The lake level is 569.72 and has risen 3-inches in the last 24-hours and is still rising with one generator running and two spillway gates open 0ne foot. The lake surface temperature is in the early 60's but should warm with the weather getting into the 80's soon. We need some over night lows in the 60's. It is a beautiful day today with sunshine but a little wind. I am still not seeing many bass on the beds yet and with the clear water near the shore I should be seeing a lot of them in the creeks. Some of the ones thet I am catching have red tails though. Some of the crappie that I am catching have not spawned yet and it is late for them. There is plenty of wood for them at the shoreline and the level has not varied very much in several weeks with the Corps struggling to drop the lake. A lot of them are still chasing shad. Most of the white bass are small (about 8-9 inches) but a very few of them are bigger. Not nearly as many as compared to the past. Same for big stripers. Not the same for the smallmouth bass though. Many are in the four pound range and there are a lot of them. Norfork is now a very good smallmouth fishery. Walley fishing is picking up and about one in three are keepers. The top water bite does not happen every morning but is pretty good when it does and several bass are mixed in with the hybrids and stripers. I am releasing all stripers on site and allowing them to grow and not fishing for them in deep water. Look for them when the sun just starts to come up over the mountain. Before that you can call them up with a spook if you know where they are and know how to work the spook correctly. After that a lot of fish of all kinds are in 15-16 feet of water near the bank part way back in the creeks. In the evening I like shadowy banks the best before sunset. The middle of the day fishing has not been good for me. Overall fishing has been fair but smallmouth and flatheads are the best. When a low pressure is moving in stay out there until it rains you out. That is the best time to be out there no matter what time it is. May first is coming and we will see how they manage the White River at Newport then. I sure hope they do not regulate it to 18-feet but you cannot let the government run anything. The rules have not changed with the times.
