Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It seems like forever since I have been able to sit down and write up a Norfork Lake Fishing Report. I was starting to go though fishing withdrawal, but I am finally back on the lake. Fishing has really changed from my last report. The main change being that fish are starting to go into shallow water. I have been able to fish 3 days this week. The first day I spent traveling around the lake and doing a lot of graphing and looking with very little fishing. Day 2, I started out bass fishing just before sunrise. I started to throw a rogue on main lake points just outside of our cove. Largemouth and Kentucky bass were lying in wait. I began casting next to the bank and worked the bait as a jerk bait back to the boat. Most of my fish hit the bait half way back to the boat. I also started to see a lot of top water fish throughout the cove. I tried a little vertical jigging in 30 feet of water around brush with no success. I then headed back to the Bennett's area to see what the stripers were up to. I started fishing with live shiners about 30 feet deep, moved along a bluff line going between 30 and 60 feet of water and was marking plenty of fish. I ended up getting 4 hard bites, but as soon as I would get to the pole they released the bait. Today was day 3 and I decided to strictly fish for striped bass. It was a slow bite, but I finally landed this nice 15 pound Norfork Lake striped bass. I marked plenty of feeding fish, but they just seemed to ignore my bait most of the day. I was using live shiners. I did clean the striper and when I checked out what it had been eating I found it was just crammed full of small 1 inch fresh shad. I do know of several other nice sized stripers that were caught in the same general area that I was fishing. Fish have also been caught in Float and Panther creeks in the last several days. The night bite for striped bass should be taking off very shortly. I would like to see the water warm up a few degrees. This should happen very soon with the warm weather forecast.

Walleye fishing has also been really good up river. A couple of friends had a great fishing trip yesterday using with live chubs. Shiners and nightcrawlers should work as well. The walleye are in the middle of their spawn and should start moving down river very soon. The after dark rogue bite is starting to happen.

Crappie are over brush in shallow water. You will find them 5 - 20 feet down so try different depths until you locate them. Live bait has been working the best from reports that I have been getting. I was netting many nice size crappie back in the bayou in 10 feet of water while trying to find shad.

Start looking for several upcoming fishing events that will happen over the next couple of weeks. The white bass run and spawn should start to happen any time if not already. You will be able to find these fish on very shallow flats and in the backs of creeks, the smaller hybrids will also be hanging with them. The after dark bite for stripers and walleye with a slow rolling a jerk bait has already started, but will get much better once the water temperature gets closer to the mid 50's. Crappie will start to stage for their spawn. You will start to find the crappie in very shallow water along banks in coves and creeks. Look for fallen timber that is lying in the water.

This 6 pound 20 inch long trophy was born on Feb. 23, 2012. Jillian is my newest granddaughter. She is another reason for my delay in doing a fishing report. I spent several days in Texas after her birth. I had a blast playing with all 3 of my granddaughters. Jillian is definitely a keeper.

More fishing info next week as things change.

The Norfork Lake level is being held fairly stable at 551.88. The surface water temperature this morning before light was 49 in the main lake around the main lake bridges and was 51 - 52 degrees back around the 6A marker. The main lake is clear to slightly stained with the creeks and coves very stained. We have more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and several warm days to follow.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I want to again congratulate all the qualifiers of the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Pro-Am fishing Tournaments. Good luck at your upcoming Classic on Norfork Lake, The black bass fishing has been outstanding. Read on for some helpful tips for bass fishing on Norfork Lake. If you are still looking for a place to stay call Hummingbird Hideaway Resort at 870-492-5113. I will be able to give you some up to date tips on your arrival. Our dock and concrete launch is located less than 2 miles from Henderson Marina (take - off) and only 4 miles from the Ramada Inn. One of the closest resorts on  the lake to your take-off and weigh-in location.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing on Norfork Lake has been outstanding over the last few weeks. The fishing should only improve as the lake water temperature drops into the 60's. The surface temperature is still around 70 degrees, but the cool rain and the cooler evening air temperatures should drop the lake water temp. We currently have several guests who are bass fishing and love to throw a jig & pig. Their color of choice is a brown skirt around the jig head with a white chunk. Larry makes all of his own jigs. Most of the fish are being caught in 15 - 30 feet of water toward the bottom. After dark the bluff lines are producing nice fish and during the day main lake points at the end of a bluff line are holding fish. Sunken brush nearby is a tremendous added plus. I also found a little different pattern for big black bass. I was working a long wide flat that has the deep channel next to it. I found feeding fish on the bottom in about 35 feet of water. The fish could be seen on the locator and were stacked and feeding. Large smallmouth bass, spotted bass and walleye were in this area. I was actually using live bait at this time, but vertical jigging a spoon, swimming minnows or other plastics worked on the bottom should also produce some nice fish. The smallmouth below was 3 pounds and was caught this morning on windy points using a Jig & Pig.

