The lake level is 554.22 and has dropped 1/2 inch in the last 24-hours with generation about 1/2 the time. The White River at Newport is 21.89 feet so they are still letting out quite a bit of water. All of the area lakes are just above their power pool and they are dropping them about equally. The ground is saturated and water is still flowing into the lakes from runoff. The ice is finally gone and it took some very warm days to get rid of it. The sun is warming up the creeks faster than the deep main lake and it was 55-degrees in the bright sunshine in Blackburns Creek yesterday afternoon. The main lake was still 48. The water is very clear in the creeks especially near the shore and the main lake clarity changes a little based on the generation. When they generate heavily for several hours it stains a little green but is a good color for fishing. When they quit generating it clears again.The small bluegill have moved in under Blackburns dock and that means the larger bass are in the creeks. Many bass are staging now on drops adjacent to spawning areas and isolated cover along migration routes. A few big bass may spawn around 55-degrees. I checked the banks all around the creek in the warmest water and saw no fish getting ready or making nests. Some of the first ones will be near the walkway to the dock. There are some big bass under the dock in about 20-ft. of water on my brush feeding on the bluegill. Where there are big schools of bluegill there will be fish especially bass and catfish. If you are fishing brush and catching small bluegill do not get discouraged. There are some big fish down there on them. Cooler weather is coming next week and the water temperature needs to be steady for several days for any big changes. The creeks will get cooler starting about monday or tuesday and it is to get cloudy with rain and a cold front on saturday night or sunday. If the water drops to below 50 again in the backs of the creeks some may move back out to deeper brush. It is just too early to be making some rash predictions. The water temperature says one thing and the calendar says another. Blackburns has several good bass fishermen in now and we will see how they do today. The wind is to pick up before the front and will blow the plankton and shad to the bank after some sustained winds with predator fish following them. Try a suspending stick bait. It is not spring yet but I like this weather. The lake is in excellent condition. Fish are not easily found, but when they are, fishing can be good for a few minutes. Do not expect large numbers of fish quite yet.
