Norfork Lake Arkansas near Mountain Home in the Ozarks Mountains Region Fishing Report, Fall Foliage Report and Norfork lake Condition Report by Scuba Steve from Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental.

The lake level is 552.44 and has dropped 1.1 inches in the last 24-hours with 1/3rd of a generator running conmtinuously. The surface water temperature is 74-degrees this morning and it is trying to rain. We need it but it looks to be nice and warm this weekend. The White River at Newport is 5.54 feet and very low with not much water being released anywhere. The lake is still stained green with poor visibility. There is not much of a lake turnover but the summer thermocline is gone and the water should clear as the temperature drops and if we get some rain. Fishing remains just fair but some nice ones are being caught everyday and a few Walleye are showing up. Scuba Steve checked with the state of Missouri and they report 220,858 Walleye fingerlings were stocked in the Missouri part of Norfork Lake in 2025 and that is good. Many of them migrate down to the Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental area. With the 76,874 stocked by Arkansas this year we should have even better Walleye fishing on Norfork Lake in the near future. Fingerling Walleye grow to the 18-inch keeper limit in 3-4 years depending on available food and water temperatures in Arkansas. These are Scuba Steve's favorite. There is a good baitfish population and plenty of food for all of the predator fish and they should grow fast. It was a good overall spawn this year with the level remaining fairly stable during the spawn and remained high all summer in the vegetation providing good cover for newly hatched fish but also caused a fish kill on the larger Striped Bass with many being lost. They may report there is still a good population of Stripers in Norfork but I can guarantee that it is not nearly as good as it was and also not nearly as many big ones as there were.  The smaller fish and the Hybrid Stripers were not affected. Norfork Lake fishing is picking up and it should be much better by the new moon on the 21st of this month and get better after that. There are a lot of fish in Norfork Lake and Scuba Steve will help you when you get here. Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental continues to have the best place with the best price on both cabins and boat rentals in the Ozarks and a free stall for your boat comes with a cabin rental of two days or more. You can launch right here and there is no need to go elsewhere to put in your boat. We have live bait at our bait house and tackle in our store. The best tackle shop in the area is Gerry's at Cranfield junction, only two miles from Blackburns, and he also has non-alcohol gas for your boat at a good price. Compare prices and call Debbie at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. It is nice here and we will not charge you too much. We have some good brush piles and will show you where when you get here. We especially welcome Veterans and Police. The fall foliage is now changing daily with a little more color. It is still on schedule for a very last of the month peak.