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

Norfork Lake is in great shape and fishing has been very good. The lake is in the final stage of  summer fishing pattern. Some species will start to migrate to the cooler waters up in the northern parts of the lake. Other species tend to move into cover, as well as, start to feed heavily on large flats. As the water continues to cool, fish will become more and more active and start to move into shallower water. The lake is shaping up for a great fall fishing season.

The crappie bite is improving daily. I am starting to find some nice size crappie in brush located 30 - 35 feet deep. Most of the crappie I have caught lately have been 25 - 30 feet down in or near brush. In the afternoon the fish are coming up in the water column so you might check out anywhere from 15 - 30 feet deep over or near brush. You will still find some nice slabs roaming the flats following bait fish. My fishing method of choice has been to vertical jig a spoon. I have been using a 1/4 ounce to a 1/2 ounce spoon. I have also downsized my fishing line to 4 and 6 pound test, low visibility monofilament line. My favorite color choices for spoons has been all white, white with a chartreuse back, or white with a red throat. Small grubs with a twister tail would also be a good bait choice in similar color schemes as mentioned above. Live bait, as usual will work great with a small slip float.

White bass fishing has been very good. Lately I have started my mornings fishing a large flat in the Cranfield area right before sunrise. Large schools of white bass are roaming the flats chasing shad. I have found this species in 18 feet of water out to 40 feet of water. The fish are suspended from the surface down to about 30 feet. I have mainly been vertical jigging a 1/2 ounce spoon. There has been some topwater action in the mornings right at day break, but the afternoon topwater bite, right before sunset, has been better. When you get into topwater action throw your favorite topwater bait or a blade type bait. I mainly been use a Kastmaster (blade bait) when I know the fish are close to the surface. I can cast this bait a long way and I can also let it sink if the fish go down.

Walleye fishing has also been good. Trolling a crawler harness with an inline spinner and bottom bouncing weight has been picking up some nice fish. One day they are in 25 feet of water then the next they move to 35 feet of water. Keep checking different depths until you start picking up some fish. I have caught walleye as deep as 65 feet on the bottom while striped bass fishing over the last week. You will also find some walleye in or near brush in the 30 - 35 feet range. Live threadfin shad was the bait that I had down. The walleye are located lake wide so you do have plenty of choices.

Striped bass fishing is still good in the dam area. Live bait is working the best, but vertical jigging a one ounce spoon is also picking up some nice fish. The striped bass are 60 - 70 feet down on the bottom, but you will find some schools of fish suspended in the deep channels, but still 60 - 70 feet down. Before long the striped bass will start their northward migration to the cooler water.

The surface water temperature of Norfork Lake has dropped a little from my last report. In the morning the temperature has been 81 with a slight rise during the daylight hours. The lake level is remaining fairly stable and currently sits at 552.14 feet. The main lake is clear on the surface and some creeks and coves are slightly stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake is still in its summer fishing pattern. This typically lasts until around mid September, when the striped bass will then scatter and heads to the cooler water northward. The lake currently has a thermocline which has set up around 25 - 30 feet. There is warm water down to the thermocline then the water temperature drops drastically below the line. Many of the fish species hang out right around the thermocline, so fishing in 20 to 35 feet of water will produce some nice fish. Overall fishing has stayed fairly consistent since my last report.

The biggest change has been with the striped bass. They are going deeper, at least I am finding the larger fish on the bottom in around 60 - 70 feet of water. This is not to say you will not find striped bass shallower. One of our guests at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort was jigging a 1/2 ounce chrome Kastmaster in 35 feet of water the other day and landed a nice 15 pound fish. I am marking fish from 35 feet down to the bottom. My fishing time typically is from around 5:30AM until about 9:30AM. In the dark I have been using live shad set at 35 and 45 feet deep. I have found large schools of fish cruising around in the dark. As the sun comes up they do tend to go deeper. When they go deeper I switch to a spoon and start to vertical jig at the depth where I find the fish. When I find a large school I also cast out a large Rooster Tail type spinning bait. Cast the bait out and let it sink to the bottom, then reel up though the fish and hang on. The striped bass are being very aggressive at this time and are hammering the baits and are giving a great fight. One major item to remember is that most of the striped bass you catch at this time will die if you release them due to the temperature of the water. So when you catch a fish you should keep it and when you get your limit, switch your fishing tactics and fish for other species. Catch and release at this time is not a good idea for striped bass at this time. Trolling is also picking up some good fish. You will need to get your baits down to below 35 feet to catch some decent fish. I have been fishing points from a little south of point 2 down to the dam and a little east of the dam up towards Jordan area.

