Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake is getting better and better every day. The best part of all of it is the weather, it has been in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. It is really hard to ask for nicer fishing weather than what we are currently having. I have been doing really well on the lake as have our guests. All species are being caught on a regular basis. Undoubtedly the best bite on the lake is the largemouth and spotted bass bite. In second place is the striper and hybrid bite. Catfish are not far behind. Crappie, bluegill, white bass, walleye are all being caught.

I fished this morning and had a really good day. I landed a 16 pound striper, two 8 pound hybrids, broke off another big fish and missed one other. My break-off was the fisherman's fault, I noticed too late that my line was wrapped around the tip of my rod. Boy did it make some noise when the line snapped. I also caught 8 largemouth and spotted bass and missed numerous others. Today I strictly fished with live shad. There was a little top water action, but they only came up when I was fighting a fish. Figures!! I am finding stripers and hybrids on main lake points in 10 - 50 feet of water. I also look for points that have the deep channel close by. The stripers seem to like the deep water near as easy escape. The hybrids are feeding on crawdads so you will find them closer to the bottom. The stripers are still hitting free swimming baits. I have been
pitching the bait close to shore then letting it sit for a while. I then pull the bait off of the shoreline using my trolling motor. I have gotten many hits when the baits starts to move away. I am also placing a small split shot about 2 feet up from the hook and dragging it slowly across the point in 25 - 40 feet of water. The hybrids and bass are feeding on the bottom so I am picking up fish with both methods. If you can't get or keep shad, larger brooder shiners are the next best bait. Bass just love them and stripers and hybrids will also hit the shiners.

Smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass are in the same areas as the stripers and hybrids. It doesn't get better than this. Fish for both species in the same manner. I have also found that when the striper bite stops and they move on, the black bass start to get more aggressive. Fishing is great!

Catfish have been hitting jugs and trotlines set with live bait as well as cut bait. I have seen  many good fish coming into out dock that were caught in our cove. I still like live bait over cut bait. I typically use live shiners, shad or crawdads for catfish. I did forget to mention that the black bass are also feeding on crawdads.

Crappie are being found suspended over brush in 20 - 30 feet of water. They will be at different depths so you will need to keep testing until you start to catch fish. They tend to move higher in the water column as the sun warms the water.

Norfork Lake water level currently sits at 551.8, which is almost normal pool. Periodic power generation is occurring to maintain this normal pool level. The surface water temperature this morning was in the mid 70's. The main lake is somewhat clear, but all creeks and coves are stained. We did have a cold front roll through the area at the beginning of the week. This frontal system slowed the bite, but the weather has been stable ever since and the bite is getting strong again.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Early spring fishing on Norfork Lake is starting to take off. Striped bass are hitting during the morning hours and the after dark "night bite" is getting exciting. Largemouth bass and walleye are in shallow water and the crappie should be staging for their spawn. What more can you ask for?

I have been fishing the "night bite" for the last 3 evenings and am catching walleye, largemouth bass, spotted bass, striped bass and the occasional gar. All fish except for the walleye have been released, some at the dock after their photo op, some at the fishing location. We had stuffed fresh Norfork Lake walleye last evening and it was really really good! Some of you may ask what is the "night bite"? The striped bass and walleye are on the shoreline feeding after dark. I have been casting Smithwick Suspending Rogues to the shoreline. I get the bait as close to the shore as possible. Then let the bait sit for about 15 - 30 seconds before I start to reel it back to the boat very very slowly. If you think you are going slow try to go even slower. I have even stopped reeling half way back to the boat to let the bait sit for a couple seconds. I typically go out around 7PM and return around 10PM to the resort. I'm sure the fish will still bite later if you want to fish though out the night. 10 PM is late enough for me. I use a 6.75 ft medium light action rod with a spinning reel which has 8 pound Ande green monofilament line. So far this year, I have been fishing main lake points that the wind is blowing into. Typically you find the wind will lay down after dark. This wasn't the case last night. I fish points in the Cranfield area, Benetts/Fout area, Bidwell area, Float Creek, and have gone as far as the Diamond Bay area. I like to venture out and try different areas of the lake. Last evening was very windy which made it very difficult to control both the boat and the cast. I did manage to land one nice 14.75 pound striper which had a belly on it bigger than mine! I also caught a 4 foot gar, no fight until it was sitting next to the boat then it decided it had enough, it flipped, cut the line and swam off with my lure! You never know what is going to hit your bait. The morning bite for stripers is also starting to take off. Jeff in the above photo landed this nice 28 pound striper yesterday morning fishing in 20 feet of water. I fully expect the topwater bite for stripers to start very soon. Have your topwater baits ready. We carry a good supply of rogues and topwater baits in our resort store at reasonable rates.

Walleye are also hitting at night. I caught this nice 20 inch fish Monday evening fishing the Cranfield area. Walleye fishing should just get better in this area soon. The fish have been spawning. The spawn should be complete soon if it isn't finished already. Walleye will start to move down river to feed heavily at night. Dragging a crawler harness works great or casting rogues up to the banks works for me. There are plenty of walleye fishing methods, use your favorite and it will work on Norfork Lake.

Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and spotted bass are all up in shallow water early and late in the day. Casting rogues, working the bait as a jerk bait is working. Any jerk bait lure, soft or hard will work. Casting the Alabama rig is also catching fish. It is more difficult to cast and work with, but it will catch fish once you find them.

I don't have much news on crappie as I have been targeting stripers lately, but they should be staging for their spawn. The water temperature is getting right and the dogwoods should start to bloom very shortly. Find brush and fish shallow.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowly and currently sits at 552.13 feet above sea level. This is only slightly above normal pool of 552. The Corps is generating heavily to bring the lake back to normal pool. The lake temperature is in the mid 50's. In fact, I found the water temperature would change by 3 degrees depending where I was last evening. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are starting to clear, but still a nice stained color exists.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.