Norfork Lake Fishing Report

What a great striped bass bite this morning on Norfork Lake. I headed out to catch shad at 4AM and on my first throw I caught enough for me to fish. I love it when one throw works. I have had mornings that what seemed like 100 throws didn't catch enough. I was fishing alone so I just headed straight out to the same spot I had fished last week for several days. What a change a few days can make in fishing. I set out two down poles to about 40feet and one free swimmer with a large split shot. It wasn't more than 5 minutes before one of my down poles started to sing. I was fighting this fish when the second down pole took off. What a dilemma :-) I decided to land the first fish and as I was reaching for the second I noticed it was under the boat next to the trolling motor. That was all she wrote, the line was cut off by the trolling motor. The third rod that had the free swimmer ended up getting wrapped around my big motor. What I'm willing to go though for a fish :-) The main reason for all the mess up with the poles was that the wind was blowing about 15 miles an hour. It's hard to control the boat in wind when you fight a fish. After the first fiasco I decided to just fish with 2 down rods. This made it much easier. I motored back to my point and set out the two down poles and again it wasn't more than 5 minutes before both poles started  singing. I grabbed one and set the hook and the fish came off, but the second rod was was still going strong. I set that hook and landed the fish. I ended up landing 5 striped bass and missed 4 others. I kept my limit of 3 for the freezer and released the others. I did all of this in the first 2 hours of fishing, what a great morning!!! The stripers I caught this morning were 25 - 50 feet down in 40 - 60 feet of water biting on thread fin shad.

This morning was quite different than a few days last week. I fished 4 mornings last week and did not boat a striper. I fished with my brother-in-law and daughter 2 of the days and we did fair on black bass and white bass, but we could not bring a striper to the boat. One day we did break off two stripers and missed several other short bites. I also had two trips last week with a couple of our guests. Again I could not buy a striped bass bite. We caught some nice smallmouth bass and white bass, but could not find a striper.

The black bass are still in the bushes on main lake points. The white bass are also in the same areas. We caught some nice whites and smallmouth's on 1/4 - 3/8 oz. rooster tails, Rogues, flukes and spooks. These fish are in 10 - 25 feet of water and are starting to go deeper.

Catfish are biting well on trotlines. I caught 4 nice channels the other day with live shiners.

Panfish are also biting well on nightcrawlers, worms, and crickets. They are in the bushes on the bottom. Some really nice red ears and pumpkin seeds are being brought into our dock for cleaning. Many are also being caught off of our dock.

The Norfork Lake level is falling 1 - 3 inches per day and currently sits at 575.49. The surface water temperature is stable at around 82 degrees. The water is somewhat stained, but clearing every day.

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

I could not have ordered a better morning to fish Norfork Lake than this morning. The lake was calm, the air temperature was in the 70's and the sun was out. And the best of all, the fish were really biting well!!! I love being able to fish in shorts and a tee shirt! This was the first morning fishing trip I have been able to take since May 5th and what a homecoming it was. I ended up with my limit of striper and hybrid and actually caught 3 other hybrids that were released on site. I also caught smallmouth, largemouth and white bass. All fish were released except for the two stripers. Fish tonight!!

I headed out of my dock around 5:15 AM and fished Panther and Fall creeks. The shad were flipping all though the bushes and the fish were gorging themselves. I was using a fluke with a weighted hook. The fluke had a white body and chartreuse tail. Top water lures would have worked, but there was too many leaves and pine needles in the water to throw a top water bait. The fluke worked great, but the hook was a little big for the white bass, but I did manage to land 4 nice size whites. I was sitting in about 40 feet of water and casting to the shore. The hybrids were caught casting out to deep water when I noticed them coming up for shad.

I fished two different evenings earlier in the week and got into some nice top water action with white bass and hybrids. I was throwing a 3/4 ounce red and white Rooster Tail and the fish hammered the bait. I was fishing in the Cranfield area.

Catfishing is going strong on limb lines and trot lines. Live shiners have been the bait of choice.

Black bass are also hitting spinner baits and lipless crank baits. You need to cast into the bushes and hang on. Jigs are also producing some nice bass in 20 - 25 feet depths just outside the brush line. Darker coolers seem to be working the best.

Walleye are being caught in the bushes with spinner baits and crank baits and also with a crawler harness slow trolling them just outside the brush line.

