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

Striped bass, largemouth and spotted bass, and crappie continue to be the best bites on the lake.

Striped Bass Fishing: Over the last week there has been a definite change in where to find the bait and then the fish. The bait had been concentrated out on the main lake in the deep-water channels, but they have recently made the move back into the major creeks and some of the smaller coves. With this movement of the bait the striped bass has been following. Some of the bait is also starting to move close to the shoreline. The bait movement has currently created 2 totally different areas to fish. I have found bait near the creek channel in 40 – 60 feet of water. The stripers have been very close to the bait, either above it or below it. Several methods of fishing have worked for me, so far. I have had luck vertical jigging a 1-ounce spoon or vertical jigging a 3-inch soft plastic jig. I’ve been using a mini version of a fluke called a Tater Shad, which is made locally,

with a 3/8-ounce jig head. Both the spoon and the Tater Shad need to be worked slowly with just slight twitches for the deeper water fish. The most important tip is to get your bait at the same depth as the fish to get the most bites. Another method is trolling A-rigs, crank baits or 5-inch swimbaits. Here again get your bait very close to where you are seeing the fish. Fish have also been found tight on the banks, especially at sunrise and at sunset. Some of the bait has moved very close to the shoreline or the fish have started to push the bait tight to the bank. Yesterday (3/1) I found feeding striper right on the bank. I casted out a Kastmaster (blade bait) and worked it back to the boat very slowly with a jerking motion. I replace the treble hook with a feathered treble hook which seems to attract more fish. You should also be able to use long minnow type crankbaits and swimbaits. 

Bass Fishing: The largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass have moved up tight to the bank especially early in the morning and late afternoon. Other times they move off a little and will be 10 to 20 down. Various lures are

working such as swimbaits, crankbaits (rock crawlers and wiggle warts). On windy days don’t hesitate to cast a spinner or chatter bait. You will find them in both the clear water as well as the stained water. I found some nice ones the other day that had corralled some bait on the bank and I was getting hits on my Kastmaster 3 to 5 feet from the shore.  We have some rain coming up this weekend, so after the rain head toward the running water coming into the creeks.

Crappie Fishing: This species is starting to school up and roam out in deeper water. They are still 10 to 25 deep. I have found this to be true with the white crappie. The black crappie still appear to be holding a little tighter to the brush. Trolling crank baits have started to work and will get better as the water warms a little more. Plastic jigs, spoons, and live bait are producing some nice fish.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is rising very slowly

and is the 45 to 48 degree range. The lake level has been stable with a slight drop with intermittent power generation and currently sits at 554.19 feet msl. The lake is clear to stained depending on where you are at in the lake.

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Happy Fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake.

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

Norfork Lake is trying to cool off and by each degree drop the fish become more active. I am really looking forward to a little cooler air temperature, as well as, water temperature, which will bring on the fall fishing season. It appears that Norfork Lake is trying to transition and the thermocline, or at least the good oxygenated water is starting to drop. The good water has dropped to below 40 feet and the fish are already making this deeper water their home in the slightly cooler water. I have caught walleye, bass and catfish in 40 feet of water over the last week. Live thread fin shad is surviving at this water depth, if you are a live bait fisherperson.

I have switched to targeting crappie over the last week instead of walleye which I had been targeting since mid-August. The crappie bite has been excellent most days, on brush piles anywhere from 24 feet to 35 feet deep. The best areas I have found are on the main lake and not back in the creeks. The best brush comes up to 15 to 20 feet and the fish I have found are anywhere from 10 feet down to 25 feet deep over and in the

brush. I have mainly been using a small ¼ ounce spoon and vertical jigging it up and down over the
brush. I continually change how I am jigging from slow twitches, to quick jerks or a slow 5-foot raise and then letting the jig flutter down again. The slow twitches have worked the best, but most of my fish are sucking in the spoon as it falls slowly. Watch for slack line on the fall, you will more than likely have a fish and you need to set the hook quickly. I have had 2 excellent days of crappie fishing over the last 3 days. Yesterday (9/28) I could not beg a crappie bite, but the spotted bass bite made up for it. Today (9/29) was outstanding. I landed over 2 limits of keeper size fish. The crappie size that I have been landing have mainly been in the 10 to 11 inch range with very few short fish. I did land a nice 14 ¾  and 13 inch crappie this morning. Hopefully this means the big slabs are finally starting to move into the brush. I have been catching and releasing with only keeping the fish that get gut hooked or the treble hook has damaged their gills. These fish will not swim away, so it’s fish

sandwiches for lunch. Live bait is also working very well. Set your bait at about 15 to 20 feet and drift slowly over the brush. A little split shot should be used about 2 or 3 feet above the bait. If you like using a bobber, first mark the brush pile with a floating marker attached to a heavy weight. Cast your bobber (using a slip float is the best) over the brush and wait for the float to disappear.

