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

There are currently 3 good bites on the lake making fishing Norfork Lake fun for everyone. Striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, and crappie are the 3 best bites on the lake at this time.

You can find largemouth bass in several different types of areas. Bluff walls have been very productive. The fish can be up tight to the rocks or suspended out from the bluff. Most of these fish are 10 to 20 feet down either on the bottom or suspended over deep water. A-rigs are working great with white swimbaits. You can judge how heavy of a jig head you need

depending on the depth you want to get the bait to. Typical ¼ ounce works great. If you are using an A-rig that already has added weight to the center piece you may only want a hook with no weight. Crank baits, jigs and spinners are also producing some nice fish. There are still some nice fish hugging the bottom off of long rocky points from 30 to 40 feet down. My best way to catch these deep fish is to vertical jig a spoon slowly right on the bottom.

Striped bass are still in their winter pattern. Basically, this is saying that the bait has moved out to the deep-water river channels or very close to the channel. You will find streams of bait 10 to 30 feet thick and the stripers will be very close by. I find the striped bass on top of the bait, at the bottom of the bait or some are even buried inside the bait. If there is a deep flat next to the channel you may find large schools of stripers cruising through the flat, but they always stay close to the large streams of bait. The bait is typically suspended 30 to 60 feet down. This depth will vary, and the thickness of the bait will vary. The fish will be found suspended at the same depths as the bait. There are various methods to fish for this species. Live

bait is a tried-and-true method, vertical jigging a one-ounce spoon, vertical jigging a 3-inch swim bait with a 3/8-ounce jig head or trolling swimbaits, umbrella rigs, or hard crank baits. The key is to get your bait at the same depth as the fish. This pattern will stick around until the water temperature starts to warm, which should be in the next couple of weeks. With the warmer water the bait tends to start to move back in the creeks or farther upriver. When the bait moves the stripers will be chasing.

Crappie are on brush. Find brush in 20 to 40 feet of water. The fish will be at all depths depending on the time of day. Early and late in the day they are typically suspended on top of the brush and on occasion only 5 to 10 feet down. Mid-day they tend to drop a little deeper. Of course, the weather plays a big role on how the bait acts in the brush, and just like all fish species they tend to follow their food

source. This morning I hit a couple of brush piles. It was a very cloudy windy day and the fish seemed to be deeper and buried inside of the brush. Live bait, small twister tail grubs with a 1/16-ounce jig head and a small 1/8 – ¼ ounce spoon are all working great.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in the 45 to 46 degree range but may start to rise slowly with the spring type weather we are having. The lake level has been rising slowly with minimal power generation and currently sits at 552.75 feet msl. The lake is trying to clear but still remains slightly stained.

I post almost daily on Facebook. If you want more frequent information, please visit and Like Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

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

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been concentrating my fishing habit on finding and catching striped and hybrid bass with a little bass fishing thrown in. The bite has been good for me. I’ve used several different fishing methods to catch this species. Live bait is the easiest and a very good way to catch striped bass. You can purchase large shiners, or you can try and net your own threadfin shad, but that is difficult at this time as they are deep. One of my favorite methods is vertical jigging a one-ounce spoon. My preferred color at this time is white. Another bait that I have been vertical

jigging is a 3-inch soft plastic spit tail bait, similar to a fluke with a 3/8-ounce jig head. This method is a little harder to fish due to the lightweight bait. It falls slowly and it’s hard to get to the fish in a timely fashion. I fished with a guide friend, Chad Bleeker of Norfork Bayou Fishing last week, and he showed me this method. It worked really well with using his Garmin Livescope. I have added this new electronic to my wish list. I also like to cast out a Kastmaster, blade style bait. I let the bait sink to the desired depth and slowly reel back to the boat in a jerking motion. The fish typically hit it on the fall. I use the Kastmaster when I see the fish on my sidescan and when they are shallower, say 20 to 30 feet deep. The final method that I

use is to troll a hard crankbait. I use the Berkley Flicker Minnow, sizes #7 and #9. I use the 50/50 rule with a one-ounce snap weight which will get the bait down to 30 feet. Use a 2-ounce weight if you want to get to about 40 feet. When I troll, I use my trolling motor and go about 1.4 mph. The key to catching these fish, once you find them, is to get your bait to the depth where the fish are.

