Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fish on Norfork Lake are transitioning to their normal summer pattern. Basically, I am saying the fish are going deeper and deeper and schooling.

Striped bass fishing has been good. I am finding stripers in the mid lake area down to the dam. I have been fishing with my nephew and we have been doing pretty good. We have caught stripers on live bait and by vertical jigging with a spoon. Most of the fish that I have found are in the old river channel 30 to 60 feet down suspended in 100 plus feet of water. I am fishing main lake points where the channel swings in and also deep water flats. You will need good electronics this time of year to mark the fish especially if you are vertical jigging. When I am vertical jigging I drop my spoon down to 30 feet and start to move around slowly with my trolling motor. I pull the spoon up a good 5 feet and let it free fall. If I mark fish deeper I drop the spoon down to their level, but be alert, as it is falling they suck it up so be ready to make a good hard hook set. When live bait fishing I have had the best luck with large gizzard shad. They still seem to want the bigger baits over the smaller ones. I have been setting my bait at 30 - 45 feet down and moving around slowly with my trolling motor.

Largemouth and spotted bass fishing has also been really good. I am finding these fish around 30 feet sunken brush piles, and main lake points in 20 - 30 feet of water. Early in the morning there still is some good top water action, so have your spook handy. Most of the top water fish have been small, but you can still get the occasional lunker. Crank baits that go about 10 feet down are working as are standard Texas rigged worms and jig & pigs worked slowly along the bottom.

Crappie are on the move, you can find a few on the 30 feet brush, but most are starting to migrate out to deeper water and suspend along deep bluff water ridges.

Catfishing has been good on rod & reel as well as jugs and trot lines. You can get them in about 20 feet or less of water. Live bait is working the best. Try minnows or nightcrawlers.

The Norfork lake water level is falling a couple of inches per day and is currently is at 556.3 which is almost normal pool. Generation is occurring most of the day, but seems to be slowing a little as the lake approaches normal pool. The surface water temperature cooled to 81 - 82 degrees with the cool front that came through the other day. Day time temps have been in the 80's and the night time temps have been dropping into the high 50's to low 60's. It has been great weather for sitting outside. Things will start warming up very soon. Creeks and coves are a little stained and the main lake is still very clear.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.



Norfork Lake Fishing Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norfork Lake fishing is still in its spring fishing pattern, but the fish are starting to transition to their summer fishing pattern. You may ask what in the heck am I talking about? In the spring the fish seem to migrate back into the creeks where the water is warming quicker and the bait is spawning. The fish are typically scattered and in shallow water (surface to 30 feet down) and can be right on the shore line. As the water warms in the main lake the fish start to school and move out to deeper water and into the main lake. Norfork Lake will get a thermocline and the fish will typically stay at the thermocline level and above it. Norfork Lake's current thermocline is around 30 feet, but with the warmer daytime and evening temperatures the thermocline will typically drop to around 40 feet and sometimes lower. Over the past couple of days I found fish half way back in creeks to the mouth of creeks and some fish are showing up on main lake deep flats. In my experience, this pattern change is the start of the summer fishing pattern. The above is an over simplification of spring and summer fishing, but hopefully you get the gist of the process.

 

Striper fishing has been really good for a lot of fishermen. Live bait fishing is working really well with larger baits working the best on the bigger fish. Gizzards in the 6 - 8 inch size are currently the best bait for the bigger strippers. Yesterday I fished with my sister-in-law and nephew and we caught a nice striper on a large gizzard shad, the hybrid on a thread fin, missed another good fish and landed a largemouth on a threadfin shad. Baiting was really tough so I only had 6 baits, but they all produced. Thread fin shad (typically smaller in size) are working great with the smaller stripers and the hybrids. As the stripers continue to school thread fin shad will become the bait of choice. With this transition to the smaller baits, vertical jigging with a spoon starts to work really well. Friday I found schooling fish around 8:30AM and they stayed in one area for about and hour and a half. I spooned up 4 stripers in the 6 - 10 pound range and lost 5 others. All fish were released except for the 10 pounder in the above photo.  I am slow to regain my jigging techniques so I loose a lot of fish. With the spoon, the fish were hitting it on the fall, so if you are not quick enough to set the hook you will not get a good hook set and lose the fish. Some fisherman are trolling umbrella/Alabama rigs. The trick to this fishing technique is to get it way behind the boat. Several hundred feet may not be far enough. The reason for this is to help get the bait deep enough and to keep your boat motor from spooking the fish. I am finding all the stripers 30 - 50 down in 50 - 100+ feet of water so how ever you are fishing you need to get your baits down to the 30 - 50 feet range. Start at 30 then go deeper as the sun comes up.

