The fall foliage is rapidly changing now for you leaf peepers with some nice color. 
John Bornhop with a nice one caught on a small spinner bait on Blackburns Brush piles. 
The lake level is 551.92 and has dropped 1.3 inches in the last 24-hours with one generator running from 2-11 PM. Yes the lake is lower than it has been for the last 2-years but is not low. Normal used to be 552 and was often lower in October before the minimum flow law was enacted taking away 1.75 feet of flood capacity for the put and take trout on the rivers. For many years Scuba Steve put in his brush piles at 25-feet deep at 552 water level and they were at a good level most of the years. We very seldom got high water. Now they hold the levels up close to the top of the power pool, which they now adjust seasonally, and then take it quickly down to it and then turn it over to the power company who does not generate much. Then we get a big rain and get flooded out again. For a couple of years the generators were broken down and they used the flood gates and sluice gates to somewhat control the level. New people to the area have not seen a low level but it is lower than they have experienced. Actually the roads, launches and parking were built for a normal pool of 552 and often it got down to the high 540's this time of year with normal rainfall in the summer. What we actually have is a different way the area lake levels are managed. It could be much better if it were managed differently and there would be no need to flood anybody out downstream while still maintaining the lakes at a reasonable level most of the time. We should not have a choice of either being dry gulched or flooded out. It is like a waitress asking you "how would you like your steak, raw or burned? We should be allowed to say medium. If the lakes were only made for flood control then why did they take away 1.75 feet of flood control for the put and take trout on the rivers? What we need is different ways the lakes are managed and different managers but when you deal with the government you do not expect much and do not get much. There is no reason for the lakes to get too low. All they have to do is quit generating. The can control how much goes out just not how much goes in but there is always spring water flowing into the lake from the river. The White River at Newport is 2.52 feet and very low with not much water being released into the White and Norfork Rivers. The surface water temperature is 69-degrees and the water clarity has diminished and is cloudy down to about 30-feet. Overall the lake is in excellent condition and at a good level. It is very dry and we need a burn ban. If the area where the tornado came through gets on fire we are in trouble with all of the dead wood. There has been no rain in October and none in sight.The fall foliage has changed a lot in the last couple of days and there is some decent color showing. It is not brilliant but not bad and better than I thought a few days ago. The areas of the lake where the sun shines in the afternoon on the Sycamores and other hardwoods are yellow and red. You can boat, cruise, fish and peep leaves in the warm afternoon sunshiine. This certainly is a beautiful area and I am fortunate to be able to live here and be outside every day. The Crappie are the best bite followed by Bass and they are on and in shallow brush about 20-ft. deep. Drop a small spoon, cast a small grub tipped with a minnow past the brush and let it sink into it or set a slip float with minnnow about 5-feet further down than you can see your bait right on top of the brush. They are spooky so use your trolling motor sparingly and shut off spot lock. Blackburns Resort and Boat Rental still has nice cabins for $69/day and a free stall for your boat at our big full service dock comes with the cabin on rentals of two days or more. Scuba Steve will show you where the brush piles are located when you get here. Call Debbie at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We are family owned and operated and are not sold or for sale. We like it here a lot.