Bluegill fishing has also been fantastic lately. Crickets have been working the best, but cut nightcrawlers threaded on the hook will work equally as well. Some really large thumpers are being caught. I guess the worse part of gill fishing is the cleaning, but the non stop catching action and of course the eating part out-weighs the cleaning.

Stripers are showing up all over the lake, but the bite is still slow. I hooked into a nice one yesterday morning, but it spit the hook as I was setting it. It was pulling drag so I have no idea why the hook did not set. Next time! I hooked into this fish in the Robinson area. I am marking some big arcs in the 40 - 50 feet range suspended in 60 - 80 feet of water. I will keep you updated when the bite takes off. The water should cool a little over the next couple of days so this should help.

The Norfork Lake level is fairly stable and sits at 551.67. Intermittent power generation is going on lowering the lake only about 1 inch per day, if that. The surface water temperature is in the very low 70's. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves cloudy. The short term weather forecast is for sunny and clear skies with the night time air temps in the upper 40's to low 50's and the day time temps are to be in the 70's to low 80's. The upcoming weekend looks gorgeous. The trees are definitely turning colors so all of you leaf peepers come on out and view our gorgeous scenery.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

If it wasn't for the 20 mile per hour wind it would be a great day to be on Norfork Lake. It has cooled off a bit today, but warmer and less windy days are not far off. The fishing is improving with the warm weather we had the last few days and if we get the warm south winds that are forecast, fishing should start to explode on Norfork Lake.

Stripers are being caught both during the early in the day and at dark and after dark. I fished Saturday evening and caught one nice fish and lost two others. The fish pictured was released after its photo op. I was throwing a rogue and slow rolling it back to the boat. Two important techniques to remember on the retrieval, reel really slow and reel all the back to the boat. The fish that are biting my bait are hitting it just before I lift it out of the water. I believe that they are following it all the way to the boat from the shoreline. One of my quests has been catching stripers with a 3 inch paddle tail grub. He has been catching bass, walleye and striper with this bait. He casts to the shore and lets it sink to the bottom and works it slowly back to the boat. Most of his fish are being caught in 10 - 25 feet of water. He has also had luck with a white Rapala Shallow Running crank bait. No pictures of Ed as he practices catch and release on most all fish.

Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line Guide Service took a couple of my guests out fishing this morning. Their trip was delayed for about 2 hours due to the lightening, but the late start did not effect the fishing. They were using good sized thread fin shad and were long lining the bait as well as pitching the bait to the shoreline. They ended up catching 5 stripers, 4 were released with the 20 pound fish in the photo going to become a wall mount.

Stripers are being caught at all ends of the lake. Bennetts, Cranfield, Pigeon, upriver, and down at the dam. All of my main information sources are fishing my end of the lake.

Bass fishing has been very good for most folks. Swimming minnows, twister tail grubs, and paddle tail grubs have all been productive baits. It appears slow motion is still working the best for bass. As the lake warms up into the 60's the bass will start looking for faster moving baits. There is also a small window of top water action early in the morning and right before dark. If you can get close enough to the schooling fish cast a top water bait or a rogue and work it through the active fish. Top water action will improve as the water temperature warms.

