This was my biggest fish. The bass was about the same size.
The lake level is 552.72 and has dropped about 1-1/4 inch in the last 24-hours with both generators running about 7-8 hours. The White River at Newport is just over 3-ft. It was cool with an ambient temperature in the early 40's with a northwest wind about 10 MPH when I went out yesterday afternoon. I saw no other boats for the entire time I was fishing. I caught no fish until about 4:PM when the wind completely died and the lake was calm. The crescent moon came up and it was very clear and got cold at dark. I caught one very large crappie on a brush pile and that was it so I moved around the corner to the inside of a point and worked the bank for bass and caught a very nice one. That was it. Fishing was slow overall when only two fish were caught in about 2-hours of hard fishing. For the first hour it looked like I might be shut out for the first time in several years. Sometimes I have had to stay out longer than I wanted to as to keep it from happening. I suspected this might be the case after the cold front but it did not matter. Catching fish when it is difficult is more rewarding than when it is easy and everybody can do it. It is to get warmer starting tomorrow and maybe some others might go out. We report slow as well as fast. The surface water temperature has dropped just a bit to 56.5 where I was fishing one place and 57 another and the water had cleared a little from the day before. It was really quiet out there. I like that. A tire for one of my trailers was $42 yesterday. It was $24 a couple of years ago. What is happening? We have already published our prices for 2022 here at Blackburns and they are the same. Others are raising. Check before you book. Friends do not charge friends too much.