I have been finding striped and hybrid bass in 2 types of areas. They have been out in deep water near the old river channel in 70 to 100+ feet of water. The second area has been on a large deep flat in 50 to 70 feet of water. The key clue for finding stripers is to find the bait fish. If you can find a large concentration of bait the stripers will typically be in the area. I have found bait and fish from the Cranfield area to the mid lake bridges, then from these bridges back

to the 101 Boat Dock area. The bait has been moving back and forth in this vast area and sometimes overnight. The stripers and hybrids have been suspended from 20 feet down to 60 feet and anywhere in between.

Largemouth bass fishing has also been very good. The fish I have been finding are out chasing shad along with the striped/hybrid bass. The Kastmaster has worked great for me as these fish seem to be only 20 to 30 feet down. The second and best area for me has been in 33 to 40 feet of water off of long rocky points. The points are usually at the end of a bluff line that leads into a cove. The outside edge of the point has been more productive for me than the inside. I use my 1-ounce spoon and jig it slowly on the bottom. Sometimes I leave it laying on the bottom briefly and it seems the bass suck it in at this point.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is holding in the 45 – 46 degree range but may drop a little more with this incoming winter storm. The lake level is

holding fairly stable at this time with minimal power generation and currently sits at 552.61 ft. msl. The lake remains slightly stained.

I post almost daily on facebook. If you want more frequent information, please visit and like Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s facebook page.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

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

The bite for all species on Norfork Lake continues to improve as the lake temperature drops. This morning the lake temp was about 72.5 degrees.  Currently the largemouth bass bite has been best for me. You can find this species in several different areas. My best location is in 28 to 36 feet of water, on the outside edge of large shallow flats. The fish are schooling and when you find the school you can catch multiple fish in the same area, as they are in a feeding frenzy. My preferred method to catch them  is to vertical jig with a ½ to 1 ounce spoon. They seem to hit the spoon on the fall or when it hits the bottom. Be ready to set the hook. The other location is up shallow either on the shallow shore lines or up close to the deep bluff lines. The best bite for these shallow fish is either right after sunrise or before sunset. Shallow diving crank baits long plastic worms have been

working the bests. Spinner baits and buzz baits are working on the windy days.

Walleye are still biting, but seemed to have scattered out a bit. I am still catching a few on the bottom in 30 feet of water on main lake points or along a shallow shoreline. I am catching this species by vertical jigging a spoon or by trolling a #7 Berkley Flicker Minnow. Either way you need to get the bait down to the 30-foot depth.

Striped bass fishing is starting to pick up. These fish are beginning to feed heavily again after a long hot summer. They are showing up in several different types of areas and at different times of day. I am finding them scattered out feeding along side of the largemouth bass, either after sunrise or before sunset. If it is a cloudy, windy day, it seems like you can find them all day long. I will find small schools cruising along the bottom feeding on shad. My 1-ounce spoon has picked up some nice fish. Hang on as they are getting energetic. If you are an in the dark type of fisherperson, this species is starting to feed after

sunset and all night long. Several of our guests are having good success trolling crankbaits that dive about 16 feet. They are trolling on large flats but trying to stay in 20 to 35 feet of water. The best times have been about 2 or 3 hours after sunset. This morning I caught a nice striped bass before sunrise trolling a # 7 flicker minnow. This bait dives about 13 to 15 feet. I caught one and missed another in about 20 feet of water off of a shallow sandy shoreline. Another area where striped bass are showing up is back in the major creeks. Look at very shallow water early in the mornings, then out in a little deeper water as the sun gets high in the sky.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature was slightly less than 73 degrees this morning. The lake has become fairly stable with just a very slight drop and currently sits at 553.15 feet MSL. It is lightly stained from the mid-lake area and heading north. The lake is currently in its slow progression to a lake turnover. The water temperature is the same down to 50 feet with great oxygen. The water temp cools off below 50 feet and the oxygen level basically is non-existent below this level.

Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

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

Norfork Lake fishing is still in its summer time fishing pattern, but cooler nights are starting to slowly lower the water temperature. This summer has not been typical for some species in the lake especially striped bass. Typically, by this time of year the fish are in 80 feet of water and lying on the bottom. This year you can find striped bass cruising in the deep-water channels in the dam area and the fish are suspended 30 to 35 feet down. Trolling with down riggers, lead core line or snap weights have all been working very well to help get the bait down to the target depth of 30 – 35 feet. Swim baits, jigs with long trailers and crank baits have all been catching fish.

I have been mainly fishing for walleye for the last several weeks. Long main lake points have been holding walleye at 30 to 33 feet depths. I have been vertical jigging with a ½ ounce spoon starting around 5:30AM in the morning, then I switch to slow trolling Berkley Flicker Minnows. When you are vertical

jigging with the spoon you need to bounce the bait off the bottom. It seems that most of the fish have hit the spoon on the fall, or immediately as the spoon hits the bottom. Be ready to set your hook. My method of trolling is by using my trolling motor and traveling 1.2 to 1.4 mph. I cast my bait out about 50 feet from the boat, then I clip on a 1-ounce snap weight and let out another 50 feet of line. I use a #7 Berkley Flicker Minnow tied onto 8-pound test monofilament line. This method and bait is getting down to the 30 feet strike zone. Colors have varied for me depending on what the weather is like. On sunny days the white or the white & chartreuse lures have worked the best but on cloudy days a darker color, such as purple seems to work better. Walleye can be found all over the lake at this time as they do not migrate due to water temperature and oxygen levels like striped bass do.  Find long main lake points that have a deep side and a shallower side, especially if the shallower side leads into a large flat. In general, I have found a walleye on every point I troll, but some points seem to hold numerous fish while other points just a couple.

Bass fishing has been improving daily. I have been catching some big spotted bass while trolling for walleye with the Flicker Minnows. Over the last couple of days, I have been finding small schools of big largemouth bass in the same walleye areas, but they are in 34 feet of water. Vertical jigging with a spoon for these deeper largemouth is picking up a few really nice fish. This morning (9/14) I found one of these schools. I hooked into and lost 4 nice fish before I finally got one of them to the surface. It proceeded to jump clear out of the water next to the boat and shake off the hook. At least I found out what I was hooking into. 😉 I have also found largemouth pushing shad back against a bluff wall and feeding heavily. You will find largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in shallow water early and late in the day. Crank baits, jig and pigs, spinners and chatter baits are all producing some nice fish along with working a worm along the bottom. A final area where I have found largemouth and spotted bass is out in deep water

chasing shad on top. What you will find is a group of fish feeding heavily on the surface for a very short time, then they go down and come up again 100 feet away. This bite seems to be happening mid to late morning. I went to an area where I found topwater action about 4 days ago and they were still there. I looked around saw an area where the fish seemed to be coming up more frequently. I sat and waited and the fish kept coming up. Most were smaller largemouth, but I did get to land a nice 4 pounder. I was throwing my silver Kastmaster with a feather trailer. I like this bait because I can cast it farther than any other bait that I have.

Crappie are moving back onto brush. I have not done a lot of crappie fishing, but I have checked out several big brush piles, back in creeks, as well as on main lake points. The fish have been suspended from 10 to 20 feet down over brush that is 30 feet deep.  I was jigging with a ½ ounce and a ¼ white spoon and both caught fish. Fish were all in the 10-inch range. The bigger slabs might still be roaming out in

their summer time rock ledge hideouts. It will not be long until the brush is full of big slabs. W need a little cooler water temperature.

The surface water temperature this morning was 82 degrees. The lake level is currently at 555.84 ft MSL and continues to fall slowly. Main lake is mostly clear and the creeks and coves are slightly stained.

