The lake level is 553.41 and has risen 3/4 of an inch in the last 24-hours with no discharge for over a week. We received 0.8 inches of rain last night. The White River at Newport is 3.13 feet and still very low indicating not much water is being released from any of the area lakes. Both generators are still inoperable. The surface water temperature is 79-degrees and falling slowly with the cooler ambient temperatures, shorter days and sun angle. The thermocline that was at 31-feet is gone but the water is a few degrees cooler at 34-feet and mixing indicating the start of the lake turnover. It does not look to be violent this year but gradual and the fish scatter. Some people look on their fish finders and think the thermocline drops after turnover but that is not true. The cold water in Norfork ranges from between 48-degrees and 58 degrees year round and varies at what level it reaches these temperatures with how far the sun penetrates the water. It has nothing to do with the summer thermocline that typically ranges from 16-feet in late May to 32 feet in Early to mid August. I have rarely seen it go any further than 32-feet. It takes heat and sunshine to drop it not cooler water. As the surface water cools and goes deeper it becomes cooler than the top of the thermocline at the 30-ft range and flips where the water is nearly homogenous from top to 30-feet. In nortern shallow lakes this can be from the top to the bottom of the lake and be violent and bring up debris from the bottom and nearly stopping fishing until it starts to clear again. This does not happen on Norfork which can be up to 177 feet deep. The depth at which the sun no longer penetrates Norfork can vary with the season as does the start of the very cold water. It is more dense and shows up on fish locators which some people misinterpret as the thermocline but it is actually always there and is always well below the summer thermocline which goes away in late September or early October. It takes heat to drop the summer thermocline not cooler weather. As the water clears after turnover the fishing gets better and better and November can make for some very good fishing. It looks to be a couple of weeks earlier than normal so far this year. The crappie are schooled and roaming and checking out brush piles for bait fish. No baitfish no crappie. Check out banks with brush that the wind has been blowing into for a few days first. The Plankton blow with the wind and the shad follow the plankton.I am seeing some surfacing fish part way back in the creeks in the evenings but the best bite is for Kentucky bass on wind blown, deep, river channel banks. If not for Kentucky Bass fishing would be tough right now. Bink continues to catch some nice walleye spooning in 30-35 feet of water but has been fishing Norfork For a long time and knows where they are. I am mostly Scuba Diving now and it is tough to get on suspended fish in deep water diving but I also know where they are. Blackburns is still the home of the $59/day 1-bedroom cabins that come with a free stall at our dock for your boat. All cabins are individual with no duplexes and have big covered porches to get out of the sun and rain. Give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We will not charge you too much and especially welcome Veterans and Police.