Walleye fishing has also been good, but they are at all depths. I have caught walleye in 50 feet of water as well as at 20 - 30 feet of water. A crawler harness with bottom bouncing weights is working well, as well as, deep diving crank baits as long as you can get them very close to the bottom. Brush piles in 30 - 40 feet of water are also holding some nice fish.

Bass fishing has been fair. I have picked up some nice spotted bass, as well as, largemouth bass in 25 - 35 feet of water by vertical jigging a spoon. Brush piles are also holding some fish. Early and late in the day you can also get a few nice bass on topwater back in the creeks and coves.

Norfork Lake is holding fairly stable on water depth. Currently the lake depth is 552.41. The main lake is clear and some of the creeks and coves are stained. The current surface water temperature is in the mid 80's.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake fishing has been good and has had some very interesting occurrences that are not typical based on my prior years experience. If you are looking for some fun topwater action, it has been occurring for the last several weeks. White bass and hybrids are erupting in the mid-lake to northern parts of the lake in the mornings and the afternoons. The small to mid sized whites are on the surface, but if you get down 5 - 10 feet the bigger whites are feeding heavily. I suggested using a Kastmaster, blade type bait, to some of my guests. They found the feeding frenzy this morning and had a blast.

The catfish bite is also doing very well. Some of our guests have set trot lines in coves in about 10 feet of water and are catching blues and channels over night, as well as, a few during the day. I have caught some really nice size blues in about 50 feet of water on the sides of points with a sharp drop off. My catfish have been caught using live thread fin shad.

The striped bass and hybrid bass bite is good if you can locate the schools of fish. I have been fishing in 2 different areas, but I can see the fish are slowing moving out. I did a little looking around different areas from Point 2 down towards the Jordan area. I marked a few fish in all areas, but didn't find anything really exciting. In the last spot I did find small schools of stripers that were still feeding. A first time striped bass fisherwomen landed a nice 8 pounder out of this school. We had 2 other rods bent to the water at the same time, but we missed both of them. After this flurry of activity the fish moved on and we headed home. I am going to check this spot out much earlier in the morning tomorrow. I have been mainly using thread fin shad, but spoons are also working. If you enjoy trolling you should be able to pick up some nice fish. Umbrella rigs and swim baits are both catching fish. The trick is to get your bait down to 30 - 40 feet deep. Look from Point 2  to the dam out in the deeper water along bluff lines and main lake points.

Norfork Lake is holding fairly stable for both the lake level, and the surface water temperature. The lake currently sits at 554.30 ft. and the surface water temperature this morning was 87 degrees. The main lake is clear and some of the creeks and coves are somewhat stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

The holiday weekend was a very busy time for Norfork Lake. There were many fishermen and women out on the lake catching plenty of fish. Others were enjoying the great weather that we had by playing in the warm, clean and clear water of Norfork Lake. It appeared that all of our guests had a great time and no one wanted to leave.

The striped bass, hybrid bass and white bass bite has been outstanding for the last couple of weeks. There has been plenty of topwater action for all of these species. The best time for topwater action starts at sunrise, lasts for a couple of hours and then happens again at sunset. You may need to move around to find the white water, but they are coming up all over the lake at various locations and depths. If you only see one fish come up and you are close enough, cast a topwater lure because there will be more in the area and they will come up for your bait. Today I fished in a major creek and had a fantastic time. Landed 8 striper and hybrids using live thread fin shad. They were exploding on my free swimming baits and were also hitting baits that I had on with a 1/8 ounce split shot. I was moving slowly with my trolling motor about 1/2 mile an hour. I started fishing along a shoreline in 30 feet of water and started to catch hybrids. I then moved out to 60 feet of water and started to catch stripers. Swim baits and Alabama rigs are also working well to catch these fish. I am starting to mark big arcs suspended down 20 - 50 feet, so the stripers are starting to move down to the cooler water. As the water continues to warm the topwater action for the stripers will stop and then restart in the fall when the water starts to cool. The fish that I cleaned today were full of crawdads telling me they are feeding close to shore at some point during the day. The moon is full so I would assume they are feeding heavily at night.