Bass fishing has also been really good. Largemoth and spotted bass are still coming up early and late in the day so have your top water bait handy. While we were striper fishing yesterday morning I notice a few fish coming up. I started throwing my clear Zara Spook and landed 4 nice largemouth bass in the 2.5 - 3.5 pound range. These fish were out in 100 feet of water, but still close to shore as the channel swings in tight on the the bluff wall where I was fishing. Crank baits and swimming minnows are also working great early and late in the day. Mid day bass will be down in deeper water 15 - 30 feet and usually concentrated around brush. Work your Texas rigged worms or Jig & Pigs slowly along the bottom in 15 - 30 ft of water.

Crappie are starting to become hard to find. With the warmer water they will typically go to deep brush and deep ledges off of the bluff lines.  You can still find some really nice crappie around docks when the bait is coming into the docks. Their feeding habits continue to change. Over the last couple of weeks my dock crappie have been caught throughout the day, but never at the same time day after day.

White bass fishing has been great when you can find the fish. They are schooling and in the same depths as the stripers. Some of the whites will still be coming up early and late in the day. Check back in creeks and also on the deeper main lake flats. They will be schooling and feeding on shad. Vertical jigging will work great once you find the whites.

I have not been walleye fishing, but June is typically one of my favorite months to fish for walleye. They will be on main lake points and flats. Drag a crawler harness along the ridges of the points from 15 feet to the thermocline or vertical jig with a spoon at the thermocline level.

Catfish are in shallow water. Trotlines and jugs are producing some really nice fish.

The Norfork Lake surface water temperature yesterday morning was 84 - 85 degrees and will continue to warm. Our air temps is forecast to be in the 90's during the day and low 70's in the evening. Can not ask for anything better. The main lake water if very clear with some creeks and coves  a little stained. The lake is dropping slowly and currently sits at 559.38, The Corp is generating power 12+ hours per day. It is estimated the lake will be back to normal summer pool of 556.8 around July 6th.

It's not too late to plan a trip to Lake Norfork this summer. Give us a call to see what we have available. 870-492-5113

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

  

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been exciting this spring. I love living in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains. Come stay at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort and experience the fishing fun I have almost every day.

 

Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing has been outstanding. The numbers and the size of the bass in Norfork Lake is getting better and better, year after year. Top water action has been good at sun rise and again at sunset. I have been catching most of my bass on Zara spooks and unweighted flukes, and am finding good fish on main lake points, as well as major creek points. If the point has good sunken brush in the water try fishing it. Mid day bass fishing you will need to go a little deeper. They are moving out and going down to 18 - 30 feet of water. Find some brush at these depths and you will find some really nice fish. Try using a jig and pig, Texas rigged worms, or your favorite bait. Work the bait along the bottom. For fishing after dark, throw a black spinner bait. I expect the bass fishing to remain the same for the next couple of weeks. Keep your top water baits ready and have fun. Billy's big bass in the photo above is going to become a wall mount. It was very nice 23.5 inch fish, if I am remembering correctly.

Striped bass fishing has gone though many changes since my last report. Top water action for stripers is slowing, but has not totally stopped. I have seen several big fish chase shad on the surface the last couple of days, but they seem to stay about 20 feet farther away than I can cast. Look for this top water action on the shoreline, as well as out in deep water. The feeding frenzies can happen in any depth of water. Most stripers are being found part way back into the major creeks. A few fish are starting to show up on main lake points which is a normal occurrence this time of year. The stripers are starting to go deeper. If you are a troller or live bait fisherman you will need to fish from the surface down to 40 feet of water and maybe even deeper. The fish are at all depths. Yesterday morning I landed 2 nice stripers, both suspended at 30 feet down in 70 - 80 feet of water. The fish that I cleaned yesterday were full of crawdads. This is telling me they are feeding on the bottom so get your spoons ready. I expect to see the stripers and hybrids start to move out to the main lake points and flats. Start looking for fish in the Robinson area as well as the dam area. Striped bass, hybrids and white bass should start to school before long. They will be feeding on the bottom so if you like to vertical jig with a spoon get it ready.

Catfish are moving into shallow water to feed. Use live bait, either large shiners, nightcrawlers or small bluegills. Jugs and trotlines are working very well.

Crappie are scattered, but starting to show up on brush in 20 - 30 feet of water. They will be at all different depths, so the trick will be to find the right depth. Live minnows are working the best. Some real nice crappie are showing up under my dock in about 25 feet of water.

Overall the prediction for fishing Norfork Lake is good to very good for the next couple of weeks!

