Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The weather has been gorgeous for the past few days on Norfork Lake and the forecast is calling for much of the same with cooler temperatures. The cooler temps should help to improve the already good fishing. We have several guests bass fishing and catching their limits and more each day. Many of the fish being caught are slightly undersized, but this morning one of our guests brought in a nice stringer of small and largemouth bass (3 - 4 pound range) as well as four 15 - 16 inch Kentucky bass. Their bellies were full of crawdads. Dark colors (browns) were working the best for him this morning. He likes to use a jig and pig and is working it off the bluffs down to about 35 ft. He caught most of his fish this morning in about 20 feet of water. I have heard from a few divers that they are seeing many fish over brush piles in 30 - 35 feet of water, large fish. Crappie are hanging around in the same area and can be caught on live crappie minnows with a slip float or with a 1/16 oz. jig with a twister tail grub. I have found it beneficial to tip the jig with a crappie minnow.

A few of my fishing guide friends have been fairing well on striped bass and hybrid bass. They have been fishing near the bridge columns using live threadfin shad. They have also been catching many Kentucky bass right on the columns in about 20 feet of water. With the water temperature cooling slightly the striped bass seem to be dispersing a little. Hopefully with about another 10 degree drop in water temperature we will get into our fall top water bite.

I have been going through fishing withdrawal. My Yamaha four stroke engine threw the nut off the drive shaft that holds the fly wheel on and did a lot of damage. The motor is only a few months out of warranty and I have been working with Yamaha to hopefully cover the damage. I should know this week who gets to pay for it. I have asked around and so far no one has heard of this happening before. I guess I'm lucky to get to be the first!

The Norfork Lake level is holding fairly steady at about 557, which is 5 feet above normal pool. The Corps. is running two generators about 6 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature is in the mid 70's and falling slowly. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves cloudy.

Happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake soon.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

After a week long low pressure system covered the area and dropped 3 - 4 inches of rain, I can now say that the fishing is picking up. The bite was really slow last weekend but started to pick up around Wednesday or Thursday. The rain has slowed or stopped for awhile and the sun came out today. We had guests catching crappie, bass, catfish and blue gill. They were fishing with live crappie minnows and nightcrawlers. They were mainly fishing brush piles that I have placed in over the years and the crappie bite really started to improve throughout the week. The fish are in 15 - 25 feet of water and are hitting well on live bait or a small tube jig hooked with live bait. Other guests have been fishing for bass. They started to catch fish along banks near deep water using crank baits and spinners. I guess the cooler water is letting the fish come in close to the shore line to feed. Guests were also catching nice large and smallmouth bass using shaky head worms and lizards in 20 - 25 feet of water. Dark colors were working the best. We had other guests strictly catfishing. They started catching nice blue catfish and flatheads on trot lines using live blue gills. Their biggest was 12 pounds, but most ranged in the 4 - 5 pound range. Earlier in the week catching bait fish was even a challenge. Thank goodness the low has moved on ane the fishing has picked up.

The live bait striper guides are still doing well. The best bite is still from point 2 to point 1. The fish are in deep water so either use live bait or vertical jig with a spoon in 40 to 80 feet of water. The fish are typically on the bottom, but you may find them suspended especially when you find them feeding on a school of shad.

The lake level is on the rise and is currently at 555 feet above sea level which is up 1.5 feet over last week. The level is about 3 feet above normal pool. The rain really came down in our area. The main lake is clear, but not gin clear and the creeks and coves are cloudy to muddy due to all the rain and rising water. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature has dropped to the mid to upper 70's.

Keep watching my posts. If the water temperature continues to drop at the current rate the fall striped bass top water bite and night bite may start earlier than normal. Last year from about mid-October through mid-November the early morning and evening top water bite was just fantastic.

Start planning you fall fishing trip. The lake will be gorgeous with the leaf color change and fishing is a lot of fun.

See you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

The fishing patterns on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks has been unchanged for the last 3 - 4 weeks. The fish are deep, but once you find them you will have a great time. I have been out the last couple of evenings for about an hour around sunset and have had good success. I have been vertical jigging with a spoon in 30-40 feet of water and have caught white bass and kentucky bass. I have been fishing main lake points on bluff ends. I have mainly been working the Cranfield island area.

September through November is a popular time of year for bass fishermen on Lake Norfork. We currently have several guests fishing for bass and having a good time. They are using plastic worms and lizards. The fish are around the bluff banks and on bluff points in 25 - 35 feet of water. Yesterday one guest caught over 20 largemouth, smallmouth and kentucky bass with the largest being 4.5 pounds. Darker color baits have been working the best since it has been cloudy. Lighter colors seem to work good on clear and sunny days. Jig and pigs are also working very well.

Walleyes are being caught in the same areas and depths as the bass. You can either vertical jig with a spoon or drag a Lindy rigged crawler harness. Try to find big chunk rock on the points or bluffs.

We have another guest who is fishing for striped bass. He landed a 18, 15 and 12 pounder yesterday afternoon and this morning landed a 20 and 15 pounder. He is using live shad and catching the fish on the bottom in 60 - 80 feet of water. Vertical jigging with a spoon will also work. Watch your fish finder and when you find the school drop your spoon through the school and start jigging up and down. The Striper usually hit the spoon on the fall. If you see your line go slack set the hook quickly.

Catfish have been active on trotlines and jugs. Live bait is working the best. Use small bluegill, large shiners or crawfish. I have been catching blues, flatheads and channels.

Blue gill are still biting very well. Nightcrawlers and crickets are the best baits at this time. You can find the panfish close to shore as well as in 20 - 40 feet depths.

