The lake level is 553.83 and rising slowly with no discharge from the dam for three days except minimum flow. As soon as it gets to the top of the power pool of 553.75 they shut everything off and let it rise again. There has been no effort to drop the lake this winter to make room for the spring rains. The surface water temperature is dropping again with the cool days and cold nights and is now at 48-degrees. The water on the main lake is very clear and Scuba Steve could see his lure down about 10-feet yesterday. It is more stained in the creeks but very clear near the shore. The weather is to warm starting tomorrow and get near 70-later next week. The lake overall is in excellent condition and at a good level but fishing is just fair. I was catching some big crappie on brush in the evening after sundown until dark but that bite has slowed so I switched to bass fishing. I have been using small spoons, grubs and minnows and jigs in main lake brush piles in 23-ft. of water during the day and then beating the bank in the evening and catching some nice bass. There are more species of fish in open water on shad in the last few years with the absence of the large stripers. When I say absence I do not mean all of the big ones are gone but a vast majority of them are and bass, catfish and large crappie are taking their place feeding on shad and there is a lot of them out there. The heavy fishing pressure and people killing too many small stripers is keeping the size down. They are getting bigger now and there has not been a late summer striper kill for three or four years. The the lack of stocking during covid left a void in one whole year. I am catching catfish in places where I have never caught them before and later in the year when they usually get scarce. White Bass are making a comeback after the big kill several years ago but are not what they were. They took the size limit off of Kentucky Bass and more people are keeping smaller ones and their numbers are decreasing. Tournament fishermen were complaining about too many small bass in the lake but there seems to be enough food for everybody and the Kentuckies bite when the Largemouth get lockjaw. I am not a big fan of fishing tournaments anyway because they are mostly in the spring during the spawn. Yes, I know they release the fish but several of them die anyway and they take fish off the beds and move them and leave the nest unprotected for the everpresent bluegill to ravage as soon as they are gone. Open water striper fishing has been tough lately and they are looking far and wide for them and when they do they spook and they have to look more. They are moving a lot and an have plenty of feed. The best chance for a big one will be just before the full moon in March when they move to spawning banks at sundown and will hit a stick bait.This is also a good time to catch shallow walleye. The big crappie are full of eggs with bloodlines and some will spawn early this year. A good time for Norfork Crappie fishing is in the last part of April and is also good for top-water bass and stripers. This continues through May and then diminished as the weather gets warmer. Blackburns is still the home of the $59/day one bedroom cabins until Memorial Day and there will be no price increases for 2024. A free stall for your boat at our dock comes with the cabin. Compare prices and give give Debbie a call at 870-492-5115 for a reservation before you have to pay a lot more elsewhere. We are the first to fill up. We have the best place, best price and are closest to Mountain Home, dining and shopping. Come on down and we will not charge you too much. Go to Scuba Steve's Blog for a daily report.