Crappie fishing is another thing. One to two weeks ago with all the warm weather the bite was getting very good. The cool weather last week slowed the bite, at least for my guests. Crappie are on the verge of spawning so the fish will be going to the banks. Look for fallen timber close to shore and cast a small grub, small swimming minnows, or a roadrunner. You can still find fish suspended over the brush and as the water warms the fish will not be very deep. With all the warm weather a week ago the fish were only 3 - 6 feet down.

The Norfork Lake water level is rising and currently sits at 549.61 ft. This is only a little more than 2 ft below normal pool. The lake has been gin clear, but with this mornings .4 inch of rain it should cloud up the water a little especially back in the creeks and coves. The water temperature yesterday was in the mid to upper 50's, but it has dropped several degrees today. Our end of the lake appears to be about 3 degrees warmer than areas south of Robinson.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It was a fantastic morning of fishing on Norfork Lake. I needed to put a few hours on the new motor to break it in so I headed toward the dam. I caught fish everywhere I stopped to look. I first stopped near the dam and was marking fish on the bottom in 40 - 45 feet of water. Then all of a sudden the stripers started to explode close to shore. They were chasing shad on the surface. I quickly got the rod with the Zara spook and on the first cast landed a 12 pound fish. I always have a rod ready with a Zara spook tied on. The fish continued to come up in the same area for about 30 minutes. I landed a second fish about 10 pounds and then I had my third on and after about a 5 minute fight it came unhooked. I checked out my hooks and all were bent out. I guess the first two fish took a toll on the hooks. I better change out the hooks to a stronger one before my next trip. My second spot was back in Koso. Again I was marking fish in 40 - 50 feet of water on the bottom. I started to vertical jig and caught 2 hybrids and a undersized smally. I then headed back into the Diamond Bay area and marked fish in the 35 - 45 feet range. This is where I landed the 18 inch largemouth and smallmouth bass. I also caught 2 whites in the same area. The bass and whites were all caught vertical jigging with a spoon.

All in all it was a great maiden voyage (or at least the first true fishing trip) in my new Skeeter Bay boat. I am really liking this boat!!!! I do have a shad tank on order so I will also be doing live bait fishing in the future. My new bay boat will allow me to be very versatile in my fishing methods.

I hope the early fall top water action is a good sign to how the fall fishing is going to be. I'm looking for a great fall fishing season.

I am getting encouraging reports from the crappie guides that they are starting to catch crappie on sunken brush piles. The brush should be in about 40 feet of water and the crappie are suspended from 20 feet all the way down to the brush. You will need to test various depths until you find the right one. Catfishing has been really good on trot lines and jugs. I have also caught quite a few spooning in 35 feet of water. The trot lines need to be in 15 to 20 feet of water, but as the water cools shallower depths will work.

The Norfork Lake water level is holding steady at 552.26. The surface water temperature has fallen to 77 degrees. The main lake is clear, but the creeks and coves are still a little murky.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been pretty good over the last week. It does seem that I have a great day then the next day is mediocre. I guess that is why they call it fishing. Today was one of those mediocre days. I ran all over the lake this morning and ended up catching 7 white bass at the last stop closest to the resort. Yesterday was much better, I landed this 10 pound striper and missed three others and was only out for a couple of hours. I had to be back at the resort to check out one of our pontoon boats. Tuesday was an OK day. I had one of our guests with me and we caught white bass, hybrids and this nice 12 pound striper. We caught it at the same location where I caught all the whites this morning. I am finding fish from the Robinson area to the dam. Most fish are being caught on main lake points anywhere from 45 feet to 80 feet of water. The fish are at 40 - 55 feet depths. There is still is a little top water action just as the sun is rising so have your favorite top water bait ready to go. I like the Zara Spook jr. I am still vertical jigging with a spoon and will continue this method of fishing into the fall. I will start fishing closer to brush piles once the water temperature gets back in the low 80's.

Catfish are being caught on trot lines and jugs using live bait. Cut bait will work, but the turtles and gar seem to get there before the catfish. Blue gill are biting good on crickets and nightcrawlers. Crappie are still slow but will pick up once the water temperature gets in the low 80's. Black bass are feeding shallow early and late in the day then they go deep in the heat of the day. I have been catching a few walleye when I get into 30 - 40 feet of water and they hit the same spoon I am using for striper fishing.