The Norfork Lake level is starting to fall slowing and currently sits at 579.37. The lake surface water temperature was 68 - 69 degrees this morning.  The air temperature is forecast to be in the 80's with plenty of sun.  The lake is stained, starting to clear in the main channels. Our swimming pool at the resort is warming nicely and getting plenty of use this weekend.

I hope all have a fun and safe Memorial Holiday.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

She said her arms were sore.

Big hybrid and walleye Day 2



Big Bass Day 2 - 5.28 pounds



Big hybrid Day 1

Finding the Big Bass in this limit of fish.

We would like to thank all the Bass Cat Owners who came to Norfork Lake this past week end. We know you were disappointed with the cancellation of your Owner's Invitational Tournament and appreciate those of you that still came to enjoy Norfork Lake. We look forward to your visit each year and are glad you came to participate in our first Norfork Lake Fishing Derby.

We had two great days for our 2011 Fishing Derby on Norfork Lake.  54 Bass Cat boats registered for the 2 day tournament and we mainly had good weather. The afternoon of day 1 brought in a few storms, but it ended during weigh-in. We weighed-in a total of 240 black bass at a total weight of 523.58 pounds. The stringers were somewhat light due the fish being spawned out in the last week or so. Big heads and skinny bodies. They are really starting to feed and will fatten up quickly. The overall winning team of Hannaford/Cooley weighed-in 10 fish at 24.14 pounds and were paid $2,015.00. Second place went to the team of Thorne/Mitchell with 9 fish at 23.61 pounds. Second place paid $1,140.00. Third place went to the team of Moser/Ziegler with a 10 fish limit weighing in at 23.56 pounds. Third place paid $685.00. The Fishing Derby paid a total of 11 places. Big Bass for day 1 went to the team of Stone/Stone at a weight of 4.72 pounds and paid $520.00. Big Bass day 2 went to the team of Drumright/Reihm which weighed 5.28 pounds and also paid $520.00. We also had a couple of fun pots for big walleye 2.52 and 3.33 pounds and big striper/hybrid 6.39 and 7.78 day 1 and day 2, respectively. Hugh Ethridge won for big striper/hybrid day 1 and the team of Hideyudi Manura/Todd McCoy won big walleye for both days and big striper/hybrid day 2. All fishermen and spectators seemed to have a great time and enjoyed watching  the fish being brought in to be weighed.

The fish were caught all over the lake in shallow to 25 feet of water depths. Spinner baits shallow and jigs worked deep seemed to be the baits of choice.

We want to thank the Norfork Lake Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring this event. Thanks also goes out to the Arkansas Game and Fish for helping us keep these fish alive and delivering them back to the lake. Thanks goes out to the Army Corps of Engineers for all the help in expediting our tournament application and with the clean up at the Panther Bay boat launch and at  Cranfield Park. In addition to the above many thanks goes out to Panther Bay Marina for the use of their facilities for take-off, the Lake Norfork Inn for the use of their restaurant for registration and dinner, The Norfork Lake Bass Club for the rental of their weigh-in equipment, Sean's restaurant for providing the yummy food at registration with such short notice.  Thanks also to  the Baxter County Sheriff's Department for providing a courtesy boat at take-off and lie detector equipment and personnel for the final weigh-in. Finally many, many, many thanks to all the Norfork Lake Chamber members that volunteered to helped make this event a great success and a fun fishing derby.

Keep watching for future details of fishing events that the Norfork Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Norfork Lake Resort Owners are starting to plan. They will be a lot of fun with great fishing.

Happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake fishing Report

If you are wanting to catch largemouth, smallmouth, hybrid and striper bass as well as catfish now is time to come and fish Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks. The sun is shining and the air temperature will be in the 70's today.

I must apologize for the lateness of my report, but I have had no time to get out on the lake myself. With the cancellation of the Basscat Owners Invitational Tournament on May 6th, a group of us got together and started to form our own fishing Derby. My time has been consumed in the venture. Our fishing Derby will be held on May 20th and 21st for any Basscat boat owner that would like to participate. Registration is this Thursday, May 19th at the Lake Norfork Inn from 4 - 7PM. Take-off will be at Panther Bay Marina and Weigh-in will be at Cranfield Corps of Engineers pavilion by the launch area. Registration Fee is $100.00 and several other option side pots are available. Should be a great time. Call me for more details 870-492-5113.

