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Norfork Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Arkansas' two-story sleeper: stripers and walleye over cold depths, trout in the tailwater below.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
99 / 100 F
Wind
SE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07060000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Norfork Lake locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 100. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 104 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from North Fork Riv US of Dry Ck bl Norfork Dam, AR.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp99 F
High / Low100 / 73 F
WindSE 4-6 mph
Pressure1011.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain15% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:43 / 19:33
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 100/73 F, wind 6 mph, rain 1%

Slow. 100 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Norfork Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Norfork Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Norfork Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

1/5 Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk. Striped bass led the card at fair. High of 99 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Arkansas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Striper: 3/day combined with hybrids. Walleye: 18-inch/4. Confirm with AGFC.

Access

Quarry (Dam), Robinson Point, Henderson, Cranfield ramps; resorts throughout.

About this water

22,000 acres on the North Fork River, Baxter/Fulton counties, AR. Corps, impounded 1944.

Fishing Norfork Lake: the full guide

Deep and cold

Norfork stays colder and deeper than its fame: stripers and hybrids track shad over 100-ft channels, walleye (the state record came here) work the points in spring, and bass fishing splits between clear-water finesse and creek-arm power. Below the dam, the North Fork tailwater is pound-for-pound among the best trout water in the South.

Walleye water in bass country

Norfork holds Arkansas' best lake walleye: February-March stacks them on gravel points and channel swings, jigged with minnows at dusk: the state record came from these arms. Summer sends them 25-35 ft off the bluffs where slow live-bait rigs find schools nobody else is targeting.

Stripers and the thermocline

Summer stripers hold the cool layer off Point 1 and the dam: 30-60 ft downlines at first light. Winter flips them into Big Creek and Bennett's chasing shad under birds: the trophy window, fished with boards and big baits while the bass boats sleep.

Common questions

Does Norfork still grow big walleye?

Yes: deep clear habitat plus shad grows them past 10 lb: most are caught by accident by striper anglers, which tells you the dedicated pressure is nearly zero.

The two-lake trout bonus

Norfork's anglers hold a double ticket: the lake's striper-and-bass program up top, and the Norfork tailwater's world-famous trout mile below the dam (the state-record brown water). A morning of lake topwater followed by an afternoon drifting sowbugs to tailwater rainbows is the local perfect day: two world-class fisheries share one parking lot.

When is topwater season on Norfork?

April-June and October: stripers and hybrids push shad to the surface off the points at dawn. Walkers and flukes ready: the windows are short and violent.

Is fishing good at Norfork Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Bull Shoals Lake38 miBuffalo River38 miLake Taneycomo56 miGreers Ferry Lake60 miLittle Red River64 miSpring River64 mi
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