Welcome to Lake Norfork Striper Club !

Lake Norfork is located just east of Mountain Home, Arkansas – on the southern flank of the Ozark Mountains. It is formed by Norfork Dam on the North Fork River, a tributary to the White River System. This Dam Link  was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide Flood Control for Crop Lands downstream in the White River Valley, and to convert floodwater into Hydro-Electric Power. The Senators and Congressmen who planned these things gave no consideration to Recreational Fishing or Tourism. Fisherman like us discovered the recreational opportunities the cold clean & clear waters provide, began to visit the lake, then began to move here, to make the most of them. The State of Arkansas, and local communities set about correcting the oversight of the original planners.

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (AGFC) chose our lake to develop a Striped Bass Fishery in the late 1960s because of its deep, cold, clear, & clean water and abundance of food sources. Stripers do not reproduce naturally in our lake, so AGFC conducts a special Fertility Clinic for them – a Hatchery. In April of each year, biologists capture breeding stock as they group in a large tributary of Lake Ouachita. AGFC Hatchery staff bring the Stripers back to the Hulsey Hatchery in Hot Springs, where they harvest Eggs from females and fertilize them with Milt from males. When the Milt comes from male Striped Bass – the young will be Striped Bass also. But the Hatchery staff also fertilizes with Milt from native White Bass, producing Hybrid Striped Bass… smaller in size, bigger in fight. AGFC raises and releases slightly over half a million 2-inch fingerlings into Arkansas Fisheries each year. Our Club supports releasing as many as possible into this lake to maintain a productive fishery.

Stripers thrive in our lake and quickly grow into trophy-sized fish. A big Striped Bass on the end of your line puts up a tremendous fight… and you will find yourself just as ‘hooked’ as the Striper after catching one.

Our Club has developed a great working partnership with AGFC, where we provide valuable Lake Norfork water quality data. We collect data on lake Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen throughout the year. Sample DO&T Report  This data helps us find where the Stripers are likely to be, but it also allows AGFC to better monitor and manage Norfork Lake’s fishery.

We also share this data with The Water Management team at the US Army Corps of Engineers – Little Rock District. They use it to better understand how their release of water from the Norfork Dam affects the lake’s ecosystem.

Lake Norfork is also home to several species of Game Fish and Forage Species (the little Fish that get eaten by the Big Fish.) Crappie, Walleye, Catfish, and several Arkansas native Bass Species thrive in this Lake.

Walleye are abundant in Lake Norfork and nearby Bull Shoals Reservoir. They have their own following and a Club devoted to fishing for them. These two reservoirs feed into the White River, cold clear water that provides excellent conditions for Trout. The US Fish & Wildlife Service maintains a Trout Hatchery just below the Norfork Dam, and manages Trout Fishing in the White River. Trout Fishermen have their own Club too. (check out “Sister Clubs” in the drop-down menus for more information.)…  the Point is – you can spend a week here and fish for a different Species every day, or you can get up early to catch Stripers and switch to other species after the Stripers stop biting.

  – We are fanatic about Striper Fishing, but there are other Fish here too.

We share all kinds of Fishing Know-how and access to resources on this Website and at Monthly Member Meetings, held on the 4th Monday of each month. We welcome guests. Members also receive a monthly Newsletter to share the fishing events of the past month and other useful information. Typical Newsletter July 2022, and daily Fishing Reports filed by other Members. Fishing Report

Come for a Visit, stay for a Life 😊