All my current reports are coming from my guests and guide friends, good credible information. Largemouth and smallmouth fishing has been really good. You will find the fish on sunken roadways and parking lots as well as in the brush. Spinner baits, floating worms and grubs with a 1/8 ounce jig head are working well. You may want to go to a weedless hook set. Most of the black bass have spawned out so they are starting to feed heavily. Top water activity is still going on so be ready.

Stripers and hybrids are feeding along the brush line early in the morning. I have had reports of good fish being caught in the Cranfield, Bennett's, midlake creeks and in the dam area. Top water baits are working early and late in the day. Flukes with a weighted hook and grubs are producing some nice fish. If you are a live bait fishermen then pitch your bait as close to the brush line as possible with no weight then just wait, they will come out after it. If no hits in 15 minutes or so go to the next point until you find them.

Catfish are hitting jugs and trotlines really well. Live shiners are a good bait at this time. I usually set my line late in the day and check them at first light. If your pole fishing find some flooded grassy areas and cast out a night crawler with a weight on it. The cats, hybrids, walleye and black bass are feeding in these areas, you will have fun.

Walleye are starting to hit all the above baits. Use whatever method of fishing you prefer. Walleye are being caught in the brush on spinner baits or live minnows, and along the grassy banks with nightcrawlers and floating worms.

The Norfork Lake level is still falling slowly and currently sits at 577.9. The surface water temperature has dropped to the low to mid 60's, but should start rising again with the upcoming warmer temperatures. Most of the lake is stained (great fishing color). The mud has settled out and clearing is happening daily.

Happy fishing and hopefully see you on the lake very soon.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Fishing on Norfork Lake today was exciting and a lot of fun. The rain has finally stopped and the sun is shining. We're getting back to our typical great spring fishing season. The twin lakes area has received 14 or 15 inches of rain over the last week or so, bringing the lake to the top of the flood pool. Some may think this is a bad thing, but think again. Fishing on Norfork Lake is starting to explode. Just this morning I took a couple from the Tinley Park, IL area out fishing and we had great fun with smallmouth bass. The largest was about 20 inches. We ended up catching over 30 fish in a two - three hour period, 14 were keeper size. We missed as many as we caught. We started fishing right after day break and that was definitely the best bite. As the sun rose the bite slowed, but they did still bite. My Tinley Park guests headed out this afternoon to try their hand at striper fishing. They were using large shiners as bait and landed this nice 11 pound striped bass. Pictured is Brian's first Norfork Lake striped bass. He is really really excited! Brian caught his striper with a large shiner with a small split shot on 6 pound test line. The fish hit the bait about 10 ft down. Striper guides have been doing very well on the striped bass. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters has caught over 40 fish for his guests over the last 5 days. The photo is some our guests after a trip with Tom. Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line has been pulling in many quality fish for our guests. A friend set some trot lines for catfish last weekend and caught over 15 nice size catfish. A few crappie are being caught over deeper brush piles in 25 - 30 feet of water, but watch for these fish to move into the trees along the sides of the lake very soon. They may be tricky to get to, but when you get to them you will be rewarded for the effort. I have had many reports of top water action for black bass, white bass, striped and hybrid bass. This will only increase with the upcoming warm dry weather. It is becoming a very exciting time!

A second benefit of the high water is that it is going to be great for the spawn of all lake species, insuring great fishing for the future. I can definitely see the quality and quantity of all Norfork Lake fish species just growing by leaps and bounds. The numbers and sizes of largemouth and smallmouth bass that I have been catching this spring is exceeding all previous fishing seasons thanks to the high water we had in 2008 and 2009. I'm hearing the same thing from the crappie guides.

To find water with the best clarity look back in creeks in the Robinson area and on down to the dam or around the 101 area. The best bite will be in this off colored water to clear water. The main lake from Cranfield to Robinson is still muddy. Some of the creeks are starting to clear to a greenish off color (great fishing clarity). With the upcoming week of nice warm weather I expect the muddy areas to start clearing.

The Norfork Lake level is falling about 9 - 10 inches per day. The fall in the water level is due to the spillways being opened releasing high volumes of water into the North Fork River. The lake level is currently at 579.78 feet above sea level. The surface water temperature this morning was 60 degrees which is a drop of about 5 degrees from a week ago.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.