The lake level is 553.57 and has dropped 1-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with on and off generation about 1/2 the time. The White River at Newport is still about 19-feet so they are at least trying. The water temperature was just under 50-degrees in Blackburns Creek last evening when I went out and the ambient air was cold. It is colder this morning. My old 1986 Mercury 2-stroke motor did not want to start but it finally did and the boat had snow in it even though it was on the lift and the steering was a little stiff but I did not have to go far. On the way out to the mouth of Blackburns Creek, in the creek channel, I noticed a big school of shad with fish on them. I dropped a spoon and they were biting. Largemouth and Kentucky bass. I released about a dozen fish and my reel was freezing up and the drag did not work. I switched to a spinning reel and cast a crappie jig over a Blackburns brush pile and caught a couple of crappie in the 10-11 inch range and came in. It was not a day to take a long trip. The new thing besides the drop in surface water temperature was the visibility. It was almost zero in the creek and very murky near the main lake. It must be the water coming down from the north after the earlier 3-inch rain. The creeks change almost daily anyway. Usually snow and cold temperatures clear the lake this time of year but not so now. It is to rain the next couple of days and then warm up to the 40's followed by another cold front and then warm up again. Overall it does not look too bad but we could get quite a bit of rain before it goes away. I can just go jump into my boat and fish close and get out of it quickly anyway. There happen to be a lot of good brush piles close. Speaking of brush piles, this is the last day to go to the Corps of Engineers office and fill out a form to put them in Norfork lake yourself and not just use other people's. Get there before 4:30 PM. When I see other people camping on the brush that I put in I just do not put any there anymore and move on. Replentished brush are the best places for crappie and walleye. Old brush does hold bass and catfish. The more the better for everyone. It is good for fishing and we like that. It is good when everyone catches fish.
