The lake level is back up past the 553 level again and rising with a couple of hours of generation. It has come up 3-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours and I dumped over 2-inches total out of my rain gauge since yesterday. The creeks are running but not too fast with some brown water in the very backs of the creeks where they empty into the lake. For some reason they never generate when it rains and allow the water to rise as much as possible. We were busy putting in a new ceiling, ceiling fan, led lights and painting the big bedroom and also putting in another new ceiling fan on the big screened-in porch in cabin #11 and putting in new carpet in pontoon #9 yesterday. We never quit with improvements. You will like what you see when you get here. I went out for a while but had to come in early to go to a celebration of life for my friend David (Diver Dave) Gentry at the Back Forty. It was a good turnout and he had lots of friends and we had some good memories talking about fun times at the dive shop. It has not been a good winter for me with losing several good friends and neighbors. The surface water temperature was 47 degrees and it was windy with white caps on the main lake and pretty bumpy even in Blackburns protected cove with winds swirling and changing directions. The wind finally quit this morning but is coming back again already. I am getting very tired of it. The temperatures are dropping rapidly with the cold front now here. It went from the 60's to the thirties in just a few hours and thundered but not much else except the rain. It is to get to 18-degrees tonight and then warm back up again starting tomorrow. Me and my crew are putting in the last of our brush piles today and tomorrow. We have some good ones and you will like those also and we will show you where they are when you get here. I spooned up two bass and one crappie before I came in and they were all on one brush pile that we had just installed. It looks to be good spring fishing here on Norfork Lake so far with the lake at a good level and the water a good color and a good fish population. Next on the agenda are after dark striper fishing on their spawning banks just before the full moon in march with post-spawn walleye biting at the same time earlier in the evening. I fish for walleye from about 4-PM until dark on shadowy banks until the striper bite begins. It is a good time to catch and release the stripers as they are shallow and the water is still cold and they can be released unharmed to grow. Then big crappie pre-spawn fishing in late march and early april folowed by the start of the top-water bite for bass,stripers and white bass in mid-april. The crappie will be on their spawning banks at the same time back in the creeks. April, may and early june are the best fishing months with bass on their beds in early to mid may. Bass continue to spawn for several months and into the summer here on Norfork. Catfishing is excellent in May and June here. I really like catching flatheads. Another spring season is about to begin with no price increases here at Blackburns. Check prices before you book. There is a significant difference and you do not have to sacrifice any quality at all. We do not like to charge our cuatomers too much and want them to be able to have a quality vacation despite the inflation and high gas prices. Veterans and Police come on down.
