Fisherman Mike with a good one diving Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental's Brush piles yesterday. 
The lake level is 554.02 and has dropped 2-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with 1-1/4 generators running for about 18-hours. The White River at Newport is 5.85 feet and remains very low. We will see if they slow generation again after we reach the top of the power pool of 553.75 when Southwestewrn Power takes over the generation schedule. We should be at about 550 now and 548 going into the spring rains to help avoid flooding but they refuse to do so. The surface water temperature is just above 75-degrees and dropping slowly. The warm sunshine will help hold the water temperature up for at least the next week but is not doing fishing any good. Blackburns guests are catching channel cats, smaller crappie, some Kentucky Bass and mostly short Walleye. I am seeing a few Stripers around brush while diving but they are spooky and are gone in a flash. Scuba Divers very seldom harvest Stripers. Small spoons, live bait for catfish on jugs and other minnows on a slip float right over brush are working the best. The fish are there but you have to keep moving to different brush piles to find feeding fish. To greatly improve your chances use light clear line with no hardware and use your trolling motor sparingly and shut off spot lock. Several fish are on top of the brush but Walleye are around it and about 3-4 feet off the bottom. People are catching more fish but I think they are just fishing better for the conditions rather than the fish biting better. I am pole fishing in the early AM and diving in the late afternoon. Keep a top water lure ready to grab when you see it happen. They are not calling up very well after they go down and it does not last long. The shad are about the size of a 1/4 ounce spoon so it is good to match to that. The weather is perfect for being out on the water and the lake is in excellent condition and at a good level for about everything. The fall foliage is starting to turn on the shoreline but mostly yellow and brown. There are many dead trees with the lake being held up too high for too long. I am ready to start catching those big Norfork Lake Crappie. Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental continues to be the best place with the best prices and a free stall for your boat comes with a cabin rental of 2-days or more. It is nice here and the price is right. Come on down and check us out. We will not charge you too much and especially welcome Veterans and Police. Give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 for a reservation and join the peace and quiet of our beautiful valley. Good fishing is closeby and you can launch and park right here.