Walleye fishing is still very good. I had been catching walleye in 30 to 32 feet of water, but when the oxygen level dropped down to 40 feet the walleye migrated to that depth. I was fishing on large rounded points that tended to have a large flat on one side of the point. I was using 2 methods of fishing to catch this species. I was vertical jigging a ½ ounce spoon touching the bottom each time I jigged the spoon up. I used this method in the dark until sunrise. At sunrise, I switched to slow trolling with my trolling motor using size #7 Berkley Flicker Minnows. To get my bait down to 30 feet I added a 1 ounce weight 50 feet from the bait

then let out another 50 feet of line. To get my bait down to 40 feet I had to add a 2 ounce weight. White colors were working the best as of late. I try to keep my speed at 1.2 to 1.4 MPH. I suspect the walleye bite will be the same until the lake turnover. Once the lake turnover happens, the fish will move to all depths, while still keying in on their food source. Find the bait you will find the fish.

The bass bite continues to be very good. The best places I have found have a lot of bait in the area. The largemouth bass have been feeding up

tight to the shore line (I mean tight) and then move back in to 15 to 20 feet of water when the sun gets high in the sky. I have also found a few nice sized largemouth hugging the bottom out in 32 to 40 feet of water. These fish are still relating to the colder water as their coloration is a light green, but the shallower fish are a dark green. The spotted bass are relating to brush piles or areas that have bait in 28 to 32 feet of water. Yesterday when the crappie did not want to bite, I found schools of spots feeding on the bottom. I must have vertical jigged up 20 spots in the 12 to 14 inch range with a ½ ounce spoon. It was a blast. Largemouth are coming up for poppers and shallow running crank baits early in the morning. Deeper diving crank baits are working when the fish go a little deeper. Windy days go to the wind-blown banks and throw spinners or chatter baits.

The catfish bite has also been fairly good. You will find then on the bottom in or near brush, as well as out in deeper water chase bait fish. I have caught some nice size cats vertical jigging with a spoon, as well as on the Berkley Flicker Minnows while I have been trolling for walleye or fishing for crappie. Live bait is always a good choice in these types of areas.

I have not started to look for striped bass since they scattered to the 4 winds mid-September. You will start to find this species partway back in the major creeks early in the morning especially if we get some more cold early morning temps. Stripers will be feeding in shallow water in the early mornings back in the creeks. As the day wears on they tend to move out to deeper cooler water. This is very normal for this time of year until the lake totally turnovers with the water temperature being more constant in the 70 or less degree range.

The surface lake temperature is ranging from 78 to 81 degrees depending on time of day. The lake level is slowly dropping and currently sits at 553.85 feet msl. The main lake is clear to slightly stained and the creeks and coves are slightly stained.

If you are looking for a daily fishing activity report, go the Hummingbird Hideaway Resort’s Facebook page. I post almost daily what is being caught on the lake either by me or some of my guests.

Happy fishing and enjoy Norfork Lake  

The bite for all species on Norfork Lake is getting better and better. September fishing can have its challenges due to the changing water temperatures, changing lake levels, and frontal systems, but all species are biting. Not necessarily every day, but I believe they call that fishing. The striped bass bite is getting pretty good. Crappie are moving back to the brush so at least you know where to find them. The walleye bite has been good, but it does take some work to locate them. The bass bite is almost always good whether you like to catch them in shallow or in deep water. 

Striped Bass fishing has really improved over the last week in various parts of the lake. I have found two different patterns for this species, but time of the day may have something to do with it. Early in the morning, occasionally starting before sunrise, I have found stripers on large flats feeding heavily on shad. They can be anywhere from 20 feet of water

out to 40 feet towards the bottom. They are starting to school and when you find that large school of fish it is a fantastic bite. Other times the fish are scattered out and it takes a little bit more effort to catch them. The early morning bite seems to last no later than 8am or so. This morning after the bite slowed on the flat where I was fishing, I decided to check out a different type of area for the striped bass. I have caught fish out in deep water along a bluff wall in past years, and this year appears to be the same. I was in 120 – 150 feet of water and the fish were suspended down 35 – 40 feet deep. I found a large school of feeding fish once in this area, but most of the time I was marking 1 to 3 fish at a time. I have been using several different methods to catch striped bass. I have been slow trolling a Berkley Flicker Minnow, size 7 & 9, with a 1-ounce snap on weight about 50 feet behind the bait with another 50 feet of line out. (This method is mainly for the flats.) I am also starting to

