anc bass stripers walleye crappie catfish fishing guides resorts lodging mountain home arkansas ozark mountains

home

Resort Information

     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Home Page
     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Lodging
     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Boat Rentals
     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Amenities
     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Site Directory
     bullet2.gif (100 bytes) Contact Us

-

More Activities

 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Main Activities Page
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Outdoor Adventures
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Area Attractions
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Dining & Shows
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Scenic Drives
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Festivals & Events
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Golf
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Nature
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) For Photographers
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) The Seasons
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Water Sports
 bullet3.gif (85 bytes) Fishing

 

Blackburn's Guide to Norfork Lake Area Activities
Norfork Lake Fishing - Page1 - We'll Put You On The Fish

White & North Fork River Trout Fishing, Stripers, Bass, Crappie, Walleye, and Catfish - they are all here.

report.gif (3097 bytes)

The latest fishing conditions for Norfork Lake are on Blackburn's Norfork Lake Fishing Report. Look for this logo and click it to access our report.

Whether you are a novice or expert angler, Blackburn's Resort means exciting fishing. Lake Norfork is famous for lunker black bass, tackle-busting ocean stripers, tasty walleye, and slab crappie. The North Fork River and the White River are famous World-Wide for record trout. Catch rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and brook trout just 20 minutes from Blackburn's Resort.

In March the first whisper of spring triggers a frenzy of action . . . hungry bass move into creeks and coves to prowl for crawdads and minnows, slab crappie ease up to submerged brush, and walleye scour the banks for minnows. Thus begins a fishing season which lasts through December. Although spring and fall are the peak fishing seasons, summer provides excellent bass and striper fishing, with abundant catfish and panfish to please novice and expert anglers of all ages. Because Lake Norfork is virtually mosquito-free, night fishing under lights for crappie and white bass is popular during the summer. If trout fishing is your favorite, try a float on the famous North Fork or White River for scrappy rainbow and big German brown trout. Whatever your preference, we will put you onto fish and show you how to catch them or, if you prefer, we'll arrange for a skilled guide.

Steve's Fishing Tips for Norfork Lake

a
largemouth
Largemouth Bass

He knows where the fish are!
A two hour's catch is what you see in the photos below of Blackburn's owner Steve Street. He caught these fish in the middle of a hot August afternoon, when fishing is supposed to be slow! Steve fishes Norfork almost every day of the year. He also scuba dives each day. Either way, he knows where the fish are! Steve also writes the Norfork lake fishing report keeping thousands of fishermen informed. If you want to catch fish, stay at Blackburn's!

Numbers of largemouth, smallmouth, and Kentucky bass vary from year to year according to spawn numbers. Right now the most plentiful species are the Kentucky followed by smallmouth, then largemouth.

 

b
smallmouth
Smallmouth Bass

Crawfish are the favorite food for all three, so crank baits work very well here. Use spinner baits when it is windy, and flukes when it is not. Night fishing with blacklights and florescent line works well in mid summer. Use green grubs in winter. Superflukes are a good all around bait.

 

c
walleye
Walleye

Walleye are fast becoming Lake Norfork's top game fish, and if their size and numbers keep increasing as quickly as they have the last few years, they will overtake stripers as the lake's most popular game fish. I have won the annual walleye spear fishing tournament for four years in a row. My largest walleye to date is a 9 pounder. I spoon for them in the summer. The rest of the year I use jerk baits and troll night crawler harnesses. Walleyes in Norfork like high rocky banks with sharp drop-offs most of the year. In the spring they travel onto flats.

 

d
crappie
Crappie

Crappie usually spawn in April then stay in shallow water. Prior to April Crappie are deeper and very large ones can be caught. After spawn look for any structure or submerged brush. Tube jigs and jigs tipped with minnows are the preferred Norfork bait.   Occasionally during the summer the largest fish are on high banks with sharp drop-offs. The Game and Fish mark brush piles with blue signs with white fish on them to indicate location of structure and submerged brush piles. I catch some large crappie on the bottom while spooning in the summer, some as large as 2 1/2 lbs.

 

Back to page top

 

© Copyright '96-2003 Gary R. Cooley and the Ozark Mountains Website, Inc. All rights reserved