The lake level is 557.65 and has risen 1-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with no generation since yesterday. There is still a little runoff from the hillsides but the creeks are not running. It looks like more rain starting tonight through Thursday so the level will continue to rise. It looks like we will get a couple of inches at least depending on how long it stays around. Other places could get more. The lake surface temperature is in the early 60's and rising with the warm nights. The bass and crappie spawn is now in full swing and I am catching a few black crappie that have spawned. One of our guests went to the top-water place that I mentioned earlier and had a good time catching fish at sunrise. They came up on schedule for several minutes with the shad surfacing in about 20-ft. of water. Several of the fish were short but some were not and they were mostly bass with a few small stripers with them. They were all released anyway. Bass are on beds everywhere back in the creeks and pre-spawn fish are hitting crank baits and poppers in and in front of the buckbrush. The males guarding the beds and fry are picking up the gitzits and taking them out of the beds as the sight fishermen are now able to find them in the clear water easily. Most bass fishermen release their fish unlike striper fishermen and that is why Norfork is such a good Black Bass fishery and getting better and striper fishing is going down hill. I would have thought the White Bass would have made a better come back after the kill a couple of years ago but they have not. A few are being caught but they used to be everywhere and most everybody could catch them this time of year. The walleye are making up for it though and are in greater numbers than I have ever seen them with several being over the 18-inch minimum limit. Twenty yesrs ago big stripers were everywhere and walleye were scarce but it is the oposite now. More and more people are coming to Norfork for walleye and crappie and the fishing pressure is much greater and also the boat traffic overall.
