Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake is getting better and better every day. The best part of all of it is the weather, it has been in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. It is really hard to ask for nicer fishing weather than what we are currently having. I have been doing really well on the lake as have our guests. All species are being caught on a regular basis. Undoubtedly the best bite on the lake is the largemouth and spotted bass bite. In second place is the striper and hybrid bite. Catfish are not far behind. Crappie, bluegill, white bass, walleye are all being caught.

I fished this morning and had a really good day. I landed a 16 pound striper, two 8 pound hybrids, broke off another big fish and missed one other. My break-off was the fisherman's fault, I noticed too late that my line was wrapped around the tip of my rod. Boy did it make some noise when the line snapped. I also caught 8 largemouth and spotted bass and missed numerous others. Today I strictly fished with live shad. There was a little top water action, but they only came up when I was fighting a fish. Figures!! I am finding stripers and hybrids on main lake points in 10 - 50 feet of water. I also look for points that have the deep channel close by. The stripers seem to like the deep water near as easy escape. The hybrids are feeding on crawdads so you will find them closer to the bottom. The stripers are still hitting free swimming baits. I have been
pitching the bait close to shore then letting it sit for a while. I then pull the bait off of the shoreline using my trolling motor. I have gotten many hits when the baits starts to move away. I am also placing a small split shot about 2 feet up from the hook and dragging it slowly across the point in 25 - 40 feet of water. The hybrids and bass are feeding on the bottom so I am picking up fish with both methods. If you can't get or keep shad, larger brooder shiners are the next best bait. Bass just love them and stripers and hybrids will also hit the shiners.

Smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass are in the same areas as the stripers and hybrids. It doesn't get better than this. Fish for both species in the same manner. I have also found that when the striper bite stops and they move on, the black bass start to get more aggressive. Fishing is great!

Catfish have been hitting jugs and trotlines set with live bait as well as cut bait. I have seen  many good fish coming into out dock that were caught in our cove. I still like live bait over cut bait. I typically use live shiners, shad or crawdads for catfish. I did forget to mention that the black bass are also feeding on crawdads.

Crappie are being found suspended over brush in 20 - 30 feet of water. They will be at different depths so you will need to keep testing until you start to catch fish. They tend to move higher in the water column as the sun warms the water.

Norfork Lake water level currently sits at 551.8, which is almost normal pool. Periodic power generation is occurring to maintain this normal pool level. The surface water temperature this morning was in the mid 70's. The main lake is somewhat clear, but all creeks and coves are stained. We did have a cold front roll through the area at the beginning of the week. This frontal system slowed the bite, but the weather has been stable ever since and the bite is getting strong again.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

 

Norfork Lake is bustling with fishing activity. The fishing and catching has been great and our guests are landing nice size fish. The Cystic Fibrosis fishing tournament was held yesterday and the winners weighed-in over 16 pounds. They had 224 boats participating for this great benefit and many of the fisher people brought in limits of fish. Bass fishing is good! Next Friday and Saturday the BassCat Owners Invitational is being held on Norfork Lake. We have many Basscat boat owners staying with us that are pre-fishing the lake in hopes of winning the grand prize. But I really think most are here to have a good time, relax and experience some great Arkansas hospitality from Mountain Home and all of its residents.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted Bass fishing is by far the best bite on the lake. Over the past week or so I have seen more 3 - 5 pound bass caught than ever before. I believe this shows that the previous high water years was a benefit to the Norfork Lake fishery with the increase in numbers of fish as well as the size. My guests and I have been bringing in limits of bass on a consistent basis. A lot of the fish are released after photos, but some find there way into the frying pan. Nothing better than eating fresh caught fish. The fish are hitting top water lures early in the mornings and late in the day. Cast a spook, fluke, rogue or your favorite top water bait into the sunken buck brush, let it sit for 10 seconds or so then walk-the-dog back to the boat.You may get hammered immediately in very shallow water or they may follow it back and hit part way back to the boat. It is really exciting to see any fish erupt on that spook and then take off running. Once the sun comes up the fish are falling back into 12 - 20 feet of water. You can then cast crank baits, swimming minnows, jig and pigs. If it is windy try a spinner bait. I have found that the closer to the bottom you are the more strikes you will get. For those live bait fisher-people cast your bait right up into the buck brush with no weights. Let the minnow do its job and attract the fish. I have been getting as many if not more bites on live bait as artificial. Once the sun comes up add some weight to the line and fish in 12 - 20 ft of water right on the bottom.