Crappie are holding over the deep brush piles. I have caught several while jigging with a spoon. They are in 20 - 40 feet of water over the brush piles or large trees that have been sunk. When you find the brush, use a live crappie minnow and a slip float for best results or a twister tail grub with a 1/16oz jig head. Tip the jig with a live crappie minnow, cast the jig over the brush and let it sink to the top of the brush pile then pull back and let it sink again. Watch for your line to go slack or start moving sideways, then set the hook.

The Norfork Lake level is mainly holding steady at 553.2. The lake surface temperature is in the low 80's. Main lake water is clear with a slight green tint, the creeks and channels are stained. The Corps is running one to two generators for about 5 - 6 hours per day.

Happy fishing and see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Stripers

These two young men had a great time fishing Norfork Lake last evening. They are some of our guests from the St. Louis area. The bite started around 6PM and lasted until about 9PM. They ended up landing these 4 striped bass and lost 3 others. The largest was 10 pounds with the others around 8 pounds. They had a fantastic time. They were fishing with gizzard shad which was caught for them by one of the fishing guides. If you would like to fish with live shad I can arrange for someone to catch the shad for you and if you don't have a shad tank I may be able to find one for you to rent. The striped bass are deep, the fish in the photo, as well as, fish being caught by the guides are on the bottom at 45 - 80 foot depths. We are in our normal summer pattern.

My boat is out of commission since my trolling motor is at the trolling motor doctor's office waiting on parts. Hopefully I will get it back sometime this week. I'm itching to get back to walleye fishing and to start a little crappie fishing. My catfish trotline is still producing a couple of 5 - 10 pound catfish each time I bait it up. Bass fishing has been improving as long as you find the deep pockets where they hide. You will find them in 30 - 40 feet of water on main lake points just off the bluff lines. Also look for big rocks in this same depth as the rocks will be holding the walleye.

The Norfork Lake level is 552.7 and dropping slowly. The main lake is clear with coves and creeks off color. Water temperature is in the low to mid 80's early and rising during the warm days.

Fishing is a lot of fun in the summer months. You might have some difficulty finding the fish, but once you do you will have a blast. Just being on the lake is a pleasure in itself.

Until next time happy fishing and see you on the water.

Norfork Lake Striped Bass Fishing

Here are some photos of recent catches on Norfork Lake. These vacationers fished with two different striper guides in the past week. Both guides use live bait and lite tackle. It is really a blast to catch one of these 15 to 30 pound fish on 8 pound test line and lite action rods and reels. If you are looking for a fishing experience of a lifetime come on down and visit us at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake. We are located in Mountain Home, Arkansas in the Arkansas Ozarks. The two guides are Robert Lee of Lee's Lite Line (www.leesliteline.com) and Tom Reynold of STR Outfitters (www.stroutfitters.com). Contact us and we will help you set up your guided trip or you can contact the guides directly. The big fish are really hitting well. I can attest to that because I caught a 20 pound striped bass this morning with Robert Lee.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I enjoyed a beautiful morning on Norfork Lake. Not only was this 20 pound fish gorgeous and fun to reel in, but the sunrise with the fog lifting from the water was breathtaking. I fished with one of my guide friends, Robert Lee, of Lee's Lite Line and we had a good morning for big fish. I landed this 20 pounder, but we also broke off two others and missed 4 good hits. I think we must have been talking more than watching the poles to lose this many. That's how it goes sometime. We were fishing with 4 to 5 inch gizzard shad in 45 - 80 ft of water. The fish were on the bottom and occasionally suspended. I did notice a few fishermen spooning and saw them catch a few. I will post some additional photos later of guests to the area catching large striper on guided trips. The big fish seem to be keying in on the large gizzard shad over the smaller thread fin shad.

I haven't been out in a few days fishing on my own, so hopefully, if I get my work done today, I can get out this evening or tomorrow. I plan to walleye and bass fish using artificial baits. I will let you know how it goes.

The Norfork Lake level is at 552.73 and falling slowly. Two generators are being run for 6 - 9 hours per day. The Norfork Lake surface water temperature was at 82 degrees. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still cloudy.

Until next time happy fishing and hope to see you on the lake.

Norfork Lake Fishing Report

I fished Norfork Lake this evening and had a lot of success. I was walleye fishing and ended up catching 3, but one got away before I could net it. I was vertical jigging with a spoon in 25 - 40 of water. I used several colors, white, white and chartreuse and white and green. I found the fish on main lake points that end on a bluff line, as well as along the bluff line. You will want to be fishing very close to shore as the water gets deep very quickly. Look for submerged boulders or ledges in the 25 - 40 foot range, the walleye will be hanging out in the creases and on the ledge. In the same areas are schooling Kentucky bass. I ended up catching 5 bass with 3 about 15 inches long. Nice size for a Kentucky.

The striped bass are being caught in deeper water. Early in the morning you might find fish in 35 - 40 feet of water, but as the sun rises they go down to 40 - 60 feet. I have marked some nice fish even deeper. The live bait guides are catching some really nice size fish (20 - 30 pound range)using gizzard shad. Thread fin shad are producing fish, but they seem to be much smaller. The bigger fish are also the ones found in the 60 foot depths.

Overall the thermocline in Norfork Lake seems to be 25 - 40 feet down depending where you are on the lake and who you are talking with. All types of fish seem to be hanging out at or near the thermocline.

The Norfork Lake level is 552.96 and falling very slowly. The water temperature this evening was in the mid to upper 80's, of course it's cooler in the morning. The main lake is clear with the creeks and coves still off color.