Hotdawg Guide Service

As a guide for years on the White the best area for the Brookies has always been the first three miles of the river although I have caught some just above Cotter bridge. I have caught cutthroat all the way down to Ranchettes. They always seem to run in streaks where you catch them for a few days or weeks then you don't see one for a couple of months then you hit them again. As for flies San-Juan worms work better for the cutts. They seem to love cane worms and crawdad tails when I use bait so try to imitae them and you will be more successful Good Luck Hotdawg!

Casting to the bank then raising up off bottom and letting it fall back to the bottom Staying in contact with the lure at all times.Hotdawg!

Well folks on February 18-21 the Mid-South Tackle show will be on at the Will Rodgers Event Center in Claremoore,Oklahoma and I will be attending. Please feel free to stop by my booth for some info or just plain talking about hunting and fishing. Show times are as follows Thurs. Feb 18 5:00 p.m - 9:00p.m.; Fri. Feb 19 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.; Sat. Feb 20 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.; Sun. Feb 21 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. GOD Bless and hope to see some of you at the show Hotdawg Curtis.

Well Folks the shad are coming through the dam today at Bull Shoals. They are not coming through heavy and are not making it very far down the river but you can see them in the water and on top in the catch and release area. They are working well on the first three miles of the river. Hopefully they will start to come through heavier. Good luck Hotdawg!

The long cedar tree breaks all were blown down he river the big rootwads are still there but have moved some. The gravel in the State Park hole is changing and that is what the game and fish doesn't realize that now they have changed the flow and the gravel will be moved a lot more than normal and the shoots and shoals will change and sometimes not for the good!! Be careful on the Marion county side by the dam. GOD Bless Hotdawg!!

Call ahead and they might have them at white hole resort or they do have them at Newland's on the river.Also sometimes Bull Shoals Lake boat dock or the Mar Mar tackle shop has them. Good luck and GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Good luck Pat I will be in Oklahoma at a Sport show maybe next time Hotdawg!

I am using frozen shad on a #2 aberdeen hook with a# 8 bell sinker on a drop sinker rig about 3.5 feet long.I saw maybe oneor two up in the catch and release area and had a few fish spit up some. I did not clean any fish to see if they had any in their bellies. The rainbows are spawning in the gravel areas and are dropping eggs and milt when handled.I believe they are coming through at night but not heavy. I guided the lake Friday and the surface temp was 42-45 degrees in the creek arms.I don't think they are makng it very far down because the bite slowes down the farther you get from the dam.Good Luck Hotdawg!

I had a half day guide trip on Bull Shoals today and we caught five keepers on Green Pumpkin Hula Grubs using eight pound line and 3/8 ounce jighead.We were fishing half way back in the creeks in 5-10 feet of water in small cuts.All were Largemouths in the 3-3.5 pound range. I also looked at some brush piles in 40-50, feet and marked fish but did'nt have enough time to figure what they wanted before I had to run back down the lake all fish were caught above point 17.GOOD luck and GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Wiggle warts have been the best of the crankbaits. Some locals are doing good down here but most are going up the lake I caught some on hula grubs today so that is working also.I would go up lake as that is what I did to catch fish Good Luck Hotdawg!

Wow what an AWESOME two day trip on the White that Mike Bryant and friends from Brentwood,TN had with me and Jeff Moore on Thursday and Friday. We started at the State Park ramp just below the Dam on Thurs. and in my boat we caught 17 Browns on thurs. and 11 on Fri. The largest was 21 inches long with a 20 inch Rainbow on Friday. Mike and Dave caught over 100 fish both Days all on Shad. Jeff's customers caught 13 Browns on Thurs. with the largest at 27 inches and on Fri. 9 with one 22 inch Brown. We were using spinning gear with 4-6 pound line and #8 sinkers generation was constant at 5-7 generators. High water for guides with experience is just another Great Day on the White. All fish were released alive after pictures and are still there for the taking. We fished down to Partee Hole but the best action was from the Dam to Cain Island Shoal. Not many boats out either day so it was quite enjoyable after about 10:00 a.m. GOD Bless and see ya on the water Hotdawg!

Most are coming from yocum bend all the way up to k dock the tournament guys are pretty close mouthed to location as they have the final coming up and don't want to give exact location up. The next few months will just get better and better as the lake warms up .

Towards the tail with the half hitches around the base of the tail. Use a hook that will not go past the half hitches. Hook them right behind the eye sideways through the shad in the hard part of the skull. They are frozen and work just fine you want your bait to be bumpin bottem but not hanging up. Don't set the hook till you feel the fish shake his head hard.Let them thaw out in water and only thaw what you will use in a day .GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Pat I will try to answer your questions in order here goes 1.Best knots with 4- 6 pound line are the improved clinch knot or the palomar.2.The best bait for a shad kill is SHAD!Otherwise a lure that imitates shad.3. You can by them at Big Red's Bait & Tackle in Lakeview.If they are coming through heavy you canpick them up floating on the water and in the eddyies.4.The prepackaged ones don't work as well for me.Best line is a #4 or 32 abeerdeen hook with 4-6pound line the weight will vary 1-2 generators #10 bell sinker 3-4-5 generators #9 bell sinker 7-8 generators #8or#7. Hook the shad through the head lay the line beside the shad and put two half hitches around the tail.Lately the have been saying they are running 6 units and at times it is like 2 and other times it is 6 full.Good luck and see-ya on the water Hotdawg!

