John Bornhop with some nice ones fishing Scuba Steve's Brush piles. We will show you where when you get here. 
The lake level is 551.68 and up just a bit and is at a normal level with no generation for two days. The White River at Newport is 3.21 feet and very low indicating not much water is being released anywhere. The surface water temperature is about 70-degrees. It is to be very warm for the next couple of days and then rain and cool temperatures later on in the week. We need the rain badly and have a burn ban in effect. I am sorry to report that the fall foliage is pretty much of a dud this year and everything is just turning brown and leaves are falling. It does not look like there will even be a peak. It is still beautiful out on the lake with the sun shining down on you in the afternoons but do not come visit just to see the colors. There are more stripers showing up around main lake points near brush in 20-25 feet of water but they are small and in the 4-5 pouind range. I have not seen any big ones or very many White Bass. If there is to be a night bite for Stripers it will be just before the full moon in November, which is the 15th, when they used to move in shallow at dusk to feed and bite on a slow-rolled stick bait. This bite has diminished over the years but I suspect you will start to see more Stripers posted on the internet around that time. They are not feeding very well now but should start but the days of catching several fish in the 25-lb range are over. There is just too much fishing pressure and too much killing of small fish. I am also not seeing large schools of big Crappie. There are a lot in the 8-9 inch range. I usually catch several fish in the 15-16 inch range around Thanksgiving but we will see. Things they are a changin. Taking the size limit off of the Kentucky Bass is also working with people keeping many more of the small ones. I am not sure that was a good idea but the Game and Fish know what they are doing. They want the tournament fishermen to catch bigger Bass. I personally am not a big supporter of tournament fishing, especially during spawn, but they do help out some worthy causes but pulling the males off the beds does not help Bass fishing any even though they are released later. Several die anyway. I am catching a few Walleye, Bass, Crappie, Bluegill and Stripers but nothing to brag about but will keep you informed. If you are in the area stop by Blackburns and check us out. We are the home of the $69/day 1-bedroom cabins and $89/day 2-bedrooms and a free stall for your boat at our big dock comes with a cabin rental of two days or more. It is nice here and the price is right. Call Debbie at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We especially welcome Veterans and Police.