For a frequent fishing update on Norfork Lake go to Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page.

Enjoy Norfork Lake and have a great time fishing.

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

The fall fishing season on Norfork Lake has started. This means to me that all species start feeding heavily for the cold winter months. But the best part is that most species school up to feed. When you get into a feeding school of fish, you’ll have a blast.

For me the bass bite has been the best over the last week. You can find this species all over the lake and in several different types of areas. The area that has been best for me is in 30 to 40 feet of water on the edges of large flats. Typically, this is close to a ledge or at an area that gets deeper very quickly. Use your GPS to find contour lines that are very close together on the outer edge of the flat which will show the contour lines farther apart. The bait likes this type of area and the bass will be feeding heavily. I like to vertical jig with a spoon, from ½ to 1 ounce depending on the wind conditions. Drop shot rigs with a small worm should work great. A second method that is still working is to cast out a crankbait that dives 12 to 15 feet deep. The fish might be on bluffs or on the

shallow side of the lake. White with a chartreuse back has been the best colors for both crankbaits and spoons. The old standby, worm or jig fishing, is also catching some nice fish.

Over the last week white bass have started to show up in large schools more consistently. You may find this species feeding on the bottom, suspended, or just cruising through the area. I am finding whites in a variety of depths, but recently it seems that 30 to 40 feet is the magic number. The easiest time to catch them is when they are feeding on the bottom. I vertical jig with a spoon and the best thing is that when you are jigging your spoon you may catch any species in the lake especially if there is lots of bait around.

Crappie fishing has been pretty good. One thing that I have noticed is that the schools of crappie are roaming around and not necessarily holding tight to the brush. So, don’t hesitate looking out from the brush especially if the bite is tough. Jigging with a small

spoon or a small grub is working great. You can also use live bait. When I have marked crappie on my graph, they have been suspended down 12 feet to close to the bottom. You either need to see them on your graph or keep trying different depths until you find the one where the fish are feeding.

Striped bass and hybrid bass fishing is picking up, but still isn’t consistent. They can be found back in some of the major creeks, such as Bennett’s Bayou and also up river from the Calamity area up to the Udall area. They are starting to school and if you find them feeding you will catch fish. I am starting to find both stripers and hybrids on the flats where I have been fishing, but it is the beginning of this pattern. Very soon large schools will show up on the flats early in the morning and then again in the evenings, if prior experience holds true. I have caught this species on swim baits, as well as spoons. I have found them in the same depths as the other species, but don’t hesitate checking in deeper water as they will continue to

move around to follow the bait fish.

I have not been very diligent in writing a fishing report lately, but if you want some great fishing tips and to see what is currently biting, like Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Facebook and you will get frequent fishing updates on Norfork Lake.

The lake level is falling slowly with periodic power generation and currently sits at 555.8 feet MSL. The lake surface water temperature has been fairly stable and was 64 degrees this morning. This temp should start to fall again with the cool front entering our area as I am writing this report. The lake is clear, but still somewhat stained in our area. The farther south you go the clearer the water gets.

Happy fish and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake fishing in October can be lots of fun, but also can be inconsistent. There are many changes going on in the lake which effect the movement of the predator fish and bait. The water temperature starts to cool and the main thing is that the lake turns over. The lake is in the process of turning over, but it has been very gradual. The thermocline has dropped to somewhere between 50 and 60 feet and will continue to fall until the lake totally flips. 

There has been a really good bite for bass. Largemouth and spotted bass can be found all over the lake. If you like top water fishing, throw your favorite topwater bait onto points where you can see sunken brush still out in the water. The fish are inside of it and will come up and slam the bait. Spinnerbait, lipless crankbaits, regular diving crank baits and jigs are all working in different area. The bass are also on the bluffs, especially on points of large coves or small cuts in the bluff wall. Smallmouth bass are starting to show up as well. Keep your eyes open for topwater action. The bass will chase shad out in open water just about anywhere, but especially on the large flats. 