The large and smallmouth bass bite is still very good. Topwater baits, flukes and jerk baits are all catching nice fish. In the mornings work the shallow water that has sunken buck brush. As the sun gets higher move out to about 10 - 20 feet of water and work the bottom with your plastics. Bluff line points are holding some nice smallmouth bass. On occasion you will find the bass out in deep water feeding on the surface and topwater baits will work great.

The walleye bite has also been good. They are being found inside of the sunken buck brush, as well as along deep bluff line where the channel is making a swing. Jerk baits, swim baits and casting spoons are all working.

The crappie bite has been fantastic under docks in the middle of the day and also after dark. Small jigs and spoons are catching fish as well as small minnows. The fish appear to be from 15 feet down up to the surface.

Norfork Lake level is falling about 3 inches per day with constant power generation. The current lake level is 564.59. The surface water temperature is on the rise and was in the low 80's this morning. The main lake is clear with some of the coves slightly stained

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

The bite for all species on Norfork Lake has been outstanding for the last week. The lake has finally stabilized, the weather has stabilized, the threadfin shad are spawning and the surface water temperature has reached the 70's. Perfect fishing conditions.

Striped bass, hybrid bass and white bass fishing has been very good over the last 7 days. Currently the best bite has been from the start of dawn until the sun gets above the tree line. The same holds true for the evening bite which is just prior to sunset until it becomes dark. With the shad spawn ongoing, using live bait has been excellent. I have mainly been using free swimming shad. I either pitch the bait up close to the shore and let it swim or I have been slowly moving with a free swimming bait behind the boat while still staying in 20 feet or less of water. Main lake points that have a lot of sunken brush seem to be holding the most fish. There has been good topwater action for these species throughout the week. It may not be consistent in a certain location, but the stripers are coming up somewhere on the lake in the early morning and late in the day. Artificial baits that are working with my old standby method of walking the dog, are topwater baits, paddle tail swimbaits, flukes and blade type baits.

The largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass bite has also been excellent. The shad spawn, as well as their own spawn has been ongoing. The largemouth and spotted bass are inside of the sunken shoreline brush or just on the outside edge of the brush in the same locations as the striped and hybrid bass. Live bait is working excellent. Artificial baits that are producing some nice fish are a topwater bait worked on top of the brush, but one of the best bites is with a fluke type bait. Cast your fluke inside of the brush and just give it little twitches and watch the bass come up and hammer the bait. Plastics, such as a lizard with no weight or very little weight are also producing. A good color at this time is a dark green with some flakes in it.

Crappie fishing has also been good. Most of this species have spawned, but there are still a few that are full of eggs. A great place to catch crappie in the middle of the day is under a covered dock that has some sort of underwater cover. Live minnows are working the best, but small plastic jigs are also producing some nice fish. The crappie are also moving back to the brush. Look for brush in 20 - 25 feet of water and there will be fish.

Norfork Lake has finally stabilized and is actually falling slightly with 2 generators being run for approximately half of the day. The current level is 565.53. The surface water temperature has risen to the mid 70's and if the high daytime temperature continues, the water temperature will continue to rise. Currently our air temperatures have been in the upper 80's to maybe the low 90's during the day and the mid to upper 60's at night. The water is clear for most of the lake with a slight stain in some of the creeks and coves.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake had a great spawn this year. There are many white bass, largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass in this lake. When you are fishing you will catch many smaller fish, but you will catch your fair share of the larger hybrids, stripers, crappie, white bass and large & smallmouth bass as well. I had many of our family members with us over the holiday and we got to fish most days. We caught many fish, not a lot of the big stripers and hybrids, but we did manage to land a few. As you would guess, as soon as all had to leave I started to find  hybrids early in the morning in the same areas where we were fishing.

