The lake level is 556.56 and has risen 1.2 inches in the last 24-hours with no discharge for 4-days. They did open up sluice gates to an equivalent of 2/3rds of a generator at 8:AM this morning. The White River at Newport is 4.59 feet and still very low. Both generators are still inoperable. We had a thunderstorm come through at 3:AM this morning and dropped 1.4 inches of badly needed rain here at Blackburns but the severe weather went north of us in Missouri but not far. It has been dry but we seem to get a rain everytime we need one to keep things green and have missed all of the severe weather so far this year. I do everything I can to keep my dock secure and it is in a protected cove but having a big dock on Norfork is like having a teenage daughter out on a date late at night. You cannot get any sleep until everything is OK. The surface water temperature is 85-degrees and the thermocline is at 23-feet with clear water down to 16-feet and a mud line after that to just at the cold water. Walleye, Bass (mostly Kentucky), some redear bluegill and a few White Bass are right in the mud line but the lack of visibility is making spearfishing difficult but you can catch them on a pole with a small spoon. Crappie remain scarce and spooky and more and more of them are staying in open water on shad with the absence of the big stripers. There are a lot of bass and bluegill fry in the brush at 20-25 feet of water indicating a good spawn this spring and the crappie will move onto the brush after labor Day on them. They always do. Guests are catching some nice channel cats off the dock in the evening and after dark on prepared bait on the bottom and bluegill shallow on crickets. Some very large bass are with the bluegill but they are having trouble catching them. Many are trying. The water clarity seems to change from day to day for no apparant reason. One day clear and the next stained green. The only thing that changes is the wind direction but I do not know what causes this. It is not rain or water releases. Stripers are still deep with some big walleye and will continue to go deeper with the increases in water temperature and will eventually go down to the oxygen bubble that will form later and stay there until it cools down. I do not fish for them in deep water and do not keep any of them anyway. They are put and take fish that do not reproduce in Norfork and all are stocked and are fun to catch but that is about it. If you need meat eat White Bass and Kentuckies. It is family fun time here at Blackburns and we have lots of children swimming in the big pool with slide, playing on the green playground and fishing and swimming off the dock and feeding the ducks, turtles and fish. We are the family resort and headquarters for family activities. Come on down and we will not charge you too much. A free stall for your boat comes with your cabin and we especially welcome Police and Veterans. Scuba Steve is a Veteran but does not need nearly as much policing as he used to so they can relax while stayijng at Blackburns. We want everyone to have a nice peaceful and affordable vacation with no drama.