With the continued cold weather I look for the shad kill to get better and better. The main problem with the shad kill is if it is too heavy you have to go down river to get where there is less shad available and the fish are more aggesive to them. Also if they shut the water off then you want to fish real shad and you will catch a lot more and bigger fish.The kill can last for as long as a week to more than three months! All depends on lake temp and water generation.You should be hitting the prime for shad and shadimitation in March Good luck Hotdawg!

Nice to hear from you and bring your Longhandles!!Most of the fish are being caught on Rogues, Lucky Crafts and crankbaits. Go to the Northwest creek arms and go middle way back in the creek arm and hold your boat in about 15-20 feet of water and parallel cast to the bank working it slow and sometimes stopping the bait.Also the bluff ends with the same bait or a spoon will work. Drive careful Good luck Hotdawg!

The best thing you wrote was that you were going to get a guide the first day!! The White when the water is running like it has been lately is intimidating and sometimes even outright dangerous to a novice! The fishing from a boat has been phenominal as of late with 100 fish days of spin-fishing the norm. 4-6 pound line with a medium light 6 foot 6.5 foot spinning reel with a good drag system and you will be fine as to a guide ask them how long they have had a guide licence then ask for references to find a good one! Good luck Hotdawg!

Well folks if the third leg of the Winter Bass-o-Thon are any indication of the type of fish that The Big Bull is going to produce look out come April,May and June. The team of Lynn Luther & Anthony Graves had a five fish limit that hit the scales at 25.59 pounds!! That would win most tournaments anywhere in the country or at least have you in the top ten! The top fifteen teams were all above fifteen pounds for five fish!!! And the most incredible part was after talking to five of the teams the water temperature was only 37-42 degrees. That could be a record for that cold of water.Big Bass was a 5.92 pound Largemouth. With all the high water of the last three years all species have had excellent spawns and phenomenal growth rates. Bring on the warm waters of spring and, yes I will be fishing even on my days off if I have any!! GOD Bless Hotdawg!

Wow I just received the news of the results of this weekends tournament and what a surprise!! The winners Lynn Luther & Anthony Gates caught a five fish limit of 25.59 pounds to win!! That would win almost all tournaments in the U.S. or at the very least have you in the top ten!! That is a 5.2 pound average!! The top ten teams were all above 16 pounds!! The most amazing part is with all the snow of last week the surface temps were in the 37-42 degree range and for that kind of water that should be some kind of RECORD!!Big Bass was 5.92 pounds caught by Jim Byler & James Southard.Most of the guys I talked to were using crank-baits and stickbaits to catch their fish. I truly believe that this spring we will see a tournament with a five fish limit over thirty pounds!! Like I wrote on my website I personally can not wait till this spring as I think this will be a year where everyone is talking about the awesome fishing on the Big Bull, GOD Bless and congratulations to all the Tournament Guys!!

Today in the early afternoon we had two blasts of shad come through the dam. Most of them did not make it past the end of the catch and release area at the dam. The second one saw some make it down to the bottom of the state park area. Some good fish were caught on shad or white worms. I talked to 5 boats that had fished the lake and the temps have fallen to 37-42 degrees depending where you are on the lake still not a definite shad kill yet but with more snow and cold predicted all week it should start soon. Generation has been fluctuating between 2-6 generators around the clock.Good Luck Hotdawg!!

The Arkansas Game & Fish stocked 45,000 last year and will be doing that for the next three years. Also Missouri stocks about 25,000 each year in the theodosia arm of the lake. Their were numerous fish caught last year in the 20-30 pound range with several in the 40 pound range.The state record was caught out of Beaver Lake Tailwater on 4-28-2000 and weighed 64.8 pounds by Jeff Fletcher of Golden Mo.This year will be and awesome ctching year on Big Bull because of the high water the last few years and I believe some othe records could fall. GOD bless Hotdawg!

Hello everyone, My name is Tim (Hotdawg) Curtis I have been a guide on the White River and Bull Shoals Lake for 35 year now. I have been fortunate to be Blessed by GOD to have a job that I absolutely Love!! Their is nothing I love more to be in a boat with customers and/or friends enjoying a day on the water. I especially love to teach and fish with children.If you see me on the water and need some help to aid your Catching just ask I am always willing to help out. GOD Bless and hope to see more of you this year Hotdawg!!

01-31-10 Boy oh boy if this is global warming somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature! We had a giant snow storm last week starting on Thursday night and ending on Saturday. We had almost eleven inches of snow!!!! Thank goodness it wasn't ice like last year at the same time. The lake has been sporadic but some big bass are already being caught. 8.5 pound Largemouth being the biggest I have seen. Lots of Kentuckies in the three and four pound range and smallies also. Most on stickbaits and rogues and spoons and some plastic worms and grubs. We all get antsy with the warm weather and start to think about it being an everyday affair but we are still some weeks away from consistent fishing patterns on the lake. GOD Bless and make your reservation early as I believe this will be one of the best years on the lake and river in some time due to all the high water from the last three years. Hotdawg!!

As a guide and fisherman on the white for 35 years I say bring on the water!! Low water is great for wading and Fly fishing but not for the fish and the river, I say bring on the water. The high water of the last few years has helped the river grow more and better fish than low water ever will.You can go out and catch more fish now in one day than you could in three days ten years ago.The problem most people have with high water is they are not using enough weight to get the bait on the bottom where the fish are.Also with water you can cover a whole lot more of the river and bring your bait or lure by more big fish than just standing or anchoring in one spot.Also high water separates the men from the boys on the mighty WHITE!!