Norfork Lake Arkansas near Mountain Home in the Ozarks Mountains Region Fishing Report and lake Condition by Scuba Steve from Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental.

Scuba Steve with a couple yesterday. Image title

The lake level is 555.52 and has dropped 1/2 inch in the last 24-hours with 5-hours of running 1-1/2 generators. They are to run a little more today starting at 2:PM. The White River at Newport is 2.13 feet and it is difficult to launch a boat there and is as low as I have seen it in a long time. They refuse to let out much water anywhere and want to keep the area lakes up as high as possible for as long as possible so they can flood us out again in the spring. We definitely need better lake management. The surface water temperature is 82-degrees and the thermocline is at 31-feet. Several fish are just above, right at or just below that. The visibility is good even after the holiday churn and is excellent for Scuba Diving. I could see about 5-6 feet at the thermocline. More crappie are on the brush piles on the wind blown points and the wind has been from the North for a couple of days now. They are on top of the brush about 15-18 feet down. Several Walleye are with them near the bottom but most are throwbacks. The lake overall is in excellent condition and at a good level for fishing but fishing is just fair. Some of the larger Stripers have moved up from the oxygen bubble deep and are at the thermocline. I look for an early and gradual lake turnover in early October with good fishing after that. Some things are happening that I am not sure about but I will figure it out and let you know. The regulation changes concerning size of Largemouth and taking off the 12-inch limit on Kentucky Bass is accomplishing what the Game and Fish wanted and people are keeping a lot more smaller Bass. I am sure they know what they are doing but there seems to be enough food for everybody and all fish are fat and healthy. I would like to see more Walleye stocked. There are too many Carp and Gar in the lake and it would be nice if they could do something about that. Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental is on it's off-season rates now and you can get a 1-bedroom cabin for $69/day and a 2-bedroom for $89/day and they come with a free stall for your boat on stays of two days or more. We also have the best prices on rental boats in the Ozarks. Give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We sell Peace and Quiet and no Drama but sorry we do not have any mosquitoes. I know you will miss them from where you live.