Mike Eakle with some nice ones.
The lake level is 551.34 and has dropped 2-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with 9-hours of running both generators. They accomplished this while keeping the White River at Newport at 4-feet. We have received about 1/2 inch of rain so far but the biggest is still to come. It is raining now. It was cloudy yesterday afternoon but at least the wind was not howling and the fishing was pretty good but not great. Fish were biting but not very big. Crappie, bluegill, Kentucky Bass and small stripers were caught and Mike and I both caught a keeper walleye on different brush piles. Even though the lake surface water is not dropping yet and is still at almost 57 degrees, some fish are moving to the bank in the evening to feed i.e. crappie and bass. Sometimes nature takes over even if the weather does not. It should drop some this weekend with the cold nightime lows. You will start to see some pictures of some bigger black bass soon. I am still amazed at people bragging about catching and killing these small stripers. Old habits are hard to die. Game and fish did stock their normal amount this year but none last year. The class of 2020 is absent. The two biggest reasons that there was not a large striper kill this year is 1) they are mostly gone compared to a few years ago. 2) Vegetation and trees that create oxygen demand when decaying are already dead with so many years of high water and the fish did not go to the bubble in deep water in the heat of the summer. If you must fish for them let them go to grow. A 5-9 pound striper is not a prize. I wish they would lower the limit on them until (if) they make a comeback. I personally do not intensionally fish for them and never fish in deep water where they always die when brought up. They may swim away but will not make it. Venting does not and has never worked. It allows them to go back down with their float bladder punctured but that is it. Low ozygen in the summer and the stress of being caught does them in. More and more people are releasing them now and that is good but not enough. My drought of not catching a walleye for over a week is over. I caught one over 20-inches and released it in Tom Kelly's trophy pond. I keep a tally and have caught 101 crappie over 15-inches and 24-walleye over 20-inches this year. Most were released. That means the lake is in pretty good condition for fishing despite the high water through august. Walleye fishing is getting more and more popular here. I sure do like it that is for sure. You do not have to watch for price increases here at Blackburns because there will not be any this year despite all of the inflation and increased prices in everything. We want you to continue to have a good affordable vacation. Most of our customers are repeat and we do not want to charge them too much. I drive the oldest car, fish out of the oldest boat and do not need a lot. You will not be paying for my vacation elsewhere. I like it here.