April has always been a great month for smallmouth bass fishing, but this year it seems even better. I have been catching limits of smallmouth on a daily basis with the  above mentioned methods. Each time you cast your artificial bait or live bait you are not really sure what you might catch. The stripers and hybrids are in the same areas and hitting the same baits. If you want to consistently catch smallmouth bass April is a great time to come to Norfork Lake.

The Striper and hybrid bite is starting to happen, but is still a little inconsistent. At least it has been for me. One day I find them and just have a field day and the next they are gone somewhere else and I can't seem to find them. They should be in the same locations as the bass, and you fish for them in the same way as you do for bass.

I forgot to mention that the walleye are feeding in the same areas as the bass and stripers, I haven't landed any yet, but I know of quite a few nice size walleye are being caught.

Catfish are coming up shallow to feed so if you like to run trotlines or jugs this is a good time to do it. I find that live bait works better than cut bait. Also night crawlers are working on pole fishing. Find some flowing water from a creek or spring and fish the bottom with your crawlers the cats should be in the area.

Crappie are starting to bite, but I haven't had the chance to do any crappie fishing. Not enough time in the day. I guess I should cut down on the sleep! I will try and get some info soon.

Norfork Lake level is falling about 7 inches per day and currently sits at 559.3. Two generators are being run with some partially opened flood gates. This will continue to mid month. The lake is forecast to be back to normal pool by May 1, 2012. The surface water temperature has fallen to the upper 60's. The lake is still very stained with some clearing starting to happen in parts of the lake.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I have had a fun week of fishing on Norfork Lake. Not to mention that the weather has been just gorgeous. All species have been very aggressive and biting well on both live bait as well as artificial baits. I fished 4 mornings this week and did very well with bass and stripers. I fished with my son-in-law and one of his friends. The 16 pound striper that Jason is holding was his biggest striper so far on Norfork Lake. The hybrids that Vance is holding were the biggest fish he has ever caught. We also caught many largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass along with a few whites. I fished the mid lake area off of points. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters took four of our guests out last week and they just slayed the stripers. I believe these were the first stripers that a couple of the guys have ever caught. Tom was fishing the dam area. Fish are being caught all over the lake. This time of year is great for fishing Norfork Lake in the early mornings and afternoons. This frees you up to play in the water during the midday :-)

Striped and hybrid bass can be located on main lake points early in the mornings. They are feeding heavily on shad and crawfish. If you're fishing with live bait pitch a free swimming bait next to the trees and keep working the points and the sides of each point. If you prefer artificial baits try a fluke, bass assassin or a swimming minnow with a weighted hook. Cast between the brush and work it back to the boat as a jerk bait or slow it down and work it with slight twitches until you reach the boat. Grubs with a 1/8 ounce jig head are also working once the fish go down to the 20 - 25 feet range. Top water baits are working occasionally as well as shallow diving crank baits. Once the sun gets higher in the sky the stripers are moving into deeper water. Live bait will need to be weighted and set straight down next to the boat about 30 - 40 feet down. The fish may be suspending in deep water so watch your sonars. You can also slowly drag a long line with live bait with a split shot to get the bait down a little. Vertical jigging a spoon is starting to work once you find the fish.

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass are also in the brush early and late in the day. Same techniques are working for the black bass as for the stripers. Flukes, bass assassins, swimming minnow and crank baits. Top water for the black bass is found more frequently than for stripers. Live bait is working very well.

Walleye can be found in 20 - 30 feet of water on the bottom. Live bait on a drop shot rig is working as is vertical jigging a spoon. Trolling a crawler harness slowly is catching some nice fish.

