April 2015Page 44 MidWest Outdoors “Helping people enjoy the outdoors”

by John N. Felsher

Somewhere between a mountainousshoreline thick with lure-eating brushduring daylight hours and us, a large fishsplashed. With no moon to illuminate therugged Ozark Mountains, we couldn’tjudge distances very well. Was theshoreline 20 yards away or 100?

Making distance calculations evenmore tricky, a point projected out fromthat dark shoreline toward the boat. Weunleashed our lures in the general vicinityof the stygian shoreline, intently listeningfor the reassuring splashes of them hittingthe water rather than a dishearteningclunk. Splash! Success —this time!

“Shad move up on the banks at night,”explained Steve Olomon with Steve’sGuide Service (870-491-5142,fishingwithsteve.com) on Norfork Lakenear Mountain Home, Arkansas. “Stripersmove up shallow at night to feed.Sometimes, they get right on the banks.We want to put the bait close to theshoreline, but not on it. With a goodbreeze like we have tonight, a SmithwickRogue can really sail on light line. Atnight, stripers don’t like to hit a lure if it’sgoing too fast. Reel it very slowly. Theslower the better, just so it wobbles backand forth. Don’t jerk it like when fishingfor largemouth bass.”

In the incredibly transparent water ofthis deep lake, fish can see even at night.They might rise 50 feet to smack a bait onthe surface, but we couldn’t see the lurewobbling almost painfully slowly at theend of the line. Large predators could

story continued on page 46

w w w . F i s h N o r f o r k . c o mthis ad paid for with a combination of private and state matching funds

And Bring A Big Net!

Norfork LakeIn the Arkansas Ozark Mountains

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Unspoiled, Uncrowded, Unforgettable

Clear Water, Clean Water, Deep Water

Nationally Famous For Big Stripers and Bass

Undiscovered For Slab Crappie and Walleye

Valory Zortman shows off a striped bass caught while fishing with Steve Olomon of Steve’s Guide Service, on Norfork Lake in Arkansas. Photo: John N. Felsher

Big Striped Bass Rise to Baits as the Sun Goes DownFi s h N o r fo r k L a k e

MidWest Outdoors “Helping people enjoy the outdoors” Page 45 April 2015

Norfork LakeMARKED MAP

LOCATION: Baxter/Fulton Counties, Arkansas SIZE/DEPTH: 22,000 surface acres. Maximum depth: 177 ftDOMINANT SPECIES: striped bass, hybrid bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes,crappies, white bass, bluegills, catfish

by Tom ReynoldsTom Reynolds of STR Outfitters has fished Norfork Lake more than 36 years.He’s guided striper anglers for 17 years. You may contact Reynolds at877-246-4896 or at stroutfitters.com.

N

Thumb Point: Thumb Point is a great night spot for earlystripers/walleyes. Sloping banks provide easy access from deep water.Later in summer, stripers school on Thumb's big flat and right off theedge of the flat.

Dam Cove: Dam Cove is another spot for the night bite in March andApril. The summer bite for stripers and hybrids is very good also. Thecove is deep, leading back to a small flat where the fish will school.

Point One: Excellent beginning in April. It features a large flat thatgoes nearly across the lake and has the river channel bordering threesides. Stripers feed on the flat, and as summer progresses they schoolup, feeding on crawdads.

Hand Cove: This flat is an outstanding location for the night bitebeginning in early March and on into May. Both stripers and walleyescan be caught along the whole bank. The bank slopes off into deepwater.

Barren Point: Good for both the night bite and spring and summerstripers on the inside of the point. Smallmouth spawn on the point,because it has the right structure and depth.

Brushy Creek: Outstanding area for crappies and stripers. Thebeginning section of the creek is very good for the March to May striperbite. The back end of the creek is loaded with trees and structure forcrappies. You can find crappies on the brush piles early and during thespawn all the way back into the willows.

Big Creek: The other outstanding creek for crappies and stripers. Thecreek is much larger than Brushy Creek and has many inlets that havebrush piles and blow-downs. Stripers will be caught all around (and tothe north of) Reynolds Island during March through May. The backend of the creek near the Boggy Access is loaded with trees andstructure for crappies. You’ll find crappies on the brush piles early andduring the spawn all the way back along the blow-downs.

Koso Point: Koso Point has an outstanding flat that borders the riverchannel on three sides. During April and May, stripers will be shallowbetween the two points, and anchor each end of the flat. In latesummer, stripers school on the flat, feeding on crawdads.

