Mike Eakle with some nice ones spear fishing yesterday. Conditions are very good. 
The lake level is 555.02 and is dropping 1-1/2 inches in a 24-hour period with one generator running for about 3-hours and 1-1/2 generators running about 4-hours starting at about 1:PM. The White River is at 7.96 feet so they are not letting out much anywhere in an attempt to hold the area lakes up as high as possible for as long as possible so they can be sure to flood next spring. Good plan. The surface water temperature is 85-degrees and the main lake is clear with the creeks being stained a little green. Some temperate bass are showing up in 40-ft. of water suspended a bit and are being caught on the 1/2 ounce Bink's Spoon, white with a red eye or a little chartreuse or green on the back. Drop it down and tap bottom and snap it up about 4-5 feet and allow it to drop on slack line. Do the same thing with a 3/8th ounce spoon in brush at 27-30 feet for Kentucky Bass and Crappie. Also for crappie and bluegill use the 1/4 ounce spoon and do the same thing or cast a Bobby Garland Blue Ice Baby Shad on a 1/16th ounce white with red eye jig head past the brush pile and let it sink into it. Also a slip float straight over the brush about 20-ft. down with a live minnow is also working. Walleye are also on main lake points in brush near the bottom at 27-feet. You have to get down to them so the above technique is the best way. Hooking a weight in front of a crank bait and dragging it around the lake is also working if you do not know any other way. Not much skill invovled but it catches fish and you can cover a lot of ground. I do not move around much but from brush pile to brush pile and seldom go more than 1/2 mile from Blackburns Dock. I cannot afford the fuel to troll but do not need to. You miss the thump and the hook set and just reel them in. It is mostly for meat hunters. Spearfishing while scuba diving is also for meat hunters but you are allowed only 1/2 the limit of the pole fishermen and if the limit is an odd number it reverts to the lower number. For example the limit on walleye is 4 and a diver can get only two. The limit on crappie is 15 and a diver can get only 7. That is fine but it is much harder to get fish diving than it is with a pole. I know of very few divers that have even harvested one striper. If you pole fish deep for stripers every one you bring up dies and you do not know the size before catching it. I do not fish in deep water and keep very few fish but scuba diving is sure fun. You cannot spearfish bass on Norfork Lake but you can on some other lakes. Blackburns goes on winter rates next Tuesday and has the best prices in the Ozarks on both cabins and boat rentals and is the home of the $59/day nice one bedroom cabins. They are going fast and some of them are already full for some weeks. Give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 so you do not have to pay more elsewhere. Two bedroom cabins are $77 and are less than others one bedroom. We like to keep full in the so-called off-season so we can keep our employees all year. We have good ones.