Crappie fishing is also picking up nicely. This species has been moving back to the brush and they can

be found at varying depths. Brush in 15 feet of water out to brush in 35 feet of water may be holding crappie. Small spoons, small twister tail or paddle tail grubs and live minnows on a slip float are all working. The fish can be at any depth over the brush from 7 feet down to the bottom. The depth of the fish will vary depending on the time of day. 

White bass have finally come out of the depths of the lake and are showing up in different locations. Last evening, I was checking out a large flat outside of a cove and starting to hear what I thought was surface feeding fish. I could not see any, so I started to head toward the sound. I finally saw white water on the other side of the lake along a long deep bluff line. There were schools of whites feeding heavily. They didn’t stay up long, and kept moving around. I stopped the boat in an area where I had seen the fish come up and waited. It was not long before they came up again and again. I had my ½ ounce

Kastmaster tied on and started to cast. I worked the bait in a jerk, stop and reel motion and kept it close to the surface and they loved it. From about 5:45PM until 6:45PM they were active. When it started to get dark the topwater in this deep-water area stopped. I heard some activity on the shallow side of the lake and headed that way. I found hybrids and whites feeding heavily in very shallow water, 5 ft or less. The hybrids were coming completely out of the water at least a foot above the surface, it was amazing to see and very fun to catch. Top water baits, such as a Zara Spook would have worked great, but I can cast a Kastmaster farther. 

Striped bass fishing has been very inconsistent. I have found them off a large flat in the mid lake area,

as well as, out in very deep water. On the flat the fish were in 45 to 55 feet of water suspended to the bottom and in the deep water they have been suspended 35 to 60 feet down in 100+ feet of water.  I have caught fish in this area has been by vertical jigging a ¾ to 1-ounce spoon. Live bait may work better. As the lake continues to cool and the turn over completes this species will become very active and start to feed very heavily. 

The surface lake temperature has ranged from 69 degrees to 73 degrees depending on location and time of day. The lake is still falling about 3 to 4 inches per day and currently sits at 557.05 feet msl. The water is stained, but does start to clear more as you head south. I forecast a great fall fishing season so get ready to have some fun. 

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113 as of 3/3/20

The weather for Norfork Lake has finally changed for the better and has been stable for the last several days. The long-range forecast is for continued spring like temperatures and if it holds true the fish should get energized. The warmer weather has dramatically increased the surface water temperature to almost 50 degrees at daybreak and warmer during the daylight hours. I can definitely see a change occurring in some of our fish species.

I have mainly been striped bass hunting and fishing for the last several days. The last 2 days has been outstanding. The bait is still   I’ve noticed a few birds feeding heavily. When I reached them my graph lit up with fish. It was a huge school of hybrids. My first fish came on the shad colored Flicker Minnow, then I switched to casting a Kastmaster (blade type bait) and landed several others. By around 9AM the bait and fish both disappeared. This was the first large school of hybrid/striped bass I have found in some time, telling me that the start of the spring bite is not far off. This morning (3/3) I headed back to the same area and the bait and fish were gone. I moved to another creek looking for bait and decided to go all the way to the back. Once I got into about 15 feet of water, bait was all over the

place. I started to slow troll (roughly 1.3 mph) the Flicker Minnows. In 30 minutes, I had landed 5 largemouth and spotted bass and all were keeper size fish. I decided to head back to my original creek, but this time kept on travelling to the back of the creek. Once I reached 17 feet of water, my graph lit up with bait and big arcs. I threw out my two Flicker Minnows and started to slow troll again. It was not long until I hooked up, but lost the fish. The bite had started and each fish kept getting bigger. I ended up landing 5 striped bass and a couple of largemouth bass with the largest striper 14 pounds. Similar to the previous day, around 9AM the bait and the fish left the area.
predominately back in the creeks or some of the larger coves. Yesterday (3/2) I found large balls of shad in 30 to 40 feet of water halfway back in a major creek and on every bait ball there were at least 2, if not more big fish following. The bait that I have been finding has been anywhere from the surface down to 20 feet and sometimes to the bottom. Since the fish have been scattered I have started trolling a couple Berkley’s Flicker Minnow crank baits size # 7. My best colors have been the slick pearl silver (shad color) and the other is the

racy shad pattern. These baits dive to about 15 feet. I’ve had several fish hammer the bait and peel out drag then come off.

