Don Eggleston with a nice one. Good fisherman. 
The lake level is 554.25 and is the same as it was at this time yesterday. They have the flood gates open just a bit and it is equal to about 2/3rds of a generator. The White River at Newport is 19.10 feet and rising and the surface water is 47-degrees and has been the same for several days. The water is stained green in the creeks and you can see your lure down 6-7 feet during the sunny days on the main lake. Scuba Steve was bass fishing on a main lake point with brush in 23-feet of water and caught several nice ones vertical jigging a grub and minnow and drifting with the wind over the brush and then going around and drifrting over it again. Do not run your trolling motor over the brush or use the spot lock or anchor. I caught some very nice largemouth and a couple of crappie using this method. Also try casting past the brush and let the lure sink into it. Some bass are in open water on shad but not nearly all of them. The big ones are territorial and do not necessarily stay in the brush but just around it near the bottom. The crappie are on top or in the brush loking for minnows and are roaming from brush to brush looking for them. After the spawn the minnows and fry will be in cover in larger numbers and the fish will move from open water on shad to any cover with bait. There are more species of predator fish on shad now that the larger stripers are gone and there is less competition. A big striper now is 15-lbs. or less and used to be 30. Many in the 5-8 pound range are being caught and not given a chance to grow. We are paying now for the year of no stocking during covid, the big fish die-off in past summers and the increasing fishing pressure. The stockings have remained the same. There are more bass fishermen on the lake than anything but most of them are catch and release. Most striper fishermen are meat hunters and few get released and they die easier. The same goes for walleye. Few keeper walleye get released. I would like the striper and hybrid striper limit reduced to two until they make a comeback. Right now bass fishing is the best with some nice ones being caught. Blackburns is open all year so come on down and catch some. We will not charge you too much and a free boat stall comes with your cabin. There will be no price increases for 2024 and all cabins are individual with no duplexes and all have big covered porches. You will like it here. Scuba Steve knows and will show you where the best brush piles are located because he put them in. He can give you advice on catching red meat fish. Find shad and drag something through them.
