Hotdawg Guide Service

For the third day in a row I was out with clients and smoked the trout on egg patterns and worms with Gage,John,and Cooper Blakely from Springdale Arkansas. They caught over one hundred trout with 21 browns and 8 over 20 inches long. The White was running 6 generators and seventeen flood gates with the equivalent of 15 units of water which is down about two feet from yesterday! The bite never quit all day and we fished from the dam all the way to the narrows using #8 sinkers and orange eggs and worms. Cooper is 6 years old and several times we thought the strike from the fish were going to get the rod away from him!! If you can get here to the White you will be bragging about your trip for a long time! John is from Alaska and he said that this day matched any he has had in Alaska and that says alot for our fishery. GOD Bless Hotdawg!!

As with you Mike I am having good success in the high water at the 18-24 foot range with nightcrawlers with up to seven species in one day Great report Hotdawg!

Yes folks back for another post with some fantastic fish photos and the way to get in on the incredible action!! The White is now having some of the best non-stop action you will see!!Phillip Behnke & Ann Johnson were with me today on a Half-day trip and landed 16 Browns from 3-9 Pounds on plastic worms and egg pattern flies along with at least 40 rainbows up to 2.5 pounds!! We were using 6 pound line and 6.6 spinning rods and reels. We fished from the State park to White Hole and the dam was running 5 generators and 17 flood gates open 2 feet with a flow of 46,580 feet per second.This is the equivalent to 15 generators of water which is like it was in 2008. I will be out the next four days and am anticipating more big browns and big # of rainbows also. The fishing is so good that long-time guides are going out together to enjoy the great fishing on their day-off!! Good luck and get a quality guide and the high water is no problem at all!! GOD Bless Hotdawg!!

I have been out on the river GUIDING clients the last three days and can tell you the fishing is better than in 08 better than in the early nineties better than in the eighties when we had the flood gates running. For all you people who haven't made your living at guiding the White this water is intimadating. For those of us who have seen this kind of water at least 50 or more days and fished that many days or more we know that this is some of the BEST Fishing you can ever see on the river. I have also been on the lake all last week and have been catching 20-50 pound stringers of fish with up to seven species caught in one day so don't listen to the rookies and go out with a REAL Professional guide and see just how great the fishing truly is right now! Hotdawg!

Well folks the second most magical time on the White has arrived!! The only bad thing about the flood gates being open is all the damage it is doing to people's property but on a high note the fishing is absolutely fantastic!! The only time it could be any better is when we have a shad kill! I personally think it is even better! All the long time guides like myself have seen this kind of water at least four times before and yes this is the highest output of water but the catching is incredible. First you must take precautions such all people in the boat must wear life jackets no exceptions!! Second your motor must stay on all day and be in excellent running condition. Third do not drag a chain at all!! Watch behind you at all times and last have a blast!! The fish are gorging themselves on worms!! You will be able to catch at least 10 -50 browns a day up to sometimes 10 pounds on worms !! I have been using a #8 sinker and just drifting the middle of the river from the dam all the way to cotter.I was out with Kim and Steve Broussard from Lake Charles Louisiana yesterday and caught 19 browns from 3- 6 pounds on egg pattern and worms!

Bull Shoals has now got 6 flood gates open 1/2 foot and 6 generators also.The release rate is equal to a hard 7 generators. Please be advised that this kind of flow rate is not for the inexperienced boater. Take an experienced guide and you will have a much better time and safer. That said the catching has been phenominal for numbers and size of rainbows and browns.The best baits are minnows and eggs and you must get the bait down to the bottom. Use 6 pound line and a # 8 sinker and that will work. If you do go yourself wear a life jacket and make sure your motor is tuned up and leave it idling at all times.Go upstream from your truck so if something goes wrong you can float back to it.I do not recommend dragging a chain at all!!This will be some great fishing for the next 6 months at least as it will take that long to get the lake back to normal and the fish will grow at a rate of 1 inch a month and 3-5 pounds in a year! Good luck and GOD Bless Hotdawg!

I started this morning at Bull Shoals Lake boat dock for a Half-day Guide trip with Tim Walker of Mt. Home & John Prentiss of Lakeview with the intent of learning a little about the walleyes on the Big Bull. Lake level is 693.33 surface temp. is 68-70 degrees. At twenty feet it is 62 degrees. We started out fishing nightcrawlers on my special rig and were immediately into fish at the 18-22 foot range . In the next hour and half we caught six species of fish,Walleyes,largemouths, smallmouths, Kentuckies, bluegills,rock bass,and White Bass. And then the real fun began as surfacing fish erupted all around us I tied on a Chartruese Lucky Kraft and John caught eight fish in eight casts and Tim managed 5 in 5 casts.For the next 2.5 hours it was non-stop action with numerous doubles we managed to catch a 54 pound stringer of all six species and all concluded what a way to relax for a morning!! GOD Bless Hotdawg!!

Bull Shoals is at 686.02 as I write this and it is raining heavily. We have had 1.15 inches of rain so far and the run-off is heavy. The corps will probably open the flood gates by next weekend although in 2008 that made for some fantastic fishing.The walleyes are starting to bite on the lake so that and the smallies make it okay with me. Make sure your moter is tuned up and wear lifejackets at all times and go catchin Hotdawg!

Bull Shoas is at 686.02 right now and we have heavy rains falling as I write this it will reach the top of the flood pool by wedsday and if the lakes start to dump above we will see it sooner this will be a record setting year for high water and the corps will open flood gates on Bull in my opinion by Friday at the latest The walleye are starting o bite though!! GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Ed Goodman and I caught this 44 pound stringer today in 1-5 feet of water and almost all were caught on Chartruese Shad Lucky crafts. We caught at least 20 short Largemouths and kentuckies using Hula Grubs and Critter craws in 1-10 feet of water on 1/4 ounce jigheads and 8 pound line. We also saw this Golden Eagle catch and eat a fish not 50 feet from us.Water temps climbed by the end of the day to 61.8 degrees. Action was better with clouds. God Bless Hotdawg!!

