Caught yesterday fishing with Bink's Guide service. 
The lake level is 553.49 and has risen 3/4 inch in the last 24-hours with three hours of running one generator. The White River at Newport is 6.54 feet. The surface water temperature is about 50-degrees but the water has stained up green both in the creeks and on the main lake in the last couple of days with almost no generation. You can see your lure down only a couple of feet. We could get significant rain tomorrow night and we will see what that does. Bass and crappie fishing has picked up and the winter bass bite is on. They are both on shad in deep water and near the shore feeding in the evening. The Game and Fish changed several regulations for the new year but the most important ones are for the black bass. They have taken the size limit off the Kentucky Bass and you can keep all of them. It was 12-inches. They also reduced the smallmouth and largemouth bass size limit from 15 to 13 inches but the daily total for all three is still 6. The idea is to increase the overall size of the Norfork Lake Bass. Few Bass fishermen keep largemouth or smallmouth anyway except for trollers and other meat hunters. The idea is to take the pressure off the bait fish. I am pretty sure there are enough shad for everything at this time unless there is a big shad kill. It may increase the ratio of big fish to small ones but may also decrease the overall numbers especially the Kentuck Bass which is what they want to do. I personally do not keep smallmouth of largemouth but the Kentuckies are some pretty good eating. I would rather catch some smaller ones than none at all. I am sure they know what they are doing so we will see. I really kind of liked things the way they were. Fishermen coming in from other states that have not fished Norfork before typically have a hard time catching very many big bass but get better at it as they gain experience. I am not sure it is a function of how many big bass are in the lake but how they approach catching them. I see a lot of big ones when I am Scuba Diving in the Summer and Fall and have actually seem more in the last few years as the big striper population has diminished especially in the 5-6 pound range although they are not plentiful. I do know for sure that Norfork holds a lot of 4-pound smallmouth because I see them up close and personal diving. The remodel of Cabin # 12 is almost complete and should be ready later this week. I think you will like it. #14 is almost done but we are waiting on the delivery of the new picture windows. Wow they cost a lot. Don't ya just love this inflation? Please get your deposits in by January 15th to confirm the cabins and boats you reserved for the spring and summer. We are getting calls already by people wanting to know if some perferred cabins are open by others giving up their seniority. Some have stayed in the same cabins for 25-years or more and do not want to give them up. Give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 to let her know you are coming. There are no price increases again this year and all cabins are individual with no duplexes and all have big covered porches. Your first boat stall remains free unless you bring your own pontoon or the Queen Mary and require a very tall stall. We have a dozen pontoons for rent and do not have extra stalls for yours unless we pull one of ours out and then we have to charge you. What we really prefer is you stay here and rent one of our boats. You can nearly do both here for the price you would pay elsewhere for just a cabin. So far the lake is in excellent condition and at a good level. Stay tuned here for any new news as we are out there almost every day and try to stay on top of things. We want you to have a nice affordable vacation and especially welcome Veterans and police. You do not have to sacrifice anything to stay here except a high price. We have it all except a lake view but are in a beautiful green valley with plenty of car and trailer parking and you do not have to go down a cliff to get to the lake on a bad road. Yes it is against the law to drive an off-road vehicle on a county road or on Corps Of Engineers property.
