no generation. The lake is gin clear even with the rain several days ago. I would assume that back in the flowing creeks you should find some stained water. Our cove is clear. The surface water temperature is in the mid 60's.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Just got back in from fishing on Norfork Lake. The night bite for striped bass is still happening. The bite had slowed for a few days with the cold front that rolled through, but I think things have stabilized again. I caught two after dark and lost another big one that straightened two of my hooks. I guess I'm going to need to change the hooks on all of my rogues before I use them. What was exciting for me is that I caught my first two stripers before dark on a Zara Spook. I was sitting on a point in the Cranfield area and the fish started to erupt around me. My first catch was the 14 pound striped bass in the photo. The fish moved out to deep water then cruised back into the shallow water. My second catch was a 10 pound striper. They were not coming up at this time, but the fish attacked my spook three times before I finally hooked it. He came clear out of the water, then the fight was on. I missed two other hits that had the fish popping the spook about a foot into the air. I hope tonight is an indication that the top water bite is ready to start, both morning and evening. I also caught two Kentucky bass on the Zara Spook and a nice largemouth on a rogue. All fish were released. The stripers that I released were in the 10 pound range.

The Norfork Lake level is at 555.21 and falling slowly. Two generators are currently being run. The surface water temperature is still at 67 degrees. The water is gin clear, the clearest I have seen for some time.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The night bite for Striped Bass is still happening on Norfork Lake. I believe the full moon has increased the bite. I was fishing the Bidwell area last evening and ended up catching 3 nice Striped Bass between 12 - 15 pounds. The fish seemed to be short for their size. It looks like they have all been over eating. My first hit was around 9:30PM and the last was before 10:30PM. I had several other bumps. All fish were released. I was throwing my bone colored rogue and slow rolling back to the boat.

Some of my guests had a successful Striper trip. Sunday morning he caught 2 and lost numerous others all in the 20 pound range. One that he lost, as he was netting the fish, was in the 30 pound range. Monday morning he landed two, but the bite had slowed. He was free lining live shiners. He was fishing the Bidwell area.

The stripers seem to be all over the lake. I am getting reports that the night bite is happening in the Cranfield area, Bennett's area, Float Creek and down by the dam. The morning bite is also taking off. If you want a great experience try out the Norfork Lake Striper fishing.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 554.86. One generator is being run. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves cloudy due to last weekends rain. Last evening the lake surface water temperature was 54 degrees.

Have a great fishing day and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The sun has been shining and the air temperature has been in the 50's on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. The fishing was really good today for bass. I couldn't keep myself off the lake so I worked on my remodel job till noon, then decided I earned time off, and took off for the water. I started fishing for striped bass with little success, I ended up catching one diaper striper (only 18 inches long). We definitely have a shad kill going on. I saw dead and distressed small shad everywhere that I went today. I fished the Henderson area, then Float Creek, then Panther Creek. I was marking a ton of bait fish, but very few large arcs. The bait is anywhere from the surface to 60 feet down. Maybe the stripers are totally full with all the easy pickens. The sea gulls were just having a feast.

After trying for striper I headed back to a few of my brush piles. I ended up catching 4 largemouth from 14 to 20 inches long. The 20 incher was a monster and very fat. I also caught 2 nice Kentucky bass both 15 inches and also 2 small but keeper size crappie. All fish got their freedom as the spawn is just around the corner. The bass were fat and aggressive once I hooked them. I was throwing a grub tipped with a crappie minnow and was also vertical jigging with a 1/8 ounce spoon. To get bite I was barely jigging the spoon. Over half the fish hit the spoon when it was just lying on the bottom. Both crappie hit the grub on the fall.

If you are a river fisherman, this is the time to head to the tail waters at both dams. The dead shad will wash though the generators into the river. This will create a feeding frenzy with the trout. I haven't tried it myself, yet, but I hear it is a blast.

The Norfork Lake level is dropping very slowly and is at 552.32, almost normal pool. The Corps is running generators sporadically during the day. The surface water temperature was around 43 degrees in the main lake and slightly warmer in creeks. The lake is slightly stained but appears to be clearing. This clearing will continue unless we get the rain they are forecasting.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I finally got out fishing on Norfork Lake after our big winter event. We had close to 10 inches of snow but it is almost gone after today's 45 degree weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same as today. Hopefully this is the last snow I will see this winter. I am ready for normal winter temps in the mid to upper 40s and the nights in the upper 20's and 30's.

I left the dock this afternoon around 4PM. I just wanted to check a few spots to see what was going on with the fish. Well the bass fishing is as good as it was before the snow. I found 4 largemouth bass over timber, I caught 2 at 16 inches, one at 18 inches and one at 19 inches. I also caught one crappie that was only 11 inches long. I caught fish on a 1/4 ounce crappie spoon and a 2 inch white grub tipped with a live crappie minnow. The fish were in the brush anywhere from 27 to 35 feet down. I only fished till the sun went behind the trees, then the air started to feel really cold. I guess I'm a sissy!! I fished on only two of the points with brush on them that are close to the resort. Hopefully I will get out tomorrow for a little longer period. Of course that will only happen if I get some more work done on the remodel project in cabin 3. We are turning a 2 bedroom and a connected one bedroom into a 3 bedroom 3 bath unit. I am currently working on the new living room and kitchen area. It should be really nice when I am finished.

The Norfork Lake level is at 552.79 and currently all generators are being run. The surface water temperature was at 43.3 both in coves and the main lake. Our cove is starting to clear, is still stained, but the main lake looks pretty good. I

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Here are some nice Norfork Lake Black Crappies. These keepers ranged from 12 - 16 inches and are very healthy fish. He caught over seventeen crappie and released the majority. We released these fish after taking the picture at the Hummingbird Hideaway Resort dock. Blue gills were hitting as good as the crappie. Ed, our guest from Wisconsin has caught many fish with many more to come. He was using a 1/16 ounce hair jig in a white and chartreuse color. Artificial baits were working much better than live bait today. He caught the fish in 15 - 25 feet of water over sunken timber. He casted out, counted down to the depth he wanted then start to retrieve slowly. Many times the fish would hit while the jig was sinking and he would see his line start moving. In addition to the crappie and blue gill he caught several nice bass. Ed has also hooked into two nice size fish over the last couple of days, more than likely stripers, but lost them before he could land them. He has been fishing the Cranfield to Red Bank area in coves with running water. The shad seem to be in the back of creeks and coves and he has seen big fish feeding on the shad. Ed's catch corroborates the crappie guides' reports that I received yesterday.

We had around an inch of rain yesterday and the lake is on the rise. Current level of Norfork Lake is 553.7. The surface water temperature today was 48.7 degrees. The creeks and coves have changed from chocolate milk to a green haze with limited visibility. The main lake is much clearer.

Happy fishing and see you all on the lake.