Rum Binkley with a nice one on the spoon. 
The lake level is 556.46 and has dropped a little less than 2-inches in the last 24-hours with about 10-hours of running both generators. The White River at Newport is 11.95 feet so they are still managing the level to the 12-ft. rule. We will see what happens when we get down to the power pool of 555.75 and Southwest Power takes on more control of the generation. It will be based on electricity needs in the distribution area than flood control then. They are predicting that will happen on the 25th of August and it looks to be about right this time after several changes. The lake conditions are the same with a surface water temperature of 85-86 degrees with the main lake being clear and the creeks stained. Blackburns Brush piles are getting into very good levels now and there are fish all over them with a mixture of bluegill shallow, crappie on top of the brush and walleye and Kentucky Bass near the bottom. You have to get down about 25-30 feet so a spoon or jig is the best way. I have not tried a slip float and minnow yet. Hooking a weight in front of a crank bait and dragging it around the lake also works. They get hung up in brush but cover a lot of ground. It is kind of like carpet bombing. Some are doing the same thing with live bait and there is no shortage of that with schools of shad everywhere. Some of the threadfins are getting to about 3-inches long. Sometimes they fill up a whole boat stall under my dock. It looks like fall fishing is starting sooner than normal for some reason. It has nothing to do with water temperature. The dissolved oxygen has remained better than in previous years with good oxygen down past 30-feet with not much at 40. I am fishing 25-32 feet. There is a lot of activity a dusk near the surface part way back in the creeks on shad. The night bite for largemouth bass is about over. One more holiday to get over and then the peace and quiet can begin. That also brings the lowest prices in the Ozarks in effect for boats and cabins here at Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental which is the home of the $59/day 1-bedroom cabins. Two, Three and Four Bedroom are priced accordingly. Come on down. We will not charge you too much and we need more Police and Veterans to visit. They are very welcome here. I am a Veteran but do not need nearly as much policing as I used to.