Brushy Point: Straight across from Woods Point, this entire area isgood for schooling stripers during summer.

Holiday Hills: Holiday Hills is a cove that has a series of pointsleading to the actual cove. During spring and early summer, look forstripers feeding in the early morning off of these points.

Shoal Creek: This is a mid- to late-summer creek that can beoutstanding striper/hybrid fishing. It is one of the deepest creeks onNorfork Lake and you will find lots of schooling fish.

Long Flat: This is a long flat heading into Big Creek. Stripers willfeed and spawn along this flat starting in April and May.

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Coming next month...

Leech Lake, Minn.

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A complete standard-definition map ofNorfork Lake is available on the followingLakeMaster products:

detect the movement of asilhouetted morselseductively wobbling justunder the surface. The firstlure didn’t move very farbefore a vicious beastsmashed it and raced foropen water, nearly pulling therod with it. On the boat, 19-year-old Valory Zortmanfought her first striper.

“Norfork Lake is well-known for its striper fishery,”advised Tom Reynolds withSTR Outfitters in MountainHome (877-246-4896,stroutfitters.com). “The stateoriginally stocked stripedbass into the lake in the1960s and continue to stockstripers and hybrid bass eachyear. The lake has a goodpopulation of stripersaveraging about 10 to 12pounds, but we catch somefish in the 20- to 40-poundrange. Occasionally, someonelands one topping 50pounds.”

Just outside MountainHome, Norfork Lake beganwith a dam on the North Forkof the White River in 1944.Slicing a path through theancient Ozark Mountains ofMissouri and northernArkansas, the North Forkruns about 109 miles until ithits the White River atNorfork, Ark., below Norfork Lake. TheWhite River snakes 720 miles throughArkansas and Missouri before turningsoutherly to hit the Mississippi River insoutheastern Arkansas.

Norfork Lake runs about 47 milesalong the river channel. No other riversflow into the lake, but the dazzling watersspread through myriad mountain covestotaling about 22,000 surface acres at poolstage. The lake drops to more than 200feet deep near the dam. The U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers controls the 550 milesof shorelines, preventing mostdevelopment. The COE strip of land may

extend back from the water a few hundredfeet or nearly a mile.

During daylight hours, visitors seerocky bluffs and forested shorelinestouching crystal waters reminiscent of aremote lake in boreal Canada. At firstlight, anglers fishing a wooded pointmight hear turkeys gobbling or see baldeagles hunting prey. Sometimes, deer walkalong the boulder-strewn shorelines. Just acast away from shore, the boat could sit inmore than 100 feet of water.

“It’s somewhat isolated with nosuperhighways passing close to it so itdoesn’t have any really big boats on it,”

Reynolds said. “On the weekends, it getssome boat traffic, but Norfork doesn’t getnearly the pressure of other lakes. Duringthe week, we hardly see another boat.Since the water is so clear, night fishingcan be outstanding. The stripers can seebaitfish at night as they move into theshallows.”

This adventure began just as the dayended and a chilly night started. Hall ofFame outdoor writer Kenny Kieser,Valory, the daughter of our hosts atMockingbird Bay Resort, and I venturedinto the darkness with Steve to temptnocturnal stripers. Normally, Steve runsout of Quarry Marina near the dam, butpicked us up in his Legend boat on thisbreezy, twilight at the Mockingbird BayResort where we stayed. That morning,Valory caught her first fish ever, aKentucky spotted bass, while fishing withSteve. Besides those fish mentioned, thelake also holds smallmouth andlargemouth bass, Ozark bass, walleyes,crappies, bream, catfish and other fish. Inthe tailrace below the dam, anglers catchseveral trout species.

“We’re fishing a gravel flat close to thebank,” Steve advised as he powered downthe outboard at the honey hole. “Stripers

April 2015Page 46 MidWest Outdoors “Helping people enjoy the outdoors”

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Big Striped Bass Rise to Baits as the Sun goes Down...continued from page 44

Kenny Kieser shows off another nice Norfork striper. Photo: John N. Felsher

Tom Reynolds with STR Outfitters shows off a striped bass he caughtwhile fishing on Norfork Lake near Mountain Home, Ark. Photo: John N. Felsher

Steve Olomon, a guide on Norfork Lake near MountainHome, Ark., shows off a striped bass he caught whilefishing at night. Photo: John N. Felsher

story continued...

