Mark Manning from Iowa with some nice ones this morning fishing Blackburns new brush piles. 
The lake level is 555.54 and has dropped 3-inches in the last 24-hours with sluice gates open to just over one generator. It has been continuous for 4-days now and is the best they have tried to drop the lake in months. The White River at Newport is 6.8 feet and dropping, so not much water is being let out anywhere. It is hot and dry with morning fog. Wait ultil the fog lifts before going out on the lake. You are not only risking yourself but anybody else that is crazy enough to be out there. People think they can run on GPS and not hit shore but that does not mean you will not hit another boat. You must really need to be out there bad. The thermocline is at 28-29 feet and dropping with the hot weather driving it down which is to continue until next weekend. This is why school should not start until after Labor Day. The same goes for the Baxter County Fair. A few crappie are moving into the brush at 27-32 feet along with a lot of Kentucky Bass, walleye, and a few catfish especially on main lake points. Spoons of varoius weights, depending on the water depth you are fishing, are the best lures now. Big Bluegill are all over the place under docks and on the shoreline around deep water. The moon getting bigger and the river dropping is not helping catfishing any but a few are being caught but mostly channels. The surface water is 87-88 degrees and rising with the intense heat. We may hit 90 for the first time this year. The best place to be now is scuba diving down to the thermocline or in Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental's big pool. Come on down and we will not charge you too much. If you are staying where you are nearly the only customer you are either paying too much, in the wrong place or both.
