Norfork Lake fishing and lake conditions by Scuba Steve from Blackburns Resort and Boat rental (click here for comments)

The lake level is 558.09 and is dropping less than 2-inches/day. They are holding Newport religiously under 12- feet to control flooding during this drought. The level is perfect now for Norfork and Blackburns where you can drive or walk 1/3 mile to the dock and get on with no steps. We will see if the incompetent lake management keeps lowering the level or hold and hope and allow the level to remain too high all winter.  It rains here in the spring boys. The surface temperature was near 80 when I went diving and I went to near 40-feet deep and found no thermocline. The temperature was nearly the same from 10-feet down to 40-feet. The deepest the thermocline has been is 27-ft. all year and it does not drop as the water cools.  You cannot see the thermocline on your fishfinder. The water is pretty clear and what people think is the thermocline is just where the light stops penetrating. The crappie bite has fallen off quite a bit and they are not as big as they were a week ago. Bass and walleye fishing is the best with crappie third.  You cannot go fishing once a week and write a fishing report. Things are changing rapidly. I am still seeing no White Bass and am starting to believe they are not there. They are the go to fish when people cannot catch anything else and are fun to catch. We need them. We will see if the stripers move to the bank in November for a night bite to feed but I have my doubts about that. It does not happen every year. The walleye bite in the fall does happen though with soft plastics just at sunset until dark. I got some good walleye yesterday and a couple of crappie. Come on down. Blackburns is open all year and has the best prices. I know where the fish are and will help you.