White bass are schooling and can be found in the bushes with the black bass and stripers. Flukes are catching a few, but the hooks are a little big. Small spinners (rooster tails) are work well both in shallow and deep water. You can also find them in deeper water along chunk rock banks. Use a rooster tail and let it sink about 10 feet down then reel back to the boat slowly. If you find the school of fish you can also vertical jig a spoon.

Crappie are biting well if you can get to them. They are back in the bushes in very shallow water. You can also find them under docks that have brush sunken under them. I had a guest last week that had an under water camera and was seeing many crappie as well as large blue gills. The blue gill fishing has been really good. I have seen many huge slabs brought into the dock for cleaning.

Catfish are biting well on trot lines baited with live shiners. I pulled off three nice channels from my line this morning. One of my guests caught 6 nice cats fishing with nightcrawlers and stink bait last evening.

The lake level is falling slowly 1 - 3 inches per day and currently sits at 576.7. The surface water temperature is in the mid to up 80's. The lake is clearing and appears to have a 5 - 8 foot visibility.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

It was a great day to fish Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. I decided to fish with live bait this morning and finding bait was no problem. One throw and I had all I needed and more. This was a good start to the day since I over slept and didn't wake up until 4:30AM. I should have already been out on the lake baiting. It worked out and I got an extra hour of sleep:-) I headed back to Fall Creek and started with two poles down with weights at about 25 feet and two poles with free swimming baits that I was pitching toward the shore. It didn't take long before I found spotted bass, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. I ended up catching 12 bass in total and 7 were keeper size. I released all but 3 spotted bass. At one point while I was setting the hook on a bass, one of my down poles bent to the water and the drag started to zing. This fish just would not stop running. I actually started to use my trolling motor to make sure the fish did not spool me. It was a very good fight but finally I won the battle (this time) and landed this nice 12 pound striped bass. I also caught another striper on a free swimming bait and one on a weighted fluke. Those two 10 pound stripers were released. I tend to cast artificial when I am live bait fishing. That gets me into trouble frequently. It's difficult to retrieve the artificial bait when one of my other poles takes off. Live bait fishing can be very exciting and sometimes it's very hard to handle multiple poles when you are fishing by yourself.

Robert Lee of Lee's Lite line took three of my guests fishing this morning. They ended up "having one of the best fishing trips ever!" (quote) They limited out by 6:30AM with 7 striped bass and 2 hybrids. The big fish weighed 15 pounds. They ended up fishing for bass and had a blast. Robert was fishing in the Bennett's area. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters has been fishing the dam area and limiting out with consistency. The fish are all over the lake and are being found off of points and the side of points on the main lake as well as back in the major creeks. If you are artificial fishing use a fluke with a weighed hook, I like white with a chartreuse tail. Swimming minnows and a 3 inch grub are also working. A top water bait is still handy to have ready as it would have been today but I was already fighting the 12 pound striper when the fish exploded all around me. All I could do was watch with!

The Norfork Lake level is dropping about 2 - 3 inches per day and currently sits at 577.8 feet above sea level. The lake surface water temperature is in the upper 70's and you could find temps in the 80's back in the creeks. The lake is still stained, but is clearing.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Spring fishing on Norfork Lake is heating up and will only get better. The warm Ozark weather has helped to increase the surface water temperature which is making the fish more active. Top water action for black bass has been good at sunrise and sunset back in coves and creeks. Yesterday morning I went to check on the dock at around 6:30AM and when I got there the fish were popping all over. I always carry a rod with me when I go to the dock and of course I had a Zara spook tied on. What's the jingle? - Don't leave home without it- something to do with a credit card not really a rod and reel! In less than 15 minutes I landed 4 spotted bass in the 2 pound range. I was casting from the end of the dock. When the bass aren't breaking the surface I have been using a 3 inch curly tail grub with a 1/8 oz. jig head. I have had a lot of luck on deep bluff lines especially on bluff points.

