Monday, April 23, 2012

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 4/23/2012

Hey Everyone - I was out every day this past week except for Wednesday, and the fishing was super. In addition to the report below, I wanted to share that I just completed and submitted my article for the May publication of Coastal Angler Magazine - make sure to check it out when it hits the stands in a couple of weeks. A great read on Lanier topwater fishing to include tactics, locations, and specific baits. We have been focusing on the post-spawn fish on the main lake and major creek mouths this week with very good success. The active females are relating to the summer brush in 18-30 feet and will come up for a bait. We have had to alter our presentations and our baits considerably to get them to eat, but we have figured out how to get those tentative post-spawn females to commit. We have been throwing walking baits and wake baits for our big fish. You definitely have to run and gun to get these big ones - not all fish are active at the same time and those big females are finicky right now. Persistence pays - we had a 19 pound stringer on Monday and 18 lbs on Thursday and solid bags of around 16 pounds of these post spawn females on Tuesday and Friday. On Thursday and Friday, my guests and I continued to run the post-spawn pattern and focused on brush in 18-30 feet of water on humps and long running points. We had great catches on both Thursday and Friday with Jim B. getting his personal best spot with me on Thursday- just under 5 pounds. He ran into one of our striped friends (LOL) as well as some other very nice spots. On Friday, I took out Pete, one of our good friends from Hammond's Fishing. We had a little Hammond's "show-down" against some other Hammond's employees on other boats...we won't discuss the losers, LOL, but our 16 lbs won it going away. We had several fish in the 3.5 range that day - shot out of the same mold. We probably hit 35 holes to get those fish. Nice work Pete! We have not been getting a ton of bites running this pattern but it seems to be the best pattern by far for the better fish. Topwater, wakebaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits have been our main weapons. I have seen signs of the blue back spawn over the past couple of weeks, but the water temp seems to be holding them back a bit. They are in some of the normal places, but not in full swing yet by any means. For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, make sure to check out havefunfishing.com I have a full day on Thursday and Friday morning open this coming week, and then only Tuesday May 1 open the following week. Give me a call or drop me a note - the post-spawn big fish bite should continue to get better and better. Thanks, and may God Bless - Jimbo -- Jim "JIMBO" Mathley Spotted Bass Fishing Guide - Lake Lanier jim@laniermapped.com Mobile - 770-542-7764 www.jimboonlanier.com

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Jimbo's Lake Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 4/12/2012

Hey Everyone -

I hope everyone is doing well and fishing a bunch!

It has been a very busy week so far, and it will continue through Saturday this week for me. I had 2 boats out on Monday all day, and full day trips the past 3 days.

On Monday, I had Gerald and Henry out, and Phil Johnson, who is also starting his own bass guide service on Lanier and guides for me as well, took out Steve and Hunter. Steve and Hunter came down from Richmond, VA for a 3 day trip. I worked with them on Tuesday and Wednesday and Phil took great care of them on Monday.

Monday was a very good day for both my boats. We caught fish all through the day. Topwater was the deal in the AM, and then in the afternoon, the spinnerbait took over as top dog. We still caught some good fish on the Davis Shaky Head and Wackem worms in green pumpkin and ice as well. We focused on rock points and shoals most of the day for our fish with many of our bites coming in 15 feet of water or less.

Steve, Hunter, and I were out on Tuesday as well as today. We focused deeper both days, especially in the morning. Steve started our day by loosing an absolute horse at the boat. One of the biggest spots I have ever watched hit a spook. I got a great view of it as I was just watching. Steve made a cast up past the front of the boat and I got to see the whole show from the start. It was a heartbreak for everyone, but better to have fought and lost rather than not to have fought at all - LOL!

We stayed with the topwater for awhile and caught some good fish. Later in the day, after the storm, we went on a tear with the worm and caught 18 fish in 90 minutes. It was awesome as Hunter's father and I worked together to teach Hunter how to worm fish. He didn't get it at first, but after a few minutes, he had it down and was catching them left and right. Hunter had not fished much previous to this trip, but he made dramatic improvements through the week and left for Richmond today a much better angler. He worked hard, and it payed off. Congrats to Hunter and Steve on a great week on Lake Lanier - well done guys.

