The lake level is 553.66 and has dropped 1-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with quite a bit if generation yesterday but none since last night. The main lake is clearing nicely and the creeks change from clear to stained green almost daily. Near the shore is clear almost everywhere. The lake overall is in excellent condition and fishing is getting better. It was not as good yesterday as the day before but I still caught several fish just not as big. I caught bass and crappie but it was not nearly as fun in the gusty south to southeast winds. The fish would bite for a while and then stop for an hour and then start again. I saw no dead or dying shad and no birds on the main lake anywhere. Some crappie and bass are in the wind blown creeks on shad and some are on brush. I have a brush pile in Hensley's Creek in about 15-18 feet of water and the shad were there also and I caught several crappie that were barely keepers but not the very large ones like the day before. The wind had cooled the lake a bit and the surface water was back to about 49 on the main lake and 48 back in the creeks. Not much difference. The predator fish are more on baitfish than looking for the warmer water but smaller bass are near the shore. Casting the 1/16th ounce jig past the brush and letting it sink into it worked the best. Some bass were still hitting the jerk bait. I tried the 1/2 ounce Bink's spoon and caught one keeper bass and hooked a shad on almost every drop. The fish cannot be very hungry. There are starting to be small bluegill schools under my dock and when the numbers increase so will the bass and catfish bite. It happens evey year. The big bass will move in around the dock on the bluegill and pre-spawn feed. It is very busy here at Blackburns with improvements being made everyday for you. We opened up four more cabins this week and are deep cleaning them, staining the new siding and painting trim. I am very proud of the looks and you will like what you see when you get here. People are getting excited about spring fishing and we are getting a lot of reservations. We only have 10 cabins open now and I will have to hurry and get the rest open. The cold weather in mid February really slowed down progress but we are making a lot now. Blackburns has the lowest price on both cabins and boat rentals, does not charge for your first normal sized boat stall and all cabins are individual with no duplexes and all have big covered porches. No price increases on anything this year. Can't beat that anywhere. No need to go elsewhere to launch and we have ample parking for your vehicle and trailer. You can drive or walk to our dock down about 400-yards from the resort and step right on. The dock is in a protected cove with good fishing nearby. Come on down and check us out when you are in the area. You will be welcome. One bedrooms start at $59/day for two people and we have no studios.
