NORFORK LAKE FISHING REPORT

The striper fishing on Norfork Lake continues to be very good for the first two hours each morning. Now that we are entering the dark moon phase, you can expect to find feeding stripers later in the morning on the flats in water depths of 40 to 60 feet. We are still catching some stripers on long lines and planner boards, but each day our down-line bite is increasing. This means the fish are staying under the thermocline and feeding on crawdads. Later this month we will be fishing down-lines and weighted floats as the stripers feed on the bottom.
Stripers are still being caught in the middle of the lake. Crystal Cove continues to have good action along with Float Creek, Panther Creek and Robinson Point. This will continue for most of June with Robinson Point being the hot spot for late June and early July.
I have been watching some anglers trolling using big umbrella rigs catching stripers in deep water. The best bait is live shad, either threadfin or gizzard. Some stripers are being caught using small bluegills and shiners. The evening bite will pick up as we move into summer. Use the same techniques, but the best bite is usually the last 45 minutes of daylight.
Remember, we are now in the summer period of striper fishing, so you should stop releasing legal stripers caught on live bait. The slogan for the summer is “Catch your limit and go home.” If you catch six fish and release four, two of them will die – if not all of them. Catch your limit and quit for the day. Save some fish.

Ozark County Times

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