Fish Catching Travel

Click on the logo above and see all the cool stuff for 2016

Weather

34/70   Wind South 12mph  0% chance rain  (They just had a major cold front with a north wind that howled for 3 days.  The water temp dropped from a high of 65 in some places to  55)

Solunar Times

• Best Times:
• Good Time:

• Best Times   12:41A – 2:41A
•                         1:03P – 3:03P
• Good Tim      6:52A – 8:52A

It Is Good To Be Back

Sometimes the solunar tables are right, and today they were spot on.  If I had to guess we fished from 8:30 until 1:00 and maybe boated 2 or 3 bass.  We were working way up Norfork Lake near the Arkansas/Missouri line.

Intially we kept working the backs of pockets and spawning coves with Alabama rigs, jerk baits, and grubs.  It was cold this morning and the water temp had dropped another 5 degrees to the low 50’s, down around 10 degrees from the high last week.  The few we did catch were near main lake channel swings, which in that area of the lake are 30 – 40 foot deep range.

Though it was slow we kept at it and then right on schedule it happened.  There were shad breaking at the mouth of a big cove, and the catching began with the A rig, and continued for 3 hours in one area.

My first white on the A Rig.

Clyde was throwing the Flash Mob A rig and I was throwing the smaller A rig with twister tails.  As soon as we hit that point Clyde went 3 or 4 consecutive, and the catch was on.  We basically fished about 150 yards of bank and they were crushing it.  We could see shad flippin and saw several bass hit as we would toss at boils.  Just for fun I tossed both a white Swim Jig and a Bluegill color and caught one on each.  We only caught a couple of whites there, but at least 25 bass came over the side.  We finally moved as the action slowed, even though we caught 6 on the last pass.   As we worked our way down lake we stopped on flat point with the wind pounding on it, and here we go again.  Clyde stuck a nice bass and then we saw the birds diving farther down the same bank.

No telling how many of these we caught.  Talk about a solid hook up!

We eased down there and we could see fish busting, some huge boils, and a huge, and I mean huge, school of shad.  They did not want the A rig so Clyde got out 1/4 ounce chrome jigs and we put small clear twisters on, and from then on it was ugly.  It was definitely matching the hatch as the shad were only about an inch long.  We worked that bluff, letting the jig fall around 5 – 10 foot deep down the face of the bluff, give it hop, and thump, good fish on.  At times it was bite after bite after bite.  Occasional we could see some big boils and Clyde finally hooked up to a big striper.  Catching big stripers on light line and spinning tackle is fun, and he expertly got the job done.  A minute later I hooked up to another big one but with my superior skill I managed to lose him.

Talk about a healthy striper, this was a pig!

Clyde caught a great striper, a hybrid, we caught a tons of nice white bass, and probably another 10 bass.  It was everything Lake Norfork can be in the spring.  We stayed there for well over an hour and finally called it a day as the sun set behind the bluff.  As soon as the sun went of the water the shad disappeared and the fish went with them.

Huge white bass and nice hybrids, what a day!

So we learned that the water temp dropped enough to move the fish out of the back ends of places, and put them near the mouth of coves and on the main lake.  The pattern was clearly shad schools, find the shad and find the fish.  If I had to guess it was probably at least 50 or more for the day.  And it was right on the prime time.  With the temp rising this week it should get nothing but better, if that is possible.  It was the kind of day that keeps us all fishing.  I can not wait for tomorrow.

It is funny how your memory works.  The lake seemed way bigger than it was when I lived and guided on it.  I guess that big Black Max on the Champion made the lake seem small, though if memory serves me Norfork has 35,000 surface acres and around 500 miles of shoreline, a big pond.  It is so beautiful here, and the water seems clearer than I remember it.  And after a couple of really high water years there are tons of bass in the lake, and in the next few years expect an explosion of big bass, it is coming and you can bet I will make it every year.

Today I think we will stay in the mid to down lake area.  The smallmouth have really exploded here as have the walleyes.  We used to catch the occasional walleye when I guided here, now they are prevalent.  The Shoedog had family here and they are leaving today so we will hook up with him later in the day.  This is what a fishing trip is supposed to be like!

Click on the logo and check out the best balsa baits on the market.

**********************

My buddy Aaron is working in the Texoma area, and they are getting after it also.

Aaron with a big Texoma striper.

Look at the gut on that thing.

Nice job boys.  The fishing is getting hot all over, and it looks like Texoma is getting with the program.   I need to get there.  Oh so much fishing, so many places, so little time!

*******************

I got this from my buddy Voe out in Vegas.

Hello Doug,
Just got back from an outing on Lake Mead and it was a beautiful day.
Fishing was pretty good but the exceptional thing that happened to me today is that I caught my first ever Carp about 7 lbs or so on a 1.5 KVD Square Bill in a sexy shad.
He ate the whole thing in his mouth, so much for vegetarian. Couldn’t get a picture because he was bleeding on the new boat carpet. Had to get him overboard pronto,
If you know what I mean. Hope you have a great trip. We accepted an offer on the house. See you in the near future, I hope.

Hope to see you when you come back for the closing.  Your carp story reminds me of the last time I was here in Arkansas.  I caught 2 big ones on grub last trip.  It is always something when you catch a carp on lures.  Excitement followed by let down.  Darn bugle mouths!

********************

Before I close for the day, and get Clyde up and going, I wanted to share my favorite comment I get around once a month.  It must be a standard online deal, because I get it from different folks.  But I love it – in fact it kinda sounds like what my wife tells me!

The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.

Really.  What more could be said about the state of affairs around here?  God I love the internet!

*******************

I have said it before and I will say it again, Mtn. Home and the Twin Lakes area is a great place to fish and vacation.  When I came here around 40 years ago as a 21 y/o knucklehead I had an AMC Gremlin, $125, and my tent.  I did not know a soul, nor did I have a real plan, I just knew I wanted to be a fishing guide.  And I got it done.  The town has changed, and so have we.  In the mid 70’s you could not get anything to eat after 6, and there were few stores.  Now it is a bustling community with all the amenities.  It is cracking daylight, time to quit waxing poetic, get Clyde up, times is a wastin’.  Keep stopping in, the saga continues, and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines

(No time to edit or proofread, what you see is what you get!)