Denny Tinnin from Marquard, Mo. with a very large Norfork Lake Hybrid Striper earlier this week. He is one good fisherman. 
The lake level is 552.54 and has dropped 2-inches in the last 24-hours with one generator running about 1/2 the time. The White River at Newport is 3.72 feet and very low. It is dry here and they are not letting out much water anywhere. We are close to needing a burn ban.The surface water temperature is 72-degrees and dropping with the cold nights. The water is clear on the main lake with good visibility at 3o-feet and the creeks alternate between clear and stained green about twice a week. Overall the lake is in great condition and at a good level. Fishing is picking up with the cooler water and should continue to do so. Most fish do not like dropping water levels and big moons with clear nights except Stripers and Bluegill and the Stripers are not biting very well. The stripers sometimes come to the banks to feed at sunset just before the full moon in November but that bite has diminished the last few years for some reason. It used to be really good. Many more schooling fish are being caught with live scopes and people that did not have a clue how to catch fish can now find the schools and stay right on them and keep on catching them day after day until they are decimated.They seem to ignore the possession limit. Crappie and Stripers are very easily caught when they are feeding. One thing about live scopes is they cannot make fish bite and there is no substitute for good fishing techniques and knowing where to go, when to go and what lure to use and when to go for reaction strikes when they are not feeding. You have to find them and catch them not just find them. Why does a bass fisherman that beats the bank need a livescope? I hear lots of proud livescope owners who spend the $2,500 for one complain and say "I can see the fish down there but they just will not bite". At least they are not fishing where there are no fish like they used to before they made their pricy purchase. Some people need more help than others and some will never catch much no matter the sophisticated equipment. I can tell when a person comes into the dock and I look how his poles are rigged if he is catching anything or not. When they say "I threw everything in the tackle box at them" they do not have much of a chance here on Norfork. There are just a few techniques that woek consistently here and you have to be using the right bait when they start feeding. Right now a lot of the smaller crappie are biting well. I am still concerned on the numbers of bigger ones and would like to see the limit dropped and the possesstion limit back the way it was to two days daily limit. The Crappie being caught now are coming on three years old and we have not had any low water spawns for years. We have had several years where the water keeps rising all during the spawn season but they have a way of waiting until the time is right. The lower population has to do with people catching the males off the spawning banks than anything and the increased fishing pressure with too many people moving here. If you are in the Mountain Home area stop By Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental and check us out. We do not mind drive throughs as long as you go slow. We have lots of children here and pets. We continue to have the best prices on both cabins and boat rentals in the Ozarks and Scuba Steve will show you where his brush piles are located. He has some good ones. Call Debbie at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. It is nice here and we will not charge you too much.
