The lake level is 553.60 and has risen 1.2 inches in the last 24-hours with 2-hours of generation. The White River a Newport is 12.31 feet and dropping. They refuse to drop the lake for the winter. The surface water temperature is 48-degrees with an ambient temperature in the low 50's today. It is to get very cold on Sunday and the water will certainly get colder. if you have your outboard in a boat stall and have not yet checked the lower unit for water or line behind the prop you had better lower your boat down into the water on your lift before Sunday night no matter how new the motor is. It only takes a short time for line wrapped on the prop shaft to eat out the water seal. Especially you trollers. Warranty will not cover this. The lake is clearing up nicely and Scuba Steve could see his lure down about 5-feet on the main lake. It is as clear as it has been in months and a good color for fishing. Striper and Hybrid fishing is the best bite right now followed by Crappie and Bass. Some very large Crappie are with the Stripers on Shad in open water while others are on deeper brush about 16-20 feet down and come up a little shallower just at dark to feed. Most fish are in or just off the main lake. Scuba Steve is catching some very big ones. A 2-inch grub tipped with a small minnow on a 1/16th ounce White with red eye jig head and casting it past the brush and allowing it to sink into it is catching some in the 10-12 inch range but for the very large ones a 3-inch live minnow on a slip float set at about 20-feet will catch the larger ones about 1/2 hour after dark in the same place. If you are Bass fishing, set the boat in deep water at about fifty feet and as far from the bank as you can cast a 3-inch green stingray grub on a 3/16th ounce jig head. Lift your rod and reel in slowly as necessary to keep the grub sinking towards the boat. Ideally the line will be straight up and down when it gets to the boat. Do not drag the lure to the boat. If you cannot do this, move the boat out further and cast further or change places. They hit on the drop at various depths. Beat the bank and go back and work it again if you catch fish. The creek sides of points near deep water is a good place to start or going part way back in the deeper creeks. You can catch some nice Bass especially Kentuckies with a few Largemouth thrown in. Just watch for the bow in the line to twitch or the line to quit dropping and set the hook. If you can master this you can join the ranks of good Bass fishermen. Knowing the Norfork Lake winter Bass banks helps also. They go to the same ones every year at nearly the same time. You just have to check if they are there yet. I really like deep creek arms on the inside of points. Diamond Bay and Float Creek are some good ones. We have been very busy cutting cedar trees from Blackburns 28-acres of forrest and dragging them to the launch for Scuba Steve's New brush piles and to freshen up the older ones. We just have a few left to install. The trees needed thinned out anyway. Few if any other resort owners do this for their customers and most do not fish at all. We want you to catch fish and will show you where they are when you get here. Blackburns continues to be one of the dwindling numbers of Norfork Lake Resorts that are still family owned and family operated and are not sold or not for sale or have cashed in. We like it here. Our many repeat customers continues to enjoy the best place with the best prices in the Ozarks and we keep our prices low so you can still enjoy an affordable fishing trip or family vacation. If you are not staying at Blackburns, you really have to be loyal by continuing to pay way too much to a Corporation made up of people that you do not even know for no reason. Compare prices and give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 for a reservation. We will not charge you too much and you will like it here. Scuba Steve will help you with fishing. We sell peace and quiet and no drama.
