Caught on the Bink's Spoon in 38-ft. of water near the bottom. 
The lake level is 556.33 and has dropped 3-inches in the last 24-hours with generation about 2/3rds the time. They have cut way back as we approach the top of the power pool of 555.75 and have been very reluctant to drop any lake much below that. The White River at Newport is 7.16 feet and very low indicating not much water is being released anywhere. The surface water temperature is 87-degrees and the thermocline still starts at 30-ft. and is very cold at 35-feet. The visibility is still good down to the cold water and you can see about 5-6 feet. Very good for Scuba Diving. Some Crappie are at that level but the larger walleye are a few feet deeper. You will be the first to know when the larger schools of crappie move to the brush. It should be in about 2-weeks. The lake is in excellent condition and at a good level but I would like there to be more surge capacity and drop the lake down to 552 in case of a large rain from a hurricane. There is no reason not to do this. When a storm hits Texas or Louisiana, goes North, turns right in Oklahoma and sweeps across Arkansas there is a good chance for us to get significant rain and run the lake level back up again but I do not expect the people managing the lake level to be capable of anticipating this. Do not expect much, do not get much. Everything seems to be a surprise to them no matter how many times it happens. We could get siginficant rain early next week and could use an inch or two. It is very dry and could get hot agains with a high pressure moving in later next week with highs near 90. Not bad. The days are getting much shorter so it does not stay so hot for so long. I do not like to have summer be over but do enjoy winter fishing. November is my favorite month for fishing but I like Scuba Diving Season the best. I have already lived where it was too cold for too long and am done with that. One of the best things about Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental is that we have no mosquitoes here. I have lived here for 30-years and have never seen one. You can sit out on your big covered porch in the evening at dark, watch the wildlife (not Scuba Steve anymore) and not get run in by the mosquitoes. That goes a long way with me after living in Minnesota and Maine which also have Black Flies that are worse. This is just a good place to be here on Norfork lake. We keep getting calls asking if we are for sale or if we have accepted an offer for the resort and are leaving the area. The answer is no. My family already lives here and plans on taking over Blackburns when Scuba Steve cannot handle it anymore and continue the tradition of providing pleasurable family and fishing vacations and the best prices in the Ozarks to reward our many repeat and loyal customers. We are not cashing in and you do not have to break in another owner. We have hundreds of customers that are like family. When they come here they know we will not charge them too much and keep the place nice with continued improvements for them. We like that and do not want to leave and do not understand why anybody does.
