Blackburns Burning Bush has about the best color of anything around but not as brilliant as normal. 
The James Webb family from Brighton, Tenn. just left and report having a good time. They are a nice family and always welcome. 
The lake level is 552.71 and has dropped 1-3/4 inches in the last 24-hours with one generator running from 11AM until 11PM. Less is scheduled for today with generation starting at 2:PM. The White River at Newport is 4.30 feet and very low indicating not much water is being released anywhere. It is getting very dry with no rain in the forecast. It is windy today and a lot of leaves are blowing off. The surface water temperature is 72-73 degrees and dropping with the very cool nights. We could get a frost tonight and tomorrow night and it would be our first one for the season. It does not look good for spectacular fall foliage color again this year but it is always beautiful boating the lake shore in October. The lake is clearing with good visibility down past 30-feet. Overall the lake is in excellent condition and at a good level.The fishing is improving with the cooler water and some Crappie and Bass are biting but not a lot yet. Walleye have moved shallower and are on main lake points in 20-24 feet of water. Nothing is feeding very much so you need to focus on reaction strikes. I am a little concerned about the numbers of the bigger Crappie and I am just not seeing very many of them. The live scopes are making novice fishermen into meat hunters and the limit needs to be reduced. When you see huge stringers of dead Crappie the person needs to be ostracized instead of being proud. There are too many guides trying to impress people and meat hunters out there and the fishing pressure is increasing rapidly with too many people moving to the area. Inflation is hitting the area badly on everything. Land, building costs and property taxes are skyrocketing not to mention rent, insurance, batteries, tires, vehicle and boat repair. It is rough on young people with families. Baxter County is turning into one big self storage, RV park and trailer park community. It is changing quickly and I am not a big fan of the changes but there is no danger of me moving. Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental is still the best place around and we will share it with you and will try and keep the prices as low as we can and not see how much we can get from you. Call Debbie at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We are family owned and operated and especially welcome Veterans and Police.