vertical jig with a ¾ ounce spoon more often than I troll. I have jigged up stripers in both of these areas. The hardest part about fishing for suspended fish with a spoon is getting it down to the right depth. If you have a  fish finder than picks your spoon up, this makes it simple, but if it does not, you need to either count down your bait, my rod and bait takes 8 seconds to get down to 40 feet, or drop it to the bottom and count the cranks up until you get to the desired depth. The stripers will continue to move around and as the water cools and the lake turns over the fish will be in many different types of area. 

Crappie fishing has been good, but has had its ups and downs, I believe due to the various frontal systems that has gone through our area. The best areas have been brush piles that are in 20- 30 feet of water. The fish will either be suspended on the top of the brush or

buried inside of it. Small jigging spoons or small plastics with a twister tail or a paddle tail are working great. Live minnows either on their own or tipped on a plastic jig will also work well. I have found crappie on both main lake brush, as well as, brush back in a creek. 

Walleye fishing has slowed a little, but we are still picking up some nice ones, along with a lot of shorts. Early in the morning and prior to sunrise

they are being caught on long rocky points that jet out into the lake. They have typically been on the sides any where from 16 feet deep, down to 32 feet deep. During the day and late afternoon, they seem to be in 25 to 34 feet of water. Crawler harnesses with a bottom bouncer or trolling with a minnow style crankbaits are both working. Drop shot rigs should also work with either a nighcrawler or large minnow. As the water cools, they will move up tight onto the shoreline and casting for them will start to work better, especially early and late in the day. 

Bass fishing has been good and they are being found in many different areas. Casting topwater baits, spinners and buzz baits are working for the very shallow fish especially where there is

lots of brush still under watewr. There will be many shorts in shallow water, but there will also be a few lunkers. Jigs and worms are also working along the bluffs and out in 15 to 30 feet of water. Vertical jigging spoons will pick up some nice fish. Work the deeper water, as well as, jigging near or on brush. Several days ago, I was trolling my Flicker minnow out in 80 feet of water and picked up some really nice largemouth that were suspend down 25 feet. Bass are on main lake points, as well as, back in the creeks. 

Norfork Lake level is falling and currently sits at 561.18’ MSL. The lake surface temperature this morning was in the high 70’s. The main lake and creeks are stained but should start to clear as the lake continues to cool.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Summer like weather is hanging on longer this year than normal. I’m really getting anxious waiting for the fall fishing season to begin. Even with the warm water temperature, my fishing guests and I have been doing pretty well fishing for a variety of species in Norfork Lake. Crappie, largemouth, smallmouth, bluegill, catfish and walleye are all being caught.

The crappie bite is still one of the better bites at this time, with several of the big slabs starting to show up. Crappie are being caught from 15 feet down to 35 feet, suspended and on the bottom in and around large brush piles. The best areas have brush from 22 feet of water out to 35 feet of water. You will be able to stay in one area longer with the brush covering such a large depth range. What I try to do is start in the shallow part of the brush and fish close to the bottom. As the sun gets to the tree tops, I move a little deeper and will start to find fish suspended toward the top of the brush. But once the sun gets high in the sky the fish seem to move   I currently have several guests fishing for pan fish with live minnows and crickets. They are doing quite well catching big blue gills, along with some nice crappie and bass. The best depth so far for my guests have been 25 – 30 feet towards the bottom close to or inside of brush piles. If you are not getting bites you need to move to another brush pile. The bite may stop after you catch several fish and if it does, make the move then come back to this brush after you give it some time to rest. I have been using a ¼ ounce white with chartreuse back spoon, as well as, ones with a pink and green back. These colors seem to be my go-to colors, but if the bite seems to be slow, I do switch out to other colors until I find one that the fish are wanting.

I currently have another fishing guest that is strictly fishing for bass. The bite has been good for him, but he does have to work for them. He has been fishing a dark colored 10 inch worm and working it in shallow water. His best areas have buck brush that is still under water or large under water rocks close to the shore. Yesterday he did land a nice 5.5 pound largemouth bass, but most fish he has caught are in the 2 – 3.5 pound range. A few days ago, another guest was crappie fishing and saw topwater action occurring along a deep bluff line across the lake from him. He headed that way and started to throw a Zara Spook and landed several nice 16 to 17 inch largemouth bass. These fish were out in 80 feet of water chasing shad at about 9AM on a sunny day.