I was able to guide several days this week on the lower end of the lake and the bite is still hit or miss. One day it seems like every fish is feeding and the next you can't find them at all. I had a great day on Tuesday with 15 fish caught that were keepers Largemouth, White Bass, Kentuckies and one Yellow Perch 13 inches long. Wendsday it was slower with 9 same species. Thursday I braved the wind and found White bass hitting on stickbaits. Temps range from 46 degrees to up to 53 late Thursday. The best baits were Lucky Crafts in American Shad color. Rattlin Rogues in puple back and black and silver. And 5 inch Hula grubs in green pumpkin black flake 1/4 ounce jighead. I also caught a few fish on spoons.I was using 8 pound flourocarbon line. GOD Bless good luck Hotdawg!!

This is the temp at point 5 taken on Marc 10 by the Twin Lakes Walleye Club Hotdawg!Bull Shoals Temp 2011-03-10.pdf

Scott, with sculpins I use a #1 or # 2 abeerdeen hook. With nightcrawlers I use a #2 or #4 abeerdeen depending on the size of the worm. With redworms I use a #4 abeerdeen. With whole crawdads I use a #4 or #2 baitholder hook. As far as weights I use a #10 on one or two generators a #9 on three and four units. a #8 on five six and 7 units and a #7 on eight generators of water These are all bell-sinkers. As far as my drops I use a lot longer, three feet up to four feet. I also never use a swivel as the bigger fish don't get big by being dumb!! GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Nice Walleye Rangerman!! Can't wait for the next full moon. The state record perch is 1 lb 11 ounces caught by Fred Rich of Lakeview AR. on 3-23-10. I also had a customer eat a 15 inch one last year. Great picture and post Hotdawg!!

The White River Browns are still tearing up minnows! I had Justin Bluhm and his 8 year old son Jack today for a half day trip and boated 27 browns from 14 inches to the largest at 24 inches. All were released alive and were caught on river minnows using 8 lb. fluorocarbon line and 6.6 Bionix rod with a Pflueger reel. The secret is to have live bait for the big ones. The river was extremely low as it has been shut off for two days now. If we don't get significant rain soon we will probably have lots of low water this year. GOD Bless and good luck catching HOTDawg!!

Just came over te news that the whole island of Japan moved ten inches after the quake also the earth axis has tilted on its rotation maybe that will bring back some more rain.

This past week has seen a fantastic feed on the White River by some AWESOME Browns. My best day was on Thursday when I guided Ron Foppe and his Grandson from Jamestown Il. Ron's grandson Jim put it on him with a 29 inch 9.4 pound brown even though grandad had a respectable 27 inch 7.7 pound brown. They caught and released 21 browns over 18 inches in length and had a day of their lives on the White. All fish were released alive and well after photos. We were using minnows as bait with 8-pound flourocarbon line on a seven foot bionics rod with a pflueger president reel. Jim's Dad and Ron's Joseph is currenly fighting for our freedoms in Afghanistan so please add him to your prayer lists Thanks and GOD Bless Hotdawg!!

Cajun Angler, Know how you feel about the sarcasm get it all the time. As for green fish I myself am a non-species selective fisherman. If it bites I jerk and the fun begins no matter what kind it is. Some people will never post and some should temper what they say sometimes but that is the nature of fishermen. Great post and photo and don't stop posting GOD Bless Hotdag!

I started out with my clients on the 16th of February at the State Park Ramp and to my surprise the corps had six units in operation. We motored to the dam and tied on bright orange puff-ball flies and immediately were into fish. The secret is to get your fly to the bottem but not to heavy that you catch moss. We boated a # of fish until about 10:30 a.m. when they started dropping the river drastically. We then went to the state park and finished the day with bait there. The wind made it tough but still the catching made up for it. GOD Bless Hotdawg

Recently I posted some photos of customers holding fish and then released them. I was asked why I hadn't been putting reports or photos on the Ozark Anglers Forum in the last few months and this is the reason why. No matter what you try do someone will always tell you that what you are doing isn't what they approve of or not the way they would do it. As all of us are fishermen we should be trying to help and promote our sport not belittle or try to put someone down because they fish artificial, or flies or bait or whatever manner they prefer to legally pursue our beloved sport. I for one like to see pictures of all kinds of fish and enjoy the story behind how it was caught whether it was released or not.Maybe we all should look inside ourselves and try to get along better and realize there is room for all of us on the water, Thanks and GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Here is the water temperature chart from the Twin Lakes Walleye Cub GOD Bless Hotdawg!Bull Shoals Water Temp 02-12-11.txt

Just read article in North american whitetail they did necropsy and found broken neck was cause of death.

I can remember on the White when nothing went back and the biggest fish you could catch was the ones you cleaned as their was not a no culling rule and that we would put knives to 3-5 pound rainbows and even larger fish commonly. I wouldn't even think of doing that now. In a perfect world I would like the whole river to be catch and release but it is a put and take river and the ones of us making our living out there are doing our best to keep it great. I have caught some big fish repeatedly over several months time took their picture released them and then seen them go home with some lucky fisherman that kept them. Everyone has a right to their opinions but again in the river is better than in the skillet!

When properly done with wet hands and in the gap between the plate and the gills their is no harm done to the fish at all and it sure beats throwing it in the livewell and definitely killing the fish! Most customers understand that with a picture you can have a artificial mount made and the fish can live to fight another day.