Word has it that the crappie are starting to move to the banks. They have either started to spawn or are really close. The crappie in the photo were caught off of my dock. Several very good places to find crappie are on fallen timber that is close to the shore or brush piles in 10 - 20 feet of water. The crappies are suspended only 2 - 6 feet down. I like small twister tail grubs with a 1/16 or a 1/32 ounce jig head. Use very light line, just 2 - 4 pound test. Live minnows are also working very well.

White bass are schooling and can be found back in coves and creeks in shallow water, 10 - 20 feet. They also can be found close to brush piles. I haven't seen any top water action on whites yet, but it should start soon. Small spinners and spoons are working well.

Walleye are being caught in many different locations. They are typically being found in 10 - 20 feet of water and at night on the shoreline feeding. The same 3 inch grub I use for bass is catching walleye. Last night a suspending rogue cast to the bank was the ticket for this nice walleye. Crank baits being slow trolled along the banks are picking up a few nice walleye.

Striped bass fishing is starting to heat up. I just got back from a successful night fishing trip. I ended up catching 2 striped bass (15 pound and 10 pound), 1 walleye, 3 white bass and a couple of bluegill. I missed as many as I caught. I caught all on a Smithwick Rattlin Rogue, blue on the top, white on the sides with an orange belly. The bite really didn't start until around 10pm, but when it did the fish just started to explode around me. I could hear stripers and white bass breaking the surface all around me. As soon as I heard the splashes I got my first fish. They stuck around in the area for an hour worth of fun. I released all fish, the ones in the photo where released at my dock. The morning bite for stripers is also heating up. Stripers and hybrids are being caught all over the lake. Three of my guests from the Oklahoma area took a guided trip with Robert Lee of Lee's lite line and they landed these 3 nice hybrids and lost as many more.

The Norfork Lake water level is rising slowly and currently sits at 550.54 ft above sea level. The surface water temperature last evening was in the low 60's. The water is clear with some stained water due to the 1.25 inches of rain that we had the other day.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

If it wasn't for the 20 mile per hour wind it would be a great day to be on Norfork Lake. It has cooled off a bit today, but warmer and less windy days are not far off. The fishing is improving with the warm weather we had the last few days and if we get the warm south winds that are forecast, fishing should start to explode on Norfork Lake.

Stripers are being caught both during the early in the day and at dark and after dark. I fished Saturday evening and caught one nice fish and lost two others. The fish pictured was released after its photo op. I was throwing a rogue and slow rolling it back to the boat. Two important techniques to remember on the retrieval, reel really slow and reel all the back to the boat. The fish that are biting my bait are hitting it just before I lift it out of the water. I believe that they are following it all the way to the boat from the shoreline. One of my quests has been catching stripers with a 3 inch paddle tail grub. He has been catching bass, walleye and striper with this bait. He casts to the shore and lets it sink to the bottom and works it slowly back to the boat. Most of his fish are being caught in 10 - 25 feet of water. He has also had luck with a white Rapala Shallow Running crank bait. No pictures of Ed as he practices catch and release on most all fish.

Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line Guide Service took a couple of my guests out fishing this morning. Their trip was delayed for about 2 hours due to the lightening, but the late start did not effect the fishing. They were using good sized thread fin shad and were long lining the bait as well as pitching the bait to the shoreline. They ended up catching 5 stripers, 4 were released with the 20 pound fish in the photo going to become a wall mount.

Stripers are being caught at all ends of the lake. Bennetts, Cranfield, Pigeon, upriver, and down at the dam. All of my main information sources are fishing my end of the lake.

Bass fishing has been very good for most folks. Swimming minnows, twister tail grubs, and paddle tail grubs have all been productive baits. It appears slow motion is still working the best for bass. As the lake warms up into the 60's the bass will start looking for faster moving baits. There is also a small window of top water action early in the morning and right before dark. If you can get close enough to the schooling fish cast a top water bait or a rogue and work it through the active fish. Top water action will improve as the water temperature warms.