I have also been spending quite a bit of time looking for striped bass and walleye. The striped bass have totally eluded me at this time, but I am finding walleye, but all have been short. My best areas for walleye have been on points off the rock bluff walls in 20 to 30 feet of water. I have caught these fish vertical jigging a ¾ ounce spoon off the bottom.

Norfork Lake continues to drop about 2 inches a day. The lake is currently at 558.36 feet MSL. The lake is currently 4.6 feet above normal seasonal pool. The lake surface water temperature this morning ranged from 79.6 degrees to 81.5 degrees. The main lake in our area is slightly stained to clear and most of the creeks and coves are also slightly stained. Great fishing color.

From what I can see on my depth finder the thermocline has dropped to somewhere between 35 and 40 feet. Over the last several days I have found many fish on the bottom at this depth. This is one of the main reasons I have started checking out deeper brush and have actually caught crappie 35 + feet deep on the bottom. The better bite for crappie is still on 25 to 30 feet deep brush. As the lake continues to cool, what we call a lake turn over will happen and fish will then have the freedom to move around at any depth. Basically, this means the oxygen level will be high at all levels and the water temperature will become more consistent from top to bottom.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

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

Fishing on Norfork Lake continues the summertime pattern with no dramatic change over the last week. The water temperature is on the rise with the unseasonably warm air temperatures. The thermocline may have dropped a foot or two, but is still in the 25 foot range +/- a foot or two.

Striped bass fishing is still the best in the dam area. You can find many of the stripers 70 to 90 feet deep on the bottom or very close to it. I have noticed that they seem to have moved a little deeper since last week. I fished for striped bass last Sunday (8/18) and Monday (8/19) and caught a few and missed a few, but most were 80 to 90 feet down on the bottom. Live bait is working, but you will need to change out your baits often as they are not surviving long in this deep and cold water. Vertical jigging with a spoon is picking up a few fish and trolling with down riggers or a lot of in-line weight is also picking up some fish. I am hearing that the fishermen trolling swim baits or umbrella rigs are catching a few stripers suspended 40 feet down, but the fish that I am finding are mainly very deep.

Today (8/20) I headed toward the Cranfield area and upriver a short way and fished in 20 – 35 feet of water. I was vertical jigging a spoon, casting deeper diving crankbaits and slow trolling deep diving crankbaits. I caught crappie, bluegills and bass. Crappie have moved into brush that is in 25 – 30 feet of water. I started out vertical jigging a ¼ ounce spoon with light weight line. I was marking fish at the tops of the brush, about 15 feet down. I received no bites. I switch to my 1 ounce spoon and on my first drop it was hammered by a 10.5 inch crappie. I fished this brush with the 1 ounce spoon for about 30 minutes and landed 5 more in the 10 inch range. Why they liked the bigger bait over my normal go to size, I have no idea, but they were aggressive. I switched methods of fishing and started casting a deep diving crankbait over the tops of some brush where I was marking fish and landed a nice 12 crappie and a few bass. You can also troll with deep diving crankbaits in 18 – 30 feet of water and catch many different species of fish. You will need to have your bait reach around 15 to 20 feet deep. I have in the past added some big split shots about 6 feet or so from the bait to help it get deeper.

Norfork Lake surface water temperature is on the rise and was 87 degrees this morning. The lake is somewhat stained, but clearer in the main lake. The water depth continues to drop 2 – 3 inches per day due to the Corps of Engineers keeping the power generators on for part of the day. The current depth of Norfork Lake is 565.5 feet MSL.

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 not really changed much over the last couple of weeks. The fish are still in the summertime pattern and should remain in this pattern for the next 4 weeks. The only thing that might change is that the thermocline should start to drop from its current level of 20 – 25 feet down to 30+ feet.

The best bite for striped bass is within a mile or so of the dam. Stripers are hanging around in the 60 to 90 feet water depth and are typically very close to the bottom. Hybrids will be with the stripers, but will also be up towards the thermocline as they handle the warmer water much better than striped bass do. You will be able to find stripers on points near the dam including Thumb, Koso, Long Point and Point 1. At times you may find them roaming out on the deeper flats in the same area. I fished for striped bass on Sunday and Monday of this week. On Sunday I found a lot of fish, but they were not very energetic. I got bites, but very light and they let go of the bait quickly. Monday was a different story. I fished the same area and again lots of fish, but this time they were hungry. When they hit the bait, they took off running. It was a lot of fun. Live shad or shiners are the best baits to use at this time, but vertical jigging a spoon or trolling may pick up some nice fish.

