Sunday, June 17, 2012

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 6/17/2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - No surprises in this report - as usual we chased the topwater and swimbait bite all week. My clients have had a ball with all the great action on top. When the wind was up in the mornings, we fished windblown rocky points and humps with a swimbait and a big spook for some big bites. If the wind calmed down through the day, we would look for areas with at least a ripple on the water to get bit. We experimented with smaller topwaters and swimbaits as the wind died down and kept our success rolling. A Gunfish as well as a Sammy were both successful when the wind laid. On Wednesday, I had out David and his father Lanier. Yes, his first name is Lanier. And rightly so. Step over Sid, Lanier is here! We had a really good day that day, including a fantastic double that David and I had over a hump - for reference his fish in the picture attached is a solid 2.75...I wish those hook-ups would have been reversed - both fish struck at the same time on casts 20 feet apart. It was awesome. We had several doubles throughout the week on the same lure, front runners, as well as two people hooking up at the same time. On Tuesday I had out Jim, who was in learning mode and a bit camera shy, so I had him snap a couple of my good ones from that day - they are pictured above right. A very fun day and I know Jim learned alot about fishing Lanier. On Thursday, I enjoyed a day with 2 gentleman from Kentucky who were here on vacation and staying on the lake. They had been coming here in past years without much success on the fishing front, so they decided to hire a guide. I was delighted to have not disappointed them! These guys had a great day with some nice doubles along with some great fish. They had a great time and are already looking forward to another trip on their return visit next year. Friday I was out with Scott. Scott had been with me before and wanted to get on some wolf-packs - and that is just what we did! We took the run and gun approach and it payed off in a very nice sack, some doubles, and of course, big fish topwater action. Thanks Scott - great day sir!! I have Tuesday this upcoming week available, and then the 28th and 29th open the following week. I also have July 5th available the first week of July, and then I have some more availability the second week of July. I have not ran a spot-tail trip yet this year given the strength of the topwater bite, but I will begin this week as I have 2 scheduled. This technique represents a great opportunity for kids as well as experienced or inexperienced anglers alike. Dropping spot tails into brush turns fishing into catching my friends. Give me a call to book your trip!! 770-542-7764 For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, make sure to check out: www.havefunfishing.com Thanks, and may God Bless - Jimbo

Monday, June 11, 2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - I want to start by sharing a video that one of my customers put together for me last week. Young Will Hankins, who is an outstanding young angler, came out with me recently and his dad was kind enough to shoot some video that Will edited and put together. What a great day we had together - thanks Will and great job!! Click on the link attached to enjoy the show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_21fMxBh9w&feature=plcp We have had another incredible week on topwater at Lake Lanier this past week. I have continued to chase the topwater/swimbait bite all week and it has not failed to produce some monster fish and big stringers every day. We have not fooled with the DS, a worm, or any of that other stuff. Topwater and Swimbaits have been the order of the day every day for the last month. It is just too much fun. The active topwater fish are still positioned around brush in the the 15-20 foot range on most days with points and humps being the structure targets. When the wind is blowing, especially early in the AM, the fish are often positioned very shallow around rocky and clay points and are very susceptible to the swimbait. Experiment with different presentations and even smaller lures - pay attention to what the fish are eating - often it is a contingency of smaller bait such as the threadfins, so make sure to adjust your bait offerings accordingly. This past Monday, I had the pleasure of taking out James from the Dugout and his 17 year old son Evan for some fishing on our great pond. These guys absolutely whacked them on topwater all day long. I didn't have nearly enough room for all the pictures of the big fish they caught yesterday, so I included the best 6 pics above. They had several doubles, and the best shot of one of those doubles is also posted on the attached. We have been chasing this bite and have found it every day. A good majority of the fish were hanging around very shallow brush yesterday, especially when the wind was really pushing. Our better bite was definitely after lunch, although when we stopped for lunch, we had already had a good day. It turned great after lunch. LOL. James and Evan - you guys did great - awesome work! Thanks so much and I am already looking forward to the next time!! I also want to shout out a special thank-you to Bruce and all the guys that fish with the 6 Mile Bass Club. Bruce invited me to join their meeting on Sunday night at Hammond's Fishing. I was able to share some insights regarding summer fishing on Lanier, and got to meet all the great anglers in the club. These are a super bunch of folks that offer a very-well managed bass club. If you are looking for a club to join, this is certainly one to consider. Thanks again guys for inviting me - I really enjoyed our time together. And to Russell/Craig - thanks for dinner! On Wednesday, I had out the brothers Springer. Jerry and Jim (AKA Smoke and Samurai...LOL) came with me to enjoy a super day of topwater action. These guys hammered some big fish