Crappie fishing is another thing. One to two weeks ago with all the warm weather the bite was getting very good. The cool weather last week slowed the bite, at least for my guests. Crappie are on the verge of spawning so the fish will be going to the banks. Look for fallen timber close to shore and cast a small grub, small swimming minnows, or a roadrunner. You can still find fish suspended over the brush and as the water warms the fish will not be very deep. With all the warm weather a week ago the fish were only 3 - 6 feet down.

The Norfork Lake water level is rising and currently sits at 549.61 ft. This is only a little more than 2 ft below normal pool. The lake has been gin clear, but with this mornings .4 inch of rain it should cloud up the water a little especially back in the creeks and coves. The water temperature yesterday was in the mid to upper 50's, but it has dropped several degrees today. Our end of the lake appears to be about 3 degrees warmer than areas south of Robinson.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

This past week has shown what spring fishing is all about. Top water action for stripers and bass, as well as the night bite starting to kick-off. What 5 days in the 70's and nights in the 50's and 60's can do for the fishing and lake water temperature. Of course my fishing time last week was very limited due to spring time cabin opening and maintenance. Work first play second.

I have credible reports that several lucky fishermen got into some nice striper, hybrid and spotted bass top water action for about 2 1/2 hours last week. They were launching their boats at Panther Bay and the fish started erupting. They were catching fish on every cast. Also back in Pigeon Creek the Kentuckys and whites were hitting top water baits.

Spawning report: The white bass are spawning back in the creeks. Crappie have either started or they are really close. Stripers are ready to go though their mock spawn as you can see white milk pouring out of the males when you catch one. Bass are still a ways off, but it appears they are staging. Walleye should be close to finishing their spawn

Stripers are being caught all day long. The best bite appears to be in the afternoon. I got a call from some of my guests yesterday at about 7:30PM for a photo opportunity, they landed 5 nice stripers. All fish were in the teens and twenties. The two larger fish (23 and 24 pound) were released and the three in the mid teens will become supper. I didn't get the photo as I was in Float Creek trying to catch my own striper. They had better luck! My guests have been catching fish all week long in different areas of the lake. The photo of Peter holding a nice 15 pound striper was caught Wednesday afternoon. They have caught fish in East Pigeon, Bennett's, and the Fouts area. They are using gizzard shad both the large and small ones and the fish don't seem to be very choosy on the size. All fish have been caught on free swimming baits without weight.

I had the chance to get out several nights during the week. Last evening I ended up landing 4 largemouth bass and 2 smallmouth bass, but no stripers. I fished Float Creek until about 9PM. A few nights ago I fished the Cranfield area and ended up landing several bass and one smaller striper. There were several other boats that landed fish and they were in the same size range. I also tried the Diamond area with zero luck, even though I had many reports of stripers and walleye being caught. I have been using different color rogues and using a very slow steady retrieval to the boat. The night bite should get much better with the warmer water assuming our current cool front doesn't mess things up.

Crappie fishing last week was really good. The fish are suspended over shallow brush and being caught in 3 - 6 feet of water. Small live minnows has been the best bait, but small jigs are producing some fish. They are ready to spawn.

The Norfork Lake water level currently is at 547.4 ft above sea level. The water is gin clear. The lake surface water temperature was 57 degrees back in float and 53-54 degrees on the main lake.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather in the Arkansas Ozarks and on Norfork Lake is starting to settle back to normal. Our daytime temperatures are in the mid 40's and the nighttime temperatures are in the upper twenties. Makes for a cool morning of fishing but the bite has been better earlier rather than late for striped bass. Last week a couple of our guests had a really good morning striper fishing. They were fishing in the Henderson area using live shiners. Over the last week the best locations have been in the deep channels. They had their bait 50 - 60 feet down where they were seeing a lot of bait fish. The bait fish are suspended in 80 - 120 feet of water. They ended up landing 4 and missed netting a fifth. They also at least 6 other bites that were missed. The stripers ranged from 10 - 16 pounds. The trick is finding the bait fish. I have been out a couple of times in the afternoon over the last week and really have had a hard time finding the bait. Usually around 5PM I find the bait but it is getting late and starting to get too cold for me. The mornings have been chilly, but I guess I am going to have to suck it up and go out at sunrise. The stripers are hanging in and around the bait so set your shiners just above the bait or if you are spooning drop the spoon to the top and start jigging or let it fall all the way through the bait then reel up through through the bait and start jigging over the top. With the cold water a slower presentation works the best for all species.