Our topwater fish on Tuesday came from the 20 foot range and less. Today,the cold front seemed to knock down the topwater fish a bit, so we worked jerkbaits as well as the Fish Head Spin in the 25 foot range on rocky points for most of our better fish. They really bit well this morning. After the sun got up, we went back and let Hunter practice on the worm fish again - he caught several including one around 3 pounds to end the day. He loves to worm fish now :o)

I had Ricky and "John" out today. We stone cold whacked 'em! We had a big sack by 11 AM and still caught fish the rest of the day.

We fished topwater and the Fish Head Spin in 15-25 feet of water on the main lake and mouths of creeks for our fish. These are post-spawners, so we did not keep them in the livewell long.

"John" missed a trophy on the FHS on our second stop. Me: "John - looks like a big fish, do you need the net?" John: "No, not that big" Just a few seconds later an absolute tank jumps right at the boat and spits the fish-head...heartbreak! But, John recovered nicely and really smoked them on the FHS throuh the day and Ricky certainly held his own...Nice work guys!!

I am booked this week, but have Tuesday and Friday open next week if anyone would like to get out. With the anticipated warming trend and more and more of the females in the post-spawn phase, the bite next week should be AWESOME! Give me a call and lets go fish!!

Thanks to everyone, and may God Bless!

Jimbo

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Jimbo's Lake Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 4/5/2012

Hey Gang -

It has been fantastic out on the water this week as well as last. I took the weekend off as my in-laws were in town. It provided a great opportunity for me to re-introduce myself to my family as well! They had forgotten who I was! So, after recharging the batteries over the weekend, I was back in the saddle on Monday.

I have alot of pictures to catch up on from last week and this week as well - they are attached - check them out!

A highlight from last week - I had Marty out with me for our second trip together. I was honored to guide Marty to his biggest spot ever that day. Marty caught his big fish on a topwater first thing that morning. We hammered fish through the day and ended with a really nice stringer and around 40 fish for the day.

Congrats to Marty on an awesome day throwing topwater and spinnerbaits - it was a blast!!

Now on to Monday. I had a "4 ball" that day (golf reference)as Rick Steckleberg of Sworming Hornet Lures and I guided four anglers on separate boats. We hammered good fish all day long - Monday was a special day. We had about 75 fish between the 2 boats and many of them very solid fish. I don't have pictures from Rick's boat, but Brad and Bart from my boat are included in the pictures attached. Its the Ohio State guy!

Rick and I fished in the same areas and split up holes through the day so the guys could taunt each other with their catches. We met up several times through the day to share stories and break bread...and let the guys in my boat load up on the suds! LOL! These guys had a blast with Rick and I - they are in a hurry to come back and do that again. What a great day.

On Monday, we focused on rocky points and islands with topwater in the morning, then a Wackem ice worm dipped in JJ's Magic chartreuse on a Davis Shaky Head through the remainder of the day. The better fish seemed to be in the 12-15 foot range on the rock. A big thanks to Rick for his help on Monday!

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of taking out Ron and his neighbor's son, Wihan, for a morning trip. Ron and Wihan both are fairly new to bass fishing. I had Ron out one day last fall, and he had been away from fishing for a bit, but came back with a vengeance on Tuesday!

I was so proud of these guys. We caught some very nice fish through the day, and young Wihan had big fish for the day which is also included in the attached pictures. Wihan is also pictured with a nice double that Ron and I actually had - Wihan was happy to volunteer to hold the fish for a pic! We worked Wackem worms on Davis Shaky Heads in 6-14 feet of water on rocky points and islands for all of our fish that day.

Our most exciting moment came when Wihan hooked an absolute beast of a spot. I knew he had a monster as soon as he hooked it, and the battle was on. Unfortunately sports fans, Wihan lost that battle in the end. I watched his spot come to the surface about 10 feet from the boat...and folks it was every bit of 6 pounds and more...a true trophy. When the fish surfaced, the game ended as the hook popped right out and came flying back at Wihan. The great thing was watching his face in that moment...I can assure you that kid will fish the rest of his life. That was a special moment for me - I knew we had successfully introduced another person to a lifetime of enjoyment and reward.

I am booked the rest of this week as well as all of next week. My open dates left in April: 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30. Be sure to give me a call and let's go fish!! April and May are shaping up to be outstanding - don't miss out on this exciting time! The topwater bite should continue to get better and better.

Lastly, please make sure to check out my full page article in this month's edition of Coastal Angler Magazine. It is a good read on post-spawn fishing. I hope it helps y'all catch more fish! I will be back soon with pictures and reports! For fishing reports on other Georgia lakes, check out www.havefunfishing.com

Thanks to all, and May God Bless!

Jimbo