that day, including a whopper double they landed together on their spooks. They were blown away with the wolf-packs and the top water chasing that went on that day - just unreal. Excellent job guys - well done! I had out the "unknowns" with me on Thursday. One of the unknowns seemed to have all the mojo... "Jebediah" banged on those topwater and swimbait fish all day long! One of the keys to the topwater bite is finding the bait they want each day. Each day seems to be different. Sometimes poppers are preferred, sometimes walkers, and sometimes a combo. Experiment each day to find what is producing the best bite. The swimbait has really been an increased factor each day in catching these bigger fish. Particularly in the mornings of late. For the swimbaits, we have been using: Sebiles, Farley Baits, and the Bull Shad. For Topwaters, we have been using: Spooks, Sammy's, Gunfish, and Chugbugs. The fluke and Truit Jerkbaits have been working well as a follow-up bait once you have pulled up the wolf-pack from a brush pile. I finished with week on Friday with Cory and Grant. These gents were looking to get out of the shaky head rut. The triple we had on top at our third hole got them out of that rut quickly!! They went on to hammer a big sack of spots through the afternoon - Cory & Grant left very happy campers! We fished over brush on points and humps throughout the mid and lower lake and caught fish everywhere we went. A gunfish was the ticket for the day. Great job guys - really nice work out there! Enjoy yourself out on our pond. This rainy, cool weather should help extend this bite well into June as it will keep the water temps from sky-rocketing. What a great weather year we have had - it has really been spectacular for the fishing! For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, make sure to check out: www.havefunfishing.com I am booked this coming week, but I still have the following dates open in June: 18, 19, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29. Give me a call or shoot me an email if you would like to get out one of those days! 770-542-7764 Thanks to all, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 6/2/2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - I got back from Indy very early on Wed AM and ran trips on Thursday and Friday of this week. Indy was awesome and the race was great - thanks to all that have inquired as to my trip - the last 30 laps were unreal - lead changes almost every lap - can't beat that for some great racing. Onto fishing. The top-water pork roast is still in full swing! We had great days on both Thursday and Friday. I had a tournament angler out with me on Thursday AM, so no pictures of him, but I am holding one of his good ones from that day in the pic above. We worked topwater most of the morning - the bite really turned on for us in the late AM. I am still fishing over brush on points and humps for the most part. However, with the cloud cover this week, we found alot of fish shallow - particularly in the early mornings. There were several roamers up on rocky and clay points that can be picked off with a chug bug or a fluke. On both Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, I had some aspiring young anglers along with their fathers out with me on trips. I was honored to be able to help these young men grow as anglers and was thoroughly impressed with the dedication their respective fathers had in taking the time and effort necessary to grow their talents. Be thankful for your fathers boys!! Thursday was fun with Steve and Noah - Noah loves to bass fish and is quite talented with a rod and reel. We worked on some of the basics of fishing Lanier this time of year, along with strategies and tactics to find the fish and consistently catch them. We also reviewed the use of the Lowrance HDS units of which Steve now has on order. We have some more work to do, but they are well on their way. Look forward to the next time guys! Friday was equally fun, as I had out Richard and his son Will. The fish ate topwater and swimbaits through the day, and particularly after the brief shower we had early yesterday afternoon. We did work on the drop shot as well - it didn't take Will long to pick that up. I caught one and demonstrated the particulars, and then he caught one about 5 minutes later. Lesson learned! Will is a true student of the sport - he is very well studied and well read on the latest tactics, equipment, and lures. He had several questions that were very pointed, thus showing his in-depth knowledge. Very impressive for a 12 year old young man! We caught some tanks that day too - Will is pictured with 3 of our pigs from that day above. Will also maintains a very active YouTube channel, and I understand a video is being edited right now of yesterday's events - I will share it with you all when I get a copy. Should be great. Thanks Will and Richard - awesome day. I have also attached pictures from a couple of my trips last week. Stanley and J&J had great trips with me as well - awesome work out there on the topwater! A special thanks to all of my generous and trusting friends who helped me out with boat loans this week and last while mine was in the shop. I was able to treat my customers to fishing from some very nice rigs thanks to Phil, Jeff, and David. I am headed to pick my boat up from Perry over at Hi-Tech later this afternoon and should be back in the Skeeter saddle next week. I still have Tuesday and Wednesday open this coming week if someone would like to get out. I am booked the other days through Saturday - let me know if you would like to smoke some topwater toads. I expect the cooler weather to keep the topwater/swimbait bite strong through the week. And I'm sure Monday's full moon won't hurt anything this week either! Call me at: 770-542-7764!! Thanks to all - its great to be back and on the water again - I missed this place!! Remember, for reports on other Georgia Lakes, please visit: www.havefunfishing.com May God Bless -