The Norfork Lake level is rising slowly and currently sits at 560.47. There has been 6 - 10 hours of power generation over the last couple of days. The water surface temperature was 75 degrees yesterday morning. The main lake is clear and back in the creeks and coves the water is somewhat stained.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

 

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Norfork Lake fishing has been on fire since my last report on 5/8/13. Fishing was good 9 days ago and has only gotten better. I anticipate that fishing will continue to improve with top water action getting better and better. I have been using 3 main baits. A fluke or bass assassin with a 5/0 worm hook unweighted, a Heddon Zara Spook junior size and live shad. You can use large shiners if you don't have a shad tank. Rogues, or a similar type of suspending jerk bait, are working the best for walleye. The best bite has been at sunrise and at sunset. If you are fishing mid-day, you may need to go a little deeper for all species. A jig & pig has been working well for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass for one of my guests.

All species are showing up in the same areas. It is fun to go out fishing without really knowing what you are going to catch. I just love this time of our fishing year!  Fish are being found from the mouth of the major creeks to half way back into the creeks. Some fish have started to move out to the main lake points. This is still slow to happen, but it won't be long. The shad are in the buck brush possibly spawning. As I have said before, find the shad and you will find fish. I have found shad just going crazy on the shore because the fish have them cornered and are having a buffet.

This morning was no exception to prior mornings. I landed several good size bass and lost two really nice hybids. The first was lost when I was getting ready to net the fish and had the hook that was in the fish break. I have never had a spooks hook break at the barb. I guess I was placing too much pressure on the fish to get him in the boat so I could get back to fishing. The next hybrid was next to the boat still acting up, but when I reached for the net it came unhooked. I finally changed out the broken hook after this fish got away! One of my guests was in a different part of the lake and came across a huge area of water just boiling with top water fish. It was a fun morning.

Overall the best bite has been for largemouth, smallmouth & spotted bass. Striped bass and hybrid are probable the next best bite with white bass, catfish, walleye and crappie rounding out the species being caught. Look for points in the creeks with sunken brush and I bet you will find a few catchable fish.

Norfork Lake is rising very slowly and currently sits at 558.8. The surface water temperature is also rising slowly and was in the mid to upper 60's this morning. The main lake is gin clear with some of the major creeks somewhat stained.

Don't forget, on the evening of May 25th, Cranfield Marina will be shooting off fireworks over the lake. Should be a great show. It is really fun to watch fireworks out of your boat. We still have several one bedroom cabins available over the Memorial Day holiday period. If you are looking for a great place to stay give us a call at 870-492-5113.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The spring bite for Norfork Lake fishing is getting better and better as the weather stabilizes and warms up the water. The biggest issue for the late spring bite has been the huge weather swings that we have had for the last month. Just over the last 10 days since my last report we had major weather changes. Notice in the photos what people are wearing. These are all recent photos. We get several days in the the 70's and 80's and then a cold front to reverse the benefits the warm weather was giving. Hopefully we are over the cold weather and we can get down to a seriously good bite for all species.

The bass bite is definitely the best bite on the lake at this time. I am finding bass back in the major creeks on the shallow shoreline as well as along the deep bluff sides.  Free swimming live bait has been working great, but top water action is starting to take off with Zara Spooks. Flukes, swimming minnows and rogues are all still working. The fish are active so vary your retrieval speeds as I am finding that a fast retrieval or quick jerks have been working the best for me. I have been on the lake for the last five mornings and have fished from Float Creek, Fall Creek, Panther Creek, Bennett's area and the Cranfield area and have found bass (largemouth, smallmouth & spots) just about everywhere I try to fish.

Striped bass fishing has been challenging, but as you can see from the photos I am starting to find the fish. I have been fishing at one point on and off for the last week. The fish seem to be in this spot every morning sometime between 5:30AM and 7AM. By 7AM they are gone and I have not been able to find where they go. The bite this morning was fun. I had a couple of our guests out fishing with me and we landed 7 different species of fish including two stripers. Brian and Deb, guests from Tinley Park, Illinois, found some top water hybrids back in a creek this morning and landed this nice hybrid on a spook. The hunt is what I really enjoy about fishing. Very soon the thread fin shad will start to spawn in the sunken buck brush. When this happens the stripers will be going crazy like we typically get in the spring months on main lake and creek points. Stripers are being caught all over the lake, but mainly back in the major creeks where the bait is located.

I have not done any crappie fishing, but the spawn should be complete for most of the fish. In prior years after the spawn they have been located on brush in 20 - 40 feet of water. Live bait as well as jigs will be working. The lake is clear so you will need to stay away from the brush and cast into it.

