The lake level is 553.66 and has risen just a bit since yesterday with one generator running about 3-hours. This would be an excellent time to drop the lake with the dry conditions and November being our rainiest month. The fall foliage is changing and there is a little more color everyday with some reds mixed in. It is not spectacular but the little bit of rain we received helped. The lake surface water was 77-78 yesterday afternoon and is dropping slowly. I went to where the crappie were abundant the day before and they were gone. Tried another place with the same results. I found some on another main lake brush pile and they were on the bottom at nearly 40-ft. along with some bass. That is where the very bottom of the thermocline is and there is some oxygen there. The thermocline starts at 32-ft. and that is where they were. I was getting some fish shallower on brush in 24-26 ft. but not yesterday. The wind was blowing and it was hard to spoon points. One day does not make a trend but I had been catching fish almost at will. When I went out in deeper brush I caught a few crappie, bluegill and a Kentucky Bass but not too many. They were all released under the dock and I watched them swim right into the school. I could see about 4-ft. down in Blackburns Creek and about 6-ft. down on the main lake. It looked like the water had cleared just a little from the day before. Tom Kelly also reported catching bass on the bottom at 40-ft. We will see what today brings. It is very busy here with several good fishermen in and we will see how they do. It would not be much of a challenge if you could just go to the same place and use the same lure everyday. Things change and that is what makes it a challenge. Bass fishermen are starting to catch bigger fish and the top-water bite is getting better. The weather looks to be good for several days. Try a plastic worm on steep dropoffs just as they drop off the ledge. The walleye ghosted me again for the third straight day but I was mostly looking for crappie. The walleye sometimes go out into deep water and suspend this time of year. I know fish bite in the wind but I still do not like it.