I am still fishing the flats and have found that at day break there are big fish feeding in shallower water. I landed big 10 pound hybrids the last 2 days sitting in 17 feet of water and casting out a Kastmaster. When I retrieve my bait I let it sink about 6 to 8 seconds then I reel a little, then jerk and let it sink a little, then start it all over again until I get to the boat. The fish have typically hit the bait while it is falling. I am guessing I am 8 to 15 deep with my bait. After this early morning bite I have been vertical jigging with a spoon. I look for the bait and typically will find the fish feeding. I drop a spoon to the fish and start jigging. Most of my fish are off the bottom, but I am seeing many suspended fish which appear to be the bigger ones. You want to reel up to the suspended fish and jig at their level. I have been fishing several flats, Big Sandy a little east of 101 boat dock, the flat in front of Fouts ramp and campground, the flat before you get to 6B which we call the cow pasture. Going west of our resort, Hummingbird Hideaway Resort, I have fished the big flat in front of Mallard Point, Cranfield Island flat and heading up river to Seward Point flat. There are whites on all these flats and you will run into schooling hybrids and stripers at any time. I have had a friend fishing Big Creek with live shiners and doing very well back by 1C and Reynolds Island for striped and hybrid bass.

Crappie are biting fairly well. They are on brush in 20 - 35 feet of water and can be at any level depending on the time of day you are fishing. The crappie are mostly on the brush, but have been moving off the brush in towards the shoreline  later in the day. Live bait is working the best, but spoons and small jigs are still picking up some nice sized fish.

Bass fishing has not really changed from my last report. I am still finding them on the flats in 30 feet of water feeding on shad. Typically when I find them they are on the outside edge of the flat which is coming close to a deep channel or an old creek channel. Jigging with a spoon works for me to catch these fish, but casting out a heavy jig will also pick up these fish. You could also try a finesse Ned Rig once you locate the fish. Crank baits are also picking up a lot of fish, most  on the small side, but with several keepers. Look at casting on the wind blown points along the bluff lines. Jigging around brush piles is also a very good area to pick up some nice fish. Bait is typically inside of the brush so the bass will be hanging around the outside of the brush wait to ambush that stray shad.

I have had guests walleye fishing and doing well right before and just after dark, casting suspending jerk baits up to the shore on the shallow banks. The moon is starting to get big so the walleye bite will even get better after dark.

Norfork Lake level is falling very slowly and currently sits at 551.73. The lake surface water temperature is 58 - 60 degrees and falling very slowly. The water is still stained both on the main lake as well as in the creeks and coves. The water clarity will get clearer the closer you get to the dam.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort

Crappie and bass are biting exceptionally well on Norfork Lake at this time. The last month has been one of the best crappie bites I have seen in quite a while. The crappie have schooled on sunken brush and are at all depths, depending on the depth of the brush.  I have a couple of sunken trees where I have been fishing that has branches that are only 10 feet under the surface, and other brush piles are coming up to about 20 feet. Most of the time I am catching the crappie on the top of the brush no matter of the depth. I have been jigging a 1/4 ounce spoon (white with a green back), but others are jigging with a hair jig or little grubs with a twister or paddle tail. Live crappie minnows with a slip float are also working really well. I am catching very few short crappie, but the majority of the fish are just in the 10 - 12 inch range. One of my guests did land a nice 14 inch crappie last weekend.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are starting on their fall feed. They are feeding on small minnows as well as crawdads. This morning I was vertical jigging with a spoon along a bluff line in 20 - 30 feet of water and ran across a small school of smallmouth bass laying on the bottom. I marked the fish with my depth finder and then they starting attacking my small 1/4 spoon. I ended up landing three very nice smallies,  they sure are a lot of fun to battle on a light weight rod with 6 pound test. I also landed several other small largemouth bass in the same type of area. One of my guests this morning, for a hour, caught largemouth and spotted bass in 30 - 32 feet of water on a large flat area. His fish were feeding on crawdads. He was vertical jigging with a 1/2 ounce spoon. Last week I had a family out bass fishing, their son had lots and lots of fun landing many bass. His best bait was a Texas rigged worm worked along a bluff line. His fish were coming out of 15 - 25 feet of water and most on the bottom.

Striped bass fishing is still off, at least for me, but with the upcoming cooler weather, I believe we will see some activity in this species over the next couple of weeks. I did get into some feeding hybrids last Friday in 18 feet of water several hours before sunrise. The striped bass are still scattered though out the lake waiting for a water temperature that makes them feel good.