 

Catfishing is starting to take off. This morning we landed a nice 8 pound channel catfish. I was dragging live shad through 10 feet of water and this big cat hammered the bait. I thought we had a striper on, as much as it pulled drag.  Trout lines and jugs are starting to catch some very nice size flatheads. The cat's are gearing up for their spawn.

 

We also landed a nice 19.5 inch walleye in the same area. Overall fishing for all species is picking up and will only get better. Who knows the night bite may start getting active. I'll have to start thinking about getting out at night!

 

The Norfork Lake level is rising very slowly and currently sits at 558.5. This is a great level for fishing as the buck brush is sunken in the water and will be great cover for the young fry of all species after the spawns. The main lake is gin clear with the backs of creeks and coves somewhat stained. Surface water temperature was in the low to mid 60's.

Plan your Norfork Lake getaway now. We still have a few cabins available for Memorial week end. Fireworks will be held near Cranfield Marina on Saturday, May 25. Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report



 From what I have seen over the last couple of days the Norfork Lake fishing is starting to take-off, finally. The extreme weather changes that we have had during the month of April has made for an interesting time of fishing. The crappie should have been spawning a week or two ago, but it appears they have moved to the banks again and this time to stay. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have started to move to their beds over the last couple of days. We are a couple of weeks behind where we normally are, but for a positive note, this delay should make for a fantastic May bite. May is typically a good fishing month, but I think this year should be outstanding. All this said, I am assuming the air temperature is going to get back to normal and start to warm the lake. The other positive lake effect is that the water has risen a little and the buck brush is getting submerged. With this lake level the shad will move into the brush and the fish will follow making for a great shallow bite. Thread fin shad that I netted this morning are really fat, telling me they are ready to spawn. With all the brush in the water they will be all over the lake spawning. The fish will start to move out of the major creeks to feed on the spawning shad.

 

This morning was a fantastic striper bite. I caught my limit is less than an hour. I was using gizzard and thread fin shad and the fish were coming up to get the bait. I was also throwing a spook, but had no takers today, unlike a few evenings ago when I landed two nice stripers and missed several others on a clear spook with a hint of yellow on the top and a white feathered rear treble hook. That was a fun evening watching the fish jump out of the water to attack my Zara Spook. Once it became too dark to see, the bite seemed to quit. I haven't been able to get out after dark since my last report so I don't really know if the night bite has every taken off.  I do know that the stripers are in shallow water hitting rogues as Jerry landed this nice 24 pound fish in the Cranfield area last Wednesday morning, right at sunrise. The stripers still seem to be back in the major creeks in the off colored water.

 

Crappie fishing has been up and down over the last week or so. They start to move in to spawn then a cold front arrives so they move out. This weekend I had several boats out crappie fishing and even with the cool front and a lot of rain the crappie seemed to stay on the banks and on shallow brush. Try using a light weight hair jig, a paddle tail or twister tail grub. For best results tip with a crappie minnow or some crappie niblets. I had a fishing group in last week that were crappie fishing, bass fishing and striper fishing. The crappie bite was OK, but not great. They did manage to pick up enough crappie to feed 20 guys. The Eelpout Fishing Club has a great group of guys and Linda and I look forward to their next visit.

Largemouth and smallmouth bass have also started to move onto their beds over the last several days. They are coming up for spooks, rogues and flukes. You will also find some good top water action early and late in the day. I was back in Fall Creek earlier in the week and found the bass stacked on several points and off the sides of points. They were hammering my white with chartreuse head spook on just about every cast. Look back in creeks with gravel banks and you should find the fish.

Norfork lake is on the rise. We have had well over two inches of rain over the last couple of days and with little or no power generation the lake is coming up slowly. The lake currently sits at 556.7 which is only 3 feet above the new normal pool. I have been told there is a mud line toward Cranfield. I didn't go that way this morning so I can't confirm, but the main lake from Mallard Point to the bridges and beyond is very clear. Hummingbird Hideaway's cove did get somewhat stained over the gin clear conditions of 3 days ago. Great fishing color in the coves and creeks. The surface water temperature has fallen to the upper 50's, again. This should warm and stabilize over the next few days with our current beautiful weather forecast. Over all the lake is in great shape. I'm looking for an exciting May.

Don't forget to ask about the Norfork Lake Fishing Derby. The Derby continues though May 31, 2013. When you check-in to your Chamber member lodging facility sign up.  You could win $500.00.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.



Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The Norfork Lake spring fishing bite started a little slow this year, but is starting to pick up. The drastic weather changes that we have had has played havoc on the fish as well as all the fishermen & women. Winter clothes one day and the next you need shorts and a tee shirt.
Today we have a frontal system coming though that I think may be good for fishing. Very little lightening in the area with a light gentle rain. The rain should help stain up the coves and creeks making it easier to catch fish. If my dock is any indication of the numbers of fish and the size of fish, Norfork Lake is in great shape. The water is gin clear and on any day you can count over 15 largemouth bass with over half of them well over keeper size. Large crappie and numerous bluegill are swimming around under the dock. Just try your luck at catching one of the dock fish, they seem to look at you and smile!

Crappie fishing has been the most popular targeted species in the last week. I have seen many people bringing in big slabs to the dock, but not in great numbers. Crappie are currently spawning and can be found on the banks as well as shallow brush piles. Go back in the major creeks and try to find some stained water with dead wood sticking up in the shallows. The crappie will be around this dead wood. I suggest using crappie minnows on a slip float. Stay as far away from the brush as you can and cast into it and bring back to the boat slowly with slight twitches. Roadrunners and small grubs should also work in the same method. The fish are in 10 - 15ft of water and may only be down a couple of feet. After you catch a few off one brush pile the bite will seem to stop so move to the next pile. Check back in Bennett's Bayou, Pigeon & East Pigeon Creeks, Float Creek, Panther and Fall creeks. I haven't been targeting crappie, but when I go out in the late afternoon and start casting a rogue up to the banks I have caught a couple of nice slabs each time out. It is amazing to me that a 15 inch fish with attack a 5 inch bait.

Bass fishing has also been picking up, in fact it is probably the best bite on the lake at this time. All methods of fishing for bass is working. They are moving very shallow in the mornings and evenings to feed with a little top water activity. They will drop back into to 15 - 20 ft of water during the day. You can find some really nice spotted bass hiding in brush at the 30 feet level.



Catfish are starting to hit trotlines and jugs. Live shiners and small blue gill are working very well. You should find them in shallow water as their spawn is upcoming soon.

White Bass are starting to show up in the backs of creeks and coves. Find some shad and I bet there will be white bass and the smaller hybrids feeding on them.

Striper fishing has been up and down. There has been some really nice fish caught but the numbers are down for this time of year. I am still attributing this to the constant weather fluctuation turning the bite off and this should and will change very shortly. I have mainly been fishing in the late afternoon and after dark. Two nights ago I was fishing with one of my guests back in Bennett's and noticed a fish coming after some bait. We both switched from a rogue to a spook and started casting in all directions. On one cast Grant had his bait almost back to the boat when a huge eruption occurred and the fish missed, but in a blink of an eye the fish slammed the bait again and inhaled the spook. Grant had a great fight in catching his largest striper in 30 + years of fishing Norfork Lake with a nice 20+ pound fish. After that, the bite was slow with us only catching a nice 15 inch crappie. Yesterday, one of our guests saw a little swirl back in a small cove and casted a Rattle Trap at it. As soon as the bait hit the water the fish took off. He tried to slow down the fish with no luck and it finally spooled him. Bruce has since gone out and got a reel that holds more 8 pound test line than his other one. Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters and Russ Breckenridge has fished a few of our guests and have landed some nice fish. I have also fished in the Cranfield area after dark and have been catching medium size hybrids. The fish are still scattered from Cranfield, Bennett's to Big Creek. Find bait and you should find the stripers. They should start to move out of the creeks shortly as the shad seems to be spawning and will move out after the spawn. Start looking for stripers on secondary points in the creeks. Spooks, rogues and flukes are all good baits at this time of year cast into the bank.

Norfork Lake level is staying fairly stable with slight fluctuations due to intermittent power generation and currently sits at 553.61. The currently normal pool has risen to 553.8 due to minimum flow being enacted. The surface water temperature is in the low 60's up at my end of the lake to the high 60's back in the creeks and slightly cooler at the south end of the lake. The main lake and most coves are gin clear. Some staining may occur with the rain we had today.

Don't forget about the Norfork Lake 2013 Fishing Derby that is currently going on until May 31st. You could win $500 for the longest fish in each of 5 different categories. When checking into your resort ask them about the derby and how to enter. The cost is only $20 per species. So far all species are wide open with no monsters being measured in. The winner could be you!

Some other lake news is that Cranfield Marina will be shooting off fireworks over the lake again this Memorial Day week end. Mark your calendars for the evening of May 25th. They will be held just south of the marina and only minutes from our resort. Last years fireworks were fantastic and they have told me this year will be even better. Give us a call for your Memorial weekend reservations while we still have a few openings

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.