The best areas where I have found striped bass are back in the major creeks close to the creek channel. The large bait balls that I am finding, tend to be close to the creek channel. If you find a smaller creek that has some flowing water, check it out you will more than likely find bait and a good chance some nice fish.

One of the great things about the stripers hitting the Flicker Minnows is that I will be using the same baits trolling for crappie in similar types of areas in the next couple of weeks. For crappie fishing I try to troll close to the brush moving form brush to brush. Crappie will start to school very soon and will be roaming and staging for the spawn.

The lake was falling about 3 to 4 inches a day, but last evening our northern part of the watershed received a lot of rain and the lake actually came up about 3 inches with both generators running. Current lake level is 558.26 feet MSL. The lake surface water temperature is warming up and ranges from 49 to 52 degrees depending on time of day and

depth of water. The water in the mid-lake is stained, but you can see a constant clearing occurring.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Winter seems to be dragging on for us here on Norfork Lake, but if the extended forecast is correct, spring may start showing up soon. We still have this week of inconsistent cool weather, but then things are supposed to change. I am ready! Highs in the upper 50’s & 60’s and lows in the 40’s are on the way. None to soon as the night bite for striped bass should start very soon. The night bite is when the striped bass and walleye head into the shoreline to feed after dark. One of the best fishing methods for this bite is to cast out a suspending jerk bait, such as a Smithwick Rogue. Cast the Rogue as close to the shoreline as possible, then do a very slow steady retrieval back to the boat and hang on. It is so much fun to hook

into a big striped bass when you can not see much. This bite typically starts around mid-March. Some think it gets going on the full moon in March. Hopefully the upcoming warmer weather will get it going soon.

Over the past week the striped bass bite has had its ups and downs, but I have had a couple of good days. Yesterday, Feb. 24, was a great day of catching some big fish. I started out fishing on a large main-lake flat in about 80 feet of water. There was a lot of bait in the area, at times the bait was from the surface down to 30 feet.  I was marking a few big fish inside of the bait. I started trolling with a Walleye Deep Diving crank bait that dives to about 20 feet. I landed a really nice striped bass (17# 2oz.) and a 7# hybrid. The interesting thing was that I caught both fish when I was making a turn and they hit the inside bait. The inside bait on a turn would be going slower and might be coming up a little. My baits may have been running a little too deep or the fish was wanting a slower moving bait. I then decided to see what the crappie where doing. I headed to a cove where the wind was blowing in. I checked out a brush pile in 20 to 35 feet of water. I caught a few short fish and started to move to the next brush. When I got out to the middle of the cove in about 40 feet of water, I found bait that was from 10 feet down to the bottom and marked a lot of fish. I thought most of the fish were largemouth so I threw out two Berkley Flicker Minnows that dive to about 14 feet. I started to slow troll with my trolling motor at about 1.4 mph and headed a little closer to shore. When I passed a secondary point in about 28 feet of water the Shad colored bait got hammered. I assumed I had a nice bass on the line. I set the hook and the fish just took off to deeper water. I knew instantly that I had a nice striped bass on the line. I only had 6-pound monofilament line on and the Flicker Minnow has 2 very small light treble hooks, so I knew I had to baby this fish. It took 20 minutes to land it, but it ended up being my personal best striper so far this year at 18.69 pounds.  During the battle I marked quite a few big arcs, and I think they were heading out of the cove. I continued to troll in the cove going back and forth between 25 feet of water and 40 feet of water, staying in the bait. After the striped bass, I got to land 4 really nice largemouth bass in the 3.5 to 4.5-pound range. One of the bass attacked the shad colored lure and the other three liked the other lure, which had a bright purple back. The bass seemed to hit every time I came out of the bait or right before I would start to go through the bait. Seeing bigger striped bass in shallow water is a great sign that spring is on its way.

