Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The striped bass, hybrid bass, white bass and black bass are still schooling on Norfork Lake. Fishing has been good once you find the fish. They are moving constantly and you will find them in one spot and they stick around for 30 minutes to an hour then move off. You will need to move to different locations until you find them again. There is a good morning bite as well as a late afternoon bite. Early morning and late afternoon the fish that I have found are in 40 - 55 ft of water feeding heavily on shad and crawdads. Mid day they head out to deeper water and suspend in 40 - 60 ft of water still feeding on shad. Find the shad and you should find the fish. I have been fishing the dam area and find them back in coves as well as on main lake points. There hasn't been a consistent place to fish so use your electronics to find the schools. Example, I took out a couple of our guests on Labor Day and fished Point 1, Koso Bay, Sally Hand and a couple other points with little success. We ended up with one keeper walleye. I finally found some white bass and smaller hybrids in the Diamond Bay area. Yesterday I fished the same areas and found large schools of stripers and hybrids. I caught 2 nice hybrids and a 9 pound striper. I was able to release the hybids, but the striper just wouldn't go back down. The fish are constantly on the move! I guess that is why they call it fishing!!

I have found good schools of white bass back in coves and creeks in 30 - 45 ft of water. I've fished the Diamond Bay area with success later in the morning. I have also found whites and small hybrids in Panther creek and Float creek.

Kentucky and large mouth bass are chasing shad on the surface at sunrise and also sunset. Have your favorite top water bait tied on so you are ready. The top water action only lasts a half hour or until the sun gets over the trees. I have noticed that on cloudy mornings it will last longer. I have also spooned up some nice blacks in 30 - 40 ft of water feeding on the bottom. Again they are located on main lake points, bluff lines and also back in creeks on the secondary points.

No word on Crappie, but with the cooling water they should start moving back to my brush piles. I will keep you posted.

Catfish are being caught on trot lines and jugs with a lot of success. Use live bait for a better bite.

The Norfork Lake level is at 550.49 ft, a few feet below normal pools. The lake surface water temperature has fallen to 79 - 82 degrees. The main lake is clear and the creeks and coves are cloudy. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, but the forecast shows clearing by Friday. Should be a great weekend.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The sun has been shining and the air temperature has been in the 50's on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas, Ozarks. The fishing was really good today for bass. I couldn't keep myself off the lake so I worked on my remodel job till noon, then decided I earned time off, and took off for the water. I started fishing for striped bass with little success, I ended up catching one diaper striper (only 18 inches long). We definitely have a shad kill going on. I saw dead and distressed small shad everywhere that I went today. I fished the Henderson area, then Float Creek, then Panther Creek. I was marking a ton of bait fish, but very few large arcs. The bait is anywhere from the surface to 60 feet down. Maybe the stripers are totally full with all the easy pickens. The sea gulls were just having a feast.

After trying for striper I headed back to a few of my brush piles. I ended up catching 4 largemouth from 14 to 20 inches long. The 20 incher was a monster and very fat. I also caught 2 nice Kentucky bass both 15 inches and also 2 small but keeper size crappie. All fish got their freedom as the spawn is just around the corner. The bass were fat and aggressive once I hooked them. I was throwing a grub tipped with a crappie minnow and was also vertical jigging with a 1/8 ounce spoon. To get bite I was barely jigging the spoon. Over half the fish hit the spoon when it was just lying on the bottom. Both crappie hit the grub on the fall.

If you are a river fisherman, this is the time to head to the tail waters at both dams. The dead shad will wash though the generators into the river. This will create a feeding frenzy with the trout. I haven't tried it myself, yet, but I hear it is a blast.

The Norfork Lake level is dropping very slowly and is at 552.32, almost normal pool. The Corps is running generators sporadically during the day. The surface water temperature was around 43 degrees in the main lake and slightly warmer in creeks. The lake is slightly stained but appears to be clearing. This clearing will continue unless we get the rain they are forecasting.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.