The surface water temperature is holding around 76 degrees in the early morning and rises a few degrees with the heat of the day. Cooler weather is on its way so we should start seeing a steady fall in water temperature over the next week. The lake level has reached normal pool and generators are being run sporadically to maintain this level. The stabilization of the lake should help improve the bite for all species. The creeks and coves are stained and the main lake appears to be clearing to clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Norfork Lake fishing is transitioning from the summer fishing pattern to the fall fishing pattern. The crappie bite has been outstanding, bass bite is good, catfishing has been good, walleye bite is fair and the striper bite for most anglers has been slow.


My guests and I have been finding crappie on main lake brush piles. The most productive brush piles should be in 35 feet or less of water and the crappie will be inside of the brush and up to the top of the brush pile. As the water warms during the day the crappie are moving up higher in the water column and have been caught as shallow as 8 feet down, but still suspended over the brush or very close to the brush. Small live crappie minnows called tuffies are a great bait for catching crappie. Rig up a light action rod with 4 pound test line (clear or green) add a slip float and a small split shot. Set the slip shot about 2 feet above the bait hook. I typically use a #6 to a #10 hook with a little longer shank. If you can net your own bait small thread fin shad will also be outstanding. For artificial baits, I have been having good success with a 1/4 ounce spoon vertical jigging it at the depth where I see the fish or at the top of the brush. Small grubs with a twister tail or a paddle tail are also a great bait to use. I typically use my artificial baits without a float, but for some, adding a slip float may make it easier to find your depth and keep it consistent once you find the depth where the fish are feeding. When using a grub you can always add a small crappie minnow to the hook, which may get you more strikes.


Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing has been good and appears to be getting better every day. I am finding this specie in many different types of areas. Last evening I was crappie fishing over a brush pile close to a bluff line. As the sun was setting the bass starting feeding on the surface. Top water action lasted for about 20 minutes until the sun set below the tree line. Many of the fish coming up were small, but I did get to land a couple of 2.5 pound spotted bass. This morning as I was checking out some new brush on a bluff line point, I noticed many fish suspended 8 - 15 feet down. I tied on a wiggle wart and started to catch largemouth bass, but most were on the short side. Most of my bigger fish have come out of 28 - 30 feet of water on the bottom. I have been vertical jigging a 3/4 ounce spoon on the bottom either along a bluff line or a big rounded main lake point looking for walleye, and have run into small schools of large and smallmouth bass. Once I find these fish I can usually land 2 before the school moves on and I continue jigging. In general, very early and very late in the day, the bigger fish are moving up to the surface and some up along the shore line. Mid day they move down into 30 feet of water.

Walleye fishing has been fair. I have not been able to identify a good pattern except that all my walleye have come out of 28 feet of water either close to brush or close to a main lake bluff line point. I have only used a spoon and have been vertical jigging. A bottom bouncer weight with a crawler harness or a drop shot rig with a worm or minnow will also work. Deep diving crank baits that will get you down to the 30 feet level should also pick up a few nice fish.

Catfish are hanging around the brush piles in 28 - 35 feet of water. I have landed nice sized flatheads and channel cats vertical jigging a 3/4 ounce spoon. Crawler harnesses or drop shot rigs will also pick up some nice fish.

Striped bass fishing has been slow, at least for me. I have been able to land a few, but I have only actually targeted stripers a few times over the last couple of weeks. I found stripers on a large flat in the midlake area and landed several fish using live thread fin shad. I found stripers before sunrise in 20 - 30 feet of water on the bottom feeding. In addition, I have found small schools of stripers about 10 feet down in 20 - 40 feet of water. I have been setting 2 down poles with live bait at 20 - 25 feet and 2 free lines with only a very small split shot. I have landed stripers on both down and free swimmers. Once the sun comes up they disappear. I have also picked up several nice sized stripers while jigging my 3/4 ounce spoon. These stripers were close to brush piles or along bluff lines. This tells me we have a lot of scattered fish which will school up again once the water cools. A third area which I have not tried yet, but typically is productive this time of year, is up river in the Missouri waters. Look from Calamity area up to point 10 and beyond. I wouldn't be surprised if the stripers have even migrated farther up river since the dam in the Dawt Mill area has been removed.

Norfork Lake level is falling about 3 inches per day with the equivalent of one generator being run and currently is 557.72. This level is only 2 feet above normal seasonal pool. The lake surface temperature is ranging from 77 degrees in the morning to the very low 80's in the afternoon. The mid to upper portion of the main lake is clear to some what stained with the coves and creeks stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.