I haven't been out bass or crappie fishing lately so no news from me. I have heard that crappie are still on the brush, but are going a little deeper. They may start to come back up with the warmer days we are having. You should be able to find them 10 - 25 feet down, over and in the brush.

The Norfork Lake water level has dropped to 542.6 and falling about 1 - 3 inches per day. The lake is getting really clear. The surface water temperature was 42 - 44 degrees yesterday afternoon.

Remember that in this cold water slow down your presentation and also downsize your artificial baits. The lake is clear so using light and clear line will get more bites.

Have a great day and see you on the lake.

Lake Norfork Fishing Report

This morning brought a nice catch of a 3.5 pound largemouth caught in Norfork Lake. Our guest from the Chicago area, was using a white fluke and casting a point in the Pigeon Creek area. We were fishing out of my boat and fished Pigeon Creek, Cranfield Island and a few coves across from the island. We had OK luck, but not as good as last Tuesday. We caught several smaller largemouth and Kentucky bass. I mainly used a white & chartreuse Zara spook.

I was out scouting for top water action, but it was minimal, very hard to find in the fog. I spotted some action off of Cranfield Island, but it was too far away from where we were fishing. It lasted about 10 minutes, then boat traffic drove the fish down and that was that. I had planned on traveling to the dam area, but the fog changed my fishing location very quickly. It was dense, wet and cool. Several of my guide friends are fishing the dam area and said the striped bass are coming up very early, then once the sun is up the bite stops or slows greatly.

The Norfork Lake level is still on the rise, currently sitting at 556.8 (4.8 ft above normal pool). The Norfork Lake water temperature is in the low to mid 60's and rising slowly. Full moon will be Saturday 5/9/09. It already looks full to me. The lake is gin clear. Even back in coves sitting in 10 ft of water the bottom looks like you could touch it. Down size your line and make sure it is clear or invisible once in the water. The clear water has its benefits, when you miss a fish you can see what you just lost.

Well, hope to see you all soon and happy fishing.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Well I am going through Norfork Lake fishing withdrawal. We have a full house of guests and my boat is out of the water until Sunday. At least I had time to give my boat its spring tune up and get it cleaned up. I did get some great news from several of our Bass Cat guests. They did get into some great top water action on Tuesday and Wednesday. They caught stripers, whites and black bass. They said they were erupting all over both in the morning as well as the evening. The lake temperature has risen to the low to mid 60's and slowly rising. Fishing will be a blast for the next month. The walleye are finally starting to hit rogues in the morning and the crappie are hitting small crank baits and rattle traps. All these fish are being caught by the bass fishermen while they're throwing for bass. The bass fishing has been really good so far this week. All are catching large and smallmouth bass and lots of them. Of course many are in the 8 - 14 inch range, but quite a few large ones are being caught. I just heard one of the tournament fishermen weighed in about 20 pounds today. Last years two day total was around 22 pounds. Fish are bigger and hitting better this year. The bass fishermen are throwing everything under the sun, crank baits, jerk baits, spinners, finesse worms, crawdad, ect, ect, ect. The fish are hitting all. I spoke with a few guides this morning and they are all finally catching limits of stripers with live bait in the mornings and afternoons. The fish are really starting to turn on. (and I can't go fishing til Sunday!)

The Norfork Lake level has risen with all the rain in the area. It is currently at about 554.7 and still rising slowly. Generation is intermittent. Lake temps low to mid 60's. The water is clear in the main lake, slightly off color to coffee color back in the creeks.

We hope see you on the lake and happy fishing. Don't miss out on the spring bite. We still have openings, just give us a call for reservations. If you've been here for the top water bite you have to agree that for fishing fun there is no better place to be than at an Ozark Mountain resort on Norfork Lake.