Most other species of fish are hanging around the thermocline. The thermocline is currently at approximately 25 feet. The last couple of days I fished for shallower fish and caught almost every species in the lake. This morning, August 13^th, I spent my time looking at different types of areas within several miles of our resort. (Hummingbird Hideaway Resort) This morning I only used one bait which was a Bink’s Many Shad, 1oz. spoon. I was vertical jigging in 20 to 30 feet of water. The best depth this morning seemed to be around 25 feet. I caught and released walleye, bass, bluegills, crappie, and catfish. I believe I boated over 20 fish, but only the spotted bass and a few crappie were keeper size.  The best areas seemed to be on main lake points. I marked some nice size bass suspended 10 to 15 feet down near bluff line points. I checked out the back of one cove where I knew there were some shallow brush piles. The brush was in 24 to 27 feet of water and came up to about 15 feet. I found crappie just stacked at the top of the brush. I still only had the 1-ounce spoon tied on, but the crappie were aggressive. Several of the crappie were 10 – 11 inches, but most were on the short side.

Norfork Lake continues to drop about 2 inches per day with about a half of day of full power generation. The current level is at 567.01 MSL. The coves are slightly stained with the main lake clear. The surface water temperature this morning was 85 to 87 degrees.

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.

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

Norfork Lake fishing is starting to get exciting. My guests and I have found topwater action for largemouth, white bass and striped/hybrid bass over the last couple of days. The lake temperature is rising and the fish are starting to get active and are starting to feed heavily. This is not say you can find the active fish everywhere, but you need to look around and when you find them, the fun begins!

I have been doing a lot of searching on Norfork Lake waters from the mid lake major creeks up to the Bennett's area and also up river to Missouri waters.  The best locations I have found are back in the bigger creeks and also in a few of the smaller creeks. I have also found the best bite is in the early morning until the sun gets above the tree line and then again in the late afternoon, starting around 4 PM until after dark. This is not to say you cannot catch fish during midday. The fish tend to move out of the shallow water into a little deeper water as the sun comes up.

Yesterday was a great day for me. I fished both early morning and late afternoon to see if the night bite for striped bass was happening. I found striped bass, hybrid bass and white bass in shallow water early in the morning, as well as, at sundown. My best baits for striped bass have been a 6 inch swimbait with a 3/8 ounce jig head, a 1/2 ounce silver Kastmaster (blade bait) and then after dark a suspending jerkbait. At around 7PM I saw swirls of big fish right on the surface. The stripers and hybrids were feeding. I landed the first hybrid on the swimbait. A lot of fish were farther from me so I switched to my Kastmaster since I can cast it farther. And the game was on after my bait switch. I would see a swirl, cast out my bait and after one little twitch of the rod tip, my rod would double over and the fight began. This action lasted until it became too dark to see. Once it was dark I switched to a suspending jerkbait. I found that a white or bone color jerkbait worked the best. I moved up closer to the shore line and slow rolled the bait back to the boat, occasionally letting it sit still. I ended up landing 9 stripers and hybrid bass with most coming from the topwater action, but the fish did move in tight to the shore after dark following the baitfish to continue feeding. I landed a nice fat 11 pound striper and a big hybrid after dark on a jerkbait. While I was into fish in one area, several of my guests got into topwater action along a deep bluff line about 2 miles away from where I was at. My guests were actually heading up to me when they found their topwater action. We all had a good time.

The largemouth bass bite continues to be good. There has been good topwater action for this species early in the morning just as the sun is rising. The best locations have been towards the back of smaller creeks in shallow water, 5 to 20 feet deep. Just about anything you cast out will catch a fish when they begin feeding like this. My guests have gotten into this action for the last 2 mornings and have had a blast. Crank baits, Alabama rigs, topwater lures, jerkbaits and rattle traps have all been catching fish in deeper water and on the banks. My 6 inch swimbait is starting to catch some nice largemouth in the deeper water. You need to work the swimbait close to the bottom. If you don't find topwater, the fish will be up tight on the shallow banks out to 20 feet deep. Last night when I moved from my first point after dark, I headed in towards a typical main lake point to see if striped bass were feeding along the bank. No stripers on these points, but I did find some really nice size largemouth right next to the sunken buckbrush. I was casting a suspending jerkbait working it very slowly.

Norfork Lake has become fairly stable over the last several days with the lake only dropping about an inch a day. The current depth is 554.5. I really do like stable water for fishing. The surface water temperature is rising slowing and has reached the mid 50's. The main lake is clearing nicely and some of the creeks and coves are stained a great fishing color.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.