Fi s h N o r fo r k L a k e

Answers to Outdoor PuzzlerPuzzle on page 39

Norfork Lake is an outstanding fishery,drawing enthusiasts from all over thecountry. Nationally famous for the stripedand hybrid bass it yields, Norfork Lakealso offers great fishing for both large andsmallmouth bass. Don’t overlook thewalleye population. This much soughtafter table fish has really come into itsown. White bass, monster crappies,bluegills, and catfish are also plentiful.

Mild winters, water that never freezes,and a 365-day open season, enable anglersto enjoy fishing throughout the year.Spring typically comes early to Norfork

Lake, as does the traditional spring bite.The warm lazy summer days offer greatbass and crappie fishing early in themornings and late in the evenings, leavingyour afternoons for other lake adventures.

For a real thrill, try night fishing“under the lights.” The mosquitoes won’tbother you. There are none.

And fishing in the fall couldn’t bebetter as you cruise the lake looking forthat special hotspot while admiring someof the most beautiful fall foliage that youhave ever seen.

Spoons and other more natural-looking

lures are encouraged along with variouslive baits. For the best experience,schedule a charter with one of the lake’sexperienced and professional fishingguides. They are there to help you learntechnique, bait choices, and locating thebig one you’re looking for.

Don’t forget to stop in at one of theconveniently located bait shops on thelake. Those bait guys are full of the mostup-to-date “what’s hot and what’s not”information. Some even offer bait deliveryservices to select areas of the lake.

And don’t forget those knowledgeableresort and marina owners. They literallylive on the lake and are always willing tosteer you in the right direction. The key isto be patient and to know when to fishdeep but also know when the top waterbite is on. MWO

Page 47April 2015 MidWest Outdoors “Helping people enjoy the outdoors”

Imagine…

These memories will last a lifetime!Tom Reynolds 877-246-4896

www.stroutfitters.comwww.facebook.com/NorforkStriperGuide

• Stripers• Walleyes• Hybrids

YourPhotoHere

A young man with his firststriper, a 21-pounder!

like gravel flats, like where smallmouthwould go. Sometimes, the fish are off theend of the points. Sometimes, they mightbe off to one side. I’ll keep the boat inabout nine to 11 feet of water as you throwtoward the shoreline.”

While Steve maintained the boatposition and kept a Frabill net handy, therest of us propelled our jerkbaits towardthe general vicinity of the shadowyshoreline. We used light spinning rodsloaded with 10-pound-test monofilamentbecause we didn’t anticipate hitting anysnags in the clear-cut lake—as long as wehit the water on the cast!

“It’s a little tougher to catch stripers onartificial baits, but I like the challenge oftempting big fish on light tackle withlures,” Olomon remarked. “I know of atleast one 53-pound striper that came outof this lake. A lot of people fish at nightwith artificials because in that extremelyclear water, fish can get spooky.”

When tempting stripers at night, keepnoise to a minimum and avoid shining anylights onto the water, particularly towardthe chosen shoreline. That could spookfish. When preparing tackle or taking careof a problem in the boat, use a small LEDlight and shine it into the bottom of theboat instead of over the water.

“Stripers don’t like a lot of light,”Olomon explained. “Even when anelectrical storm comes up, that shuts downthe striper bite for a day or two. A littletalking doesn’t hurt anything, but avoidbanging things around in the boat. Soundtravels through the boat hull into thewater.”

Every few casts, one of us hooked afish. When someone hooked a powerfulfish, the others pulled in their lines toavoid a tangled mess, but we did manage acouple doubles. After about 90 minutes,we head back to Mockingbird Bay Resortafter catching and releasing 14 stripersand missing several others. Valory landeda double-digit hybrid striped bass, ahatchery-raised combination of a stripedbass and a white bass.

“We catch hybrids the same way wecatch stripers,” Olomon advised. “Hybridsoften run with stripers. Sometimes, wecatch a striper on one cast and a hybrid onthe next cast with the same bait.” MWO

John N. Felsher grew up in Slidell, La., andnow lives in Semmes, Ala. He’s a professionalfreelance writer and photographer with more than2,100 articles in more than 135 differentmagazines to his credit. He also co-hosts a weeklylive outdoors radio show every Thursday fromnoon to 1 p.m. Central Time on WNSP 105.5 FM inMobile, Ala. and a recorded syndicated show thatgoes out to multiple stations in Alabama eachweek. For more info on the syndicated show, seegdomag.com. Contact Felsher through his websiteat JohnNFelsher.com.

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Big Striped Bass Rise to Baits as the Sun goes Down...continued from previous page

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