Scott Ellison here, with the FLW Weekly Fishing Report.
As there hasn’t been enough rain to settle the dust, the lake is about three feet low and there’s no sign that it’s going to go up anytime soon. Still, the air temperature has moderated, the water level is staying fairly stable and the fishing has gotten a lot better for most species.
"I learned that the hard way. ... Wearing a bicycle helmet and having the air vents across the top and not thinking to put sunscreen on the top of your head ... you wind up with what I called a sort of geometrically pleasing — if sort of disturbing-looking — sunburn."
NPR discusses attacking male pattern baldness with a set of clippers. Just take it all off.
Lake Barkley water levels are at a record low for this time of year. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers says the lake is at just over 356 feet, almost three feet below normal. The low levels are due to a lack of rainfall in the latter part of March and all of April. The Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Authority continue to conserve and store water in an attempt to reach summer pool, around 359 feet. But without more rain, it is unlikely that either Barkley or Kentucky Lake will reach summer pool anytime soon.
The US 68/KY 80 bridge over Lake Barkley at Canton is open again to traffic this morning following a strike by a fourteen barge tow early this morning. The U.S. Coast Guard reports the Motor Vessel EVT was pushing the empty barges downriver when a gust of wind forced a controlled landing against one of the bridge piers. The collision was severe enough that the lead barge was taking on water. Kentucky Transportation spokesman Keith Todd says the Cabinet dispatched an inspector who reported no structural damage to the bridge.