The Norfork Lake water level is falling slowly and currently sits at 551.6. The lake is clear. The surface water temperature is in the low 90's.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Vertical jigging with a spoon is in full swing on Norfork Lake. For those artificial bait fishermen and women who like to fish for all species of fish, try vertical jigging. I have fished for the last couple of days back in a creek and have spooned up white bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Kentucky bass, walleye, hybrid bass, catfish and sunfish. The only fish I have not caught in the last couple days are striped bass and crappie. I have spooned up both in the past in the same location. I have been fishing in 30 - 60 feet of water and am finding the fish either on the bottom or suspended in 30 - 40 feet of water. Drop the spoon next to the boat and let it fall to the bottom. Be prepared to set the hook at any time. The fish will pick up the spoon before it hits the bottom and your line will go slack, set the hook quickly. If you don't get fish on the drop start jigging the spoon up and down, sometimes high jigs and sometimes just twitch it. You will feel the fish on as you are raising the spoon off of the bottom. If still no fish after 5 or 6 jigs reel up quickly and you might get a fish to hit the spoon on the rise. Be patient and watch your electronics for schools of fish or large balls of shad. The fish will be hanging around the bait usually under them, but I have also found them on the top side. As always the live bait guides are doing well using live shad. Black bass and walleye are being caught back in creeks and off of main lake points in 25 - 30 feet of water all over the lake. Striped bass are being caught from Robinson area to the dam. They are back in creeks and coves and also in the main lake. You can find them in 40 - 55 feet of water on the bottom feeding on crawfish and they can also be found out in deep water suspended at the 40 foot level feeding on shad. Use your electronics and look for the schools. JFor catfish jugs and trotlines are working well baited with shiners or small bluegill.

The Norfork Lake level is falling slowing and currently sits at 554.09 feet above sea level. Two generators are currently being run. The lake surface water temperature is in the upper 80's to low 90's. The lake is generally clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been gorgeous the past week on Norfork Lake. The forecast is calling for warm sunny days with light winds for the upcoming Memorial Holiday Weekend. (We still have a few openings for those last minute plans.)

I have fished the last 5 mornings and have done well. I've caught largemouth bass, Kentucky bass, white bass, walleye, crappie and striped bass. The striped bass are are both deep and also pushing the shad to the surface. The past several days I have been using a spoon and vertical jigging, but today I got into some nice top water action. I caught these two stripers (one 14 pounds and one 10 pounds)on a Zara Spook. I caught these fish on 8 pound test monofilament line. I used my favorite spook, a junior sized one with a white body and chartreuse head. Stripers are being caught in the Fouts area, Float Creek, Panther Creek, Fall Creek, Cranfield area and the Robinson area. As you can see they are throughout our end of the lake.

On Sunday, a father and daughter team (Kevin and Abbie) took a guided trip with Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters and landed 4 nice stripers and lost 8 others. Tom was using live gizzard shad and caught the fish in 25 - 40 feet of water. He was fishing the Fouts / 6A area. The second photo is of Mary Ann, one of our Collinsville, IL guests. She spooned up this nice 10 pound striped bass suspended in 40 feet of water in the White Rock area. Doug and Mary Ann also caught white bass and black bass both on top water and vertical jigging and also trolled up a nice 6 pound hybrid in the Cranfield area. Another one of our fishing guests (not in a photo) has been catching nice sized largemouth and Kentucky bass. He has also caught several walleye, one 18 inches. Larry loves to use a jig and pig and last winter he made up over a hundred jigs in various colors. He also uses real pork rind instead of the plastic ones.

As you can see fishing has been pretty active lately. For the top water bite you need to be out on the lake before sunrise as the fish start to go deep as the sun gets above the tree line. Even though this morning the striper top water bite lasted until 9AM and was still going on slowly as I left. The top water action is spotty and the fish come up quickly and go back down. If you are in the right place at the right time your spook will catch these fish.

The Norfork Lake surface water temperature this morning was in the low to mid 70's, The lake level is rising slowing and currently sits at 560.18, 8 feet above normal pool. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are slightly stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of you wonderful and amazing Mothers. I hope you all had a nice day yesterday.

