Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake produced top water action this morning. My better half (Linda) wasn't the fisherwomen who caught the fish, but she is the person who cooks up the fish. I tried to get her to hold them, but no luck. She also is not willing to get up with me and go out on Norfork Lake at 5AM. I just don't understand this!! I did get into a short period of striped bass top water action. I caught this 8 pound striper and also a diaper striper (undersized). I guess I was a little lucky that I was in the right place at the right time. They started hitting the surface around 6:30AM and it lasted just 20 minutes if that long. The bigger fish was a blast to catch. It came up at about 25ft from the boat. I casted a white with chartreuse head Zara spook a little past the surfaced fish. I was doing a walk the dog retrieval and thought I had missed the fish, but when it was only 4 ft from the boat it hammered the lure and dove straight down. It spooled half my reel so I think it went down to the bottom. It was a good fight. I was sitting in about 55ft of water. I casted a spook most of the day. I landed 6 largemouth bass, one weighing about 2 pounds and the rest around 10 - 12 inch fish. It was a fun few hours. I was fishing the Bennettes Arm area. A guest fishing in the same area caught several nice largemouth and a nice smallmouth, plus several more undersized fish. Big or small, I just like to catch fish, and I had a nice time this morning.

My trotline is still producing, caught a nice flathead and two channel catfish. I am using live shiners as bait.

The lake level is still rising slowly, currently sitting at 560.08. Water is clearing quickly all over except for in the backs of flowing creeks. Our south winds and warm days are really warming the water quickly. I was marking temps in the low 70's this morning and I am sure it will be much warmer in the afternoon. None too soon for the upcoming holiday weekend. The swimmers and skiers will enjoy the warmer water. The forecast is for sun and warm temperatures.

Happy fishing and see you all on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a productive couple of days we've had around our Norfork Lake resort. Windy & rainy days may keep me from fishing but they definitely allow for getting work done. I spent yesterday morning finishing the tile work in Cabin 3 but the afternoon was spent in the sunshine cleaning one of the pontoons just back from its spring tune-up. The springtime routine is to take one pontoon out of the water, pressure wash and inspect the pontoons, take it to the mechanic for service and take any seats needing recovered to the upholstery shop. Today, we begin the process with another pontoon. The sun is shining. It makes me feel like summer is here to be cleaning a boat in the sunshine. I hope to go fishing this evening, should have gone yesterday. I just hate how work interferes with fun.

We do have a couple of guests who are dock fishing for crappie, the bite is hard to come by but they have caught a few nice ones. Another group of guys are striper fishing. They have been catching their own shad and fishing all day long. I know they have caught a few, but didn't get a chance to talk with them yesterday. They are already out for another day of fishing. The day bite is picking up for striper, but still no top water action. Hopefully the next few warm days will trigger the fish to become more active.

Hopefully I will have a success story to tell tomorrow. Have a great day and see you on the lake.