March is transition month from winter to spring. There will be a lot of exciting changes to fishing during the month mainly due to the warming trend of the water. Crappie will begin to school and roam from brush to brush staging for their spawn. Walleye will be spawning with some of them coming off of their beds in the early part of the month. Bass will move in tighter to the banks and begin to feed heavily and we will start to see some topwater action for bass. As already mentioned above striped bass will be feeding very shallow in the dark and will start to stay in shallower water even after daybreak. A lot of fun to look forward to.

Norfork Lake is currently falling 3 to 4 inches per day with both generators running continuously. The surface water temperature has remained about the same, between 45 and 47 degrees. The water is stained in most places where I am fishing, but seems to be clearing daily. Most if not all of the brown water has fallen out leaving a greenish stained water, which is fantastic for fishing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Spring is here on Norfork Lake. Trees and flowers are blooming and the fish are active. Crappie are very close to their spawn and I believe a few have already started. The bass are staging for their spawn. Surface water temperature is in the low 60's in the early mornings and rises during the warm days. Water level has been fairly stable. Everything is perfect for a great spring fishing season. Oh yeah, topwater action is starting and will only get better.

The crappie bite has been very good over the last week. Guests are catching nice slabs on the banks by casting out 1/16 to 1/8 ounce Roadrunners. Some other guests and I have been slow trolling Flicker Minnows in 15 - 25 feet of water. Large schools of crappie are either on brush or roaming in between brush piles. This morning I fished in a couple of small creeks. The crappie were very active until around 9:30AM. I was trolling a #7 firetiger and pearl silver colored Flicker Minnow. When one of the 15 inch slabs hammered the bait I thought I had hooked up to a hybrid, it was fighting so hard. It was great fun. I released all fish. The best location to look for crappie is back in coves and creeks. When I trolled over brush piles I could see the crappie just sacked in the brush. If a tree was lying down the crappie seemed to be on the trunk side and other fish were roaming away from the brush.

Largemouth and spotted bass fishing has also been good. The best bite appears to be at sunrise and sunset with topwater action occurring during both of these times. I have been finding most of my fish back in creeks and coves along the shallow shoreline. I have also found them way in the back of these creeks in 6 feet or less of water and several times this was the area for the best topwater action. Alabama rigs, crank baits and jerk baits have been the better choices of bait so far for me and some of my guests. Plastics are starting to work, especially the jerk baits such as Flukes and Bass Assassins with a weighted hook. The largemouth are staging for their spawn, which will start to happen at any time.

The striped and hybrid bass bite is slowly improving. They have not moved into my normal early spring time areas, but have been hanging out back in the creeks and some of the larger coves. Once you find the bait this species will be near by. The afternoon bite still seems to be a better time to find and catch fish. Topwater action has occurred with hybrids and stripers blowing up on shad in the mornings and evenings, but the locations have not been consistent. It takes some time searching with your electronics, but when you find them the excitement begins. Trolling for striped bass with an umbrella rig still seems to be a very good way to catch this species. You get to cover a lot of ground when you are trolling and will end up hooking up with some nice fish. Early in the morning throw a fluke or a jerk bait to the bank once you know bait is in the area and you will find some feeding fish. In the late evening and after dark. Slow rolling a stick bait, such as, a Smithwick Rogue has produced some nice fish for me over the last couple of weeks. This we call the night bite. The striped bass are coming into very shallow water on points to feed. This species will continue to feed after dark along the shoreline for the next month or until the bait starts to move to cooler water.






















Norfork Lake level is holding fairly stable with a slight increase due to a rain yesterday morning. The current level is 554.77 MSL. The lake surface water temperature early this morning was 62 degrees but will rise during the heat of the day. The lake is getting really clear. I cannot say crystal clear, but if all stays stable it will continue in that direction. I can actually see bass on the shoreline starting to look around for a good nesting area.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.