Review of STR Outfitters Presented By ChicagoFishingLinks.com

Lake Norfork was formed in 1944 when a concrete dam was built across the North Fork River. This created a crystal clear reservoir with 550 miles of shoreline and 22,000 surface acres at its normal stage. The lake is chock full of gizzard and threadfin shad. This abundance of baitfish and crystal clear water makes Norfork a tough nut to crack. I know, I've fished there every year for the past four years.

My advice to anyone going down there for the first time (or even a veteran, for that matter) is to hire a reputable Fishing Guide. Even if it's a slow day on the water, the knowledge that you can gain is priceless. The local Guides fish

the lake almost every day and know what the fish are doing, and when they are doing it. When I first arrived at Norfork in March of 2004, I immediately phoned Tom Reynolds of STR Outfitters to book a trip. Not only did we book a trip, Tom provided me with some helpful tips about where to fish and what to use until our trip, which was several days later.

When Thursday came, my son and I arrived at the marina at 5:15 a.m. to meet with Tom. We then boarded Tom's 21.5 foot Falcon and we were on our way. Tom's Falcon is outfitted with a 150 hp Evinrude, trolling motor and Lowrance X 85 graph. Our equipment for the day would be 7 foot Ugly Stick rods with Garcia Ambassadeur 6500c baitcast reels spooled with 15-lb. test Maxim line. Our bait would consist of live threadfin and gizzard shad, which were caught by Tom the day before and meticulously cared for in order to keep them fresh and lively.

Once we arrived at our destination, Tom wasted no time setting the lines. Two flatlines rigged with shad and two lines rigged with shad under balloons. All placed in rodholders as we trolled.

At about 8 a.m., one of the clickers started singing. My son Steve was first up. He grabbed the rod and the fight was on. The look on my son's face was priceless as he fought the fish like a pro. Nothing in freshwater fights like a striped bass. After a 15-minute battle, Steve managed to get the fish alongside the boat close enough so that Tom could quickly net it. It was a 15-lb striped bass, my son's biggest fish ever!

Tom quickly reset the line and we began trolling again. Soon after, we started hooking largemouth bass. They were feeding on shad everywhere in the creek that we were fishing. Can you imagine catching 4 lb. largemouths and being upset? We were not there for largemouths though; we were there for the big stripers!

At about 11 a.m., another one of the clickers went off. This time it was my turn. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was another large fish. I fought the fish for all of 25 minutes. Thank God I tired it out before it had a chance to tire me out! As Tom netted it, I could see that it was the biggest striper I had ever

caught. In my excitement I guesstimated it to be about 30 lbs. When Tom weighed it with his digital scale, it read 25.2 lbs. Close enough, what a fish! We continued fishing for another half-hour, and then unfortunately it was time to go. What a morning! My son caught the biggest fish of his life and I caught my biggest striper ever.

Just as important as the result, the information I gain from Tom was incredible. It was worth more than you can imagine. I learned more about fishing Lake Norfolk in our 5 and a half-hours than I did in the previous 4 years of fishing there. I can't wait to fish with him again. To get in contact with Tom, visit his website: http://www.STRoutfitters.com/ or e-mail him at info@stroutfitters.com. For those wishing to call him direct, his toll-free telephone number in Mountain Home Arkansas is (877) 246-4896.