The lake level is 574.60 and has risen about 20-inches in the last 24-hours. They are running one generator a few hours in the late mornings. It is raising about one inch per hour now. We received two inches of rain yesterday and last night, one inch the day before and 1/2 inch the day before that. It is to clear out this afternoon and be nice for the next several days. They are still holding the White River at Newport to below 18-feet at all costs. All of the area lakes are rising. I waited until about 4:Pm to go out yesterday to dodge the rain and fished until about 6:PM and got in just as the rain started again. The creeks are running pretty hard now and they are staining up a bit. I was amazed how clear the main lake was. I could see my lure down at least 12-feet on rocky walls. The surface water temperature was actually higher on the main lake than in the backs of creeks. It was 66 in the creeks and 69 main lake. I was casting a crappie jig over brush in 18-20 feet of water and letting it drop slowly back in a creek where the south wind had been blowing into. No bites for about 20 minutes and then they bit for another 20-minutes. I caught eight crappie and all of them were keepers. I then moved into the main lake where there were big logs near the surface. Bass were in front of the logs in about 17-feet of water just out of eyesight. I caught no fish in the clear water where i could see the bottom even though I was staying as far away from the bank as I could cast. Several Kentucky bass that were barely keepers were caught and one nice smallmouth. All are now under the dock. The high water is not affecting fishing much but there is an increasing amount of debris in the water with the creeks being the worst. You have to watch out. If you go fast you will hit something. If you go out after dark you will for sure. Early topwater is the best bite for bass and red meat fish and jigs over brush for crappie are the best bite. I am finding no crappie in water over 25-ft and a lot of fish are about 12 feet down suspended in 17-20 feet no matter where you are. If the fish do not come up in the morning use a swim bait with little or no nose weight. I like the hook rigs with the barbs that go through the nose and the hook comes up through the bottom and is barely exposed where the fluke or bass assassin is cut out. White color is working pretty good four or five inches long. The straight tail works best for stripers and hybrids and the split tail best for bass. Some people use the paddle tail, I do not but they work also on a jig head as do creature baits. Gitzits are working for bass on beds in the creeks.
