Well, I am still among the living and starting to get out on the lake a little more often. I actually fished last Friday and then again on Sunday. I wanted to see how the striped bass were acting. I was down in the dam area and found lots of stripers in 70 to 100+ feet of water suspended 70 to 90 feet down. I had no takers on either day. A few are being caught on big artificial baits trying to get a reaction bite, but it is slow. The live bait guides are doing better, but still each day is different. This morning I went walleye hunting. I went to a nearby flat around 5AM. I started marking fish on the bottom in 20 to 25 feet of water. They were mainly white bass with a few 16-18 inch striped bass mixed in. For the next hour I landed a boat load of fish, but still no walleye. As it was getting light, I drifted out to about 30 feet of water and started to see a few walleye. I was vertical jigging a 3/4 ounce Many Shad Binks spoon and a nice 23 inch walleye totally swallowed the bait. A few minutes later I landed a 19 inch walleye. I was keeping fish for supper, I already had 2 whites that I had kept and the big walleye, so the rest of the fish caught were released for another day. I decided to see if trolling flicker minnows was working. It was not long before I hooked into another walleye on the sexy shad color pattern. It was a short, but as I was trying to get the fish unhooked, the fish jumped out of my hand and one hook caught a 170 pounder. Well, I tried my best to get the hook out of my hand with no success, so I headed home and let urgent care take care of me. It was a fun short morning of fishing. I guess I will give it a try in the morning without hooking myself again. LOL
The lake level is dropping slowly and currently sits at 556.87 ft msl. The surface lake temp this morning was around 85 degrees. The main lake is fairly clear with the coves somewhat stained. The thermocline in our area is hanging around 30 feet and down by the dam it appears to be around 35 to 40 feet.
Hummingbird Hideaway Resort has a few cabins available in August & September. Give us a call for details if you are looking for a great place for a family vacation or just a quiet get away on the lake. Call at 870-492-5113. Fishing has had its ups and downs this summer. Nothing unusual for the hottest part of the year. The temperature is finally dropping a bit so this should help the bite improve.
Come make some everlasting memories at Hummingbird Hideaway Resort on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks.
