Caught and released under the dock last evening on the 3/8th ounce spoon.
The lake level is 553.75 and has dropped 1-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with one generator running continuously. The White River at Newport is at 10+ feet. The surface water temperature was 60+ when I went out yesterday and has hung in there at or above 60 for quite a while. It is a little lower in the backs of the creeks where the water is shallower. The lake clarity is ok but not as clear as a few years ago. You can see your lure down about four feet. It is clearest near the shore on rocky banks. It has been reduced drastically from several years ago when you could see the bottom in 35-feet of water. Those days appear to be over. Too clear of water makes for tough fishing. It is good for fishing now though and so is the level where you can drive to the dock and step right on and most brush piles are at the right depth. They had been too deep most of the year. Crappie fishing was slow for me yesterday but I found the bass outside the brush in deeper water than they had been. Fish of several species were on the dropoff just outside brush in about 40-feet of water for some reason. Hybrids, Walleye, bass and a few small White Bass were all together. A lot of fish are feeding under the big moon at and after dark and it makes for harder fishing during the day. Some of the Kentucky bass were as big as the largemouth and the hybrids were nice sized also. I caught no keeper stripers. The shad are moving out of open water in the evening and going shallower near cover and the predator fish are right with them. Many schools of shad do not have predator fish with them though. You have to do a lot of hunting to find feeding fish in or around open water. I would not have found these if I had not been fishing deeper brush and just happened to check the drop off. If you can find brush near deep water that is right on the dropoff there is usually predator fish there. I released all of the fish on site except for two picture bass which were released under the dock after the picture. I do not have a selfie and do not want one. What I am impressed with though is the size of some of these Kentucky bass. Blackburns has several good fishermen in this week and we will see what happens. Thanksgiving has almost always been a good time for fishing in the years past but time will tell. The lake overall is in excellent condition. Many smallmouth bass are just off the bank on river channels and most are small but not all. Norfork is getting to be a good smallmouth fishery with many in the 4-lb range. Spoons continue to be the best lure overall but grubs on the bank for smallmouth is best. Some are using crankbaits with success. Crappie fishing has slowed a bit and bass and hybrid fishing is improving. I catch a lot of big crappie in December.