Welcome Basscat Owners. We have a great group of guys and gals staying with us that are fishing in the tournament. Several cabins are filled with guests we have gotten to know over the 8 years we've been here plus we get to welcome a few that are new to us. Good to see you all.

The weather on Norfork Lake has turned a little south the last couple of days. It has gotten slightly cooler and it started to rain last evening. We did need the rain, sorry Basscatters. But the good thing is that the weather hasn't seemed to affect the fishing much. Bass are still biting well on just about anything you throw at them. They are hanging at the edge of the buck brush, points and also on the bluff lines. Plastics Texas rigged and crank baits are working. There is still some top water at sun rise and also at sun set, so have your favorite top water bait tied on.

Walleye are being caught by the bass fishermen on crank baits. The walleye are hanging around the brush piles in 20 - 30 feet of water as well as on the bluff lines anywhere from 11 - 20 feet down. They are both suspended as well as on the bottom.

The crappie are starting to come alive. Live minnows on sunken brush are catching many nice slabs. The fish are being caught above the brush suspended close to the surface as well as buried in the brush pile. Find a good brush pile and throw out your marker. Leave this site for about 10 minutes to let things settle then return and cast in your minnow with a slip bobber. Try different depths until you find the feeding fish. A 15 1/2 inch crappie was caught off of my dock yesterday by one of our guests.

Catfish are starting to hit live shiners and crawfish on my trot line. Jugs are also working. It looks like the cats are starting to find their spawning grounds as they are full of eggs.

The striped bass are being caught all over the lake from the dam area to mid lake to the upper parts of the lake in Bennett's and before you get to the Missouri line. Live shad is working well, but artificial baits are also working early in the morning and right at sunset. Some top water action, but I am still hoping that the schooling top water is yet to occur and will happen soon. The stripers are feeding on shad as well as crawdads. Spooning may start to work when you find a school of stripers feeding at the bottom.

The Norfork Lake level is at 556.09, but will start to rise due to the rain. We have had close to an inch so far, with a 50% chance of more tonight. Right now there is no rain in the forecast for tomorrow. The lake surface water temperature last evening was in the mid 60's. The lake is clear, but might get a little stained with the rain.

Happy fishing and see you all on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake keeps getting better and better. Last Sunday two of our guests, Steve and Jeff, took a guided striper trip with Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line and caught several nice stripers and plenty of bass. The largest striper was 14 pounds. They used live shad were casting the bait without weight to a point in the dam area. The bite is still an early morning bite. In the afternoon look for the fish in deeper water. The fish are coming shallow again at sunset.

I have been fishing for the last 3 mornings and have been slamming the white bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass. We have also caught a few smallmouth and a nice 6 pound hybrid yesterday. This morning we caught eight 2+ pound white bass and at least 6 largemouth bass with the biggest weighing about 3.5 pounds. We missed more fish than we caught. All fish were caught on a Zara Spook and we worked it at different speeds. The fish were erupting all around us until the sun got over the trees. Then as stated before the fish switch was turned off. I have reports that fish are being caught in various locations, 6B, 6A, Panther, Float and also up the river from Cranfield. The top water bite is starting to take off and I hope it continues to improve. You will need to be out on the water before the sun rises. An additional report from one of my scuba diving guests is that he is marking fish from 11 - 17 feet down suspended on the deep bluff lines. Nothing is below 17 and nothing above 11. He is marking a lot of walleye and large bass.

I have been catching a catfish or two each day on my trot line. I caught my first blue for this year yesterday morning and it weighed 12 pounds. The rest of the cats have been flatheads. I have been using large live shiners.

Crappie are starting to bite again. Guests have been catching on brush piles that are in 20 - 30 ft of water and the fish are anywhere from 4 - 12 feet down. Live minnows have been working the best. The hottest spot has been under my dock. Two days ago a guest limited out and yesterday he caught 8 with the monster being 15 inches long. These fish are being caught in the middle of the day.

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly with no generation and currently sits at 555.92. The surface water temperature was 64 - 66 degrees this morning. The lake is very clear.

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