Friday, May 31, 2013

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 5/31/2013

Hey Gang - Back from Indy and been on the lake with trips the last couple of days, as I will be through the weekend. Race was great as usual and had a blast. I hope you all had an enjoyable and safe weekend! It has been fun out there given the many options that exist right now. As Marc stated in his earlier report meant to rally the Lanier locals, the shallow bite is solid, especially in the areas where the herring are spawning. (And Marc - thank you for taking the lead on that one - and great report) Shaky Head Worms, flukes, and even topwater baits can work well on any given day. Some days, the fish are very shallow, and others, they are back out a little bit. Today, 12-18 feet seemed to be the magic zone. There is also some early morning schooling going on around some select deeper rocky points. The fluke, spook, and a Fish Head Spin have been the steady favorites of the fish in these situations. There are also plenty of fish out around the brush as well, both the deeper and shallower brush in most cases. These fish, when active, can be caught on topwater, swimbaits, jerkbaits, and flukes. A steady retrieve jerkbait is often our best offering for these fish. They are willing to come up, but not often all the way yet. Once the water clears up and we get further into the post spawn, this should change dramatically. We have not slowed down to drop shot the deeper stuff yet - we tend to stay on the move and find the fish that want to eat. On a side note - Thanks to all of you and your incredible support of my business, I am able to share more news regarding growth in Jimbo's Guide Service. If you remember, last week I announced that Rick Steckelberg of Sworming Hornet Lures joined Jimbo's at Lake Hartwell, and now I am pleased to announce that I have brought on local FLW Pro Nick Hensley to help me handle the demand on Lake Lanier. Many of you know Nick and recognize that he is an outstanding angler. He won the 2012 FLW Co-Angler Championship,and has won several local events here on Lanier as well. I am confident that he will be a great addition to my guide service here on Lake Lanier. Nick will be working exclusively for me on the lake, and will assist with the extra demand when he is not out on tour. Nick had a morning trip Monday with Tod and his son Carson, who are pictured in one of the attached montages along with a recent picture of Nick in the top left. Nick worked hard for these two and put them on an 18 pound sack of beautiful spots. Not bad for my rookie guide. LOL. I know they fished brush most of the day, but that darn Nick would not tell me what he was throwing. LOL. I am sure it was some secret bait..... In other news, Rick's new Bite Size Herring Swimbait should be available in Hammond's by next week. You really have to check these things out - they look SWEET in the water - and they work!! Great combo...LOL. Lastly, a call out to 7 year old Jeffery, pictured above middle, who jacked a big spot ALL BY HIMSELF last Friday. I can't tell you all how awesome it was to get such a cool little guy a fish like that - on his own. Unreal. "Mr. Jimbo. I think I have one." "Really?". "Yep, I'm pretty sure." Drag Slips. "Jeffrey, are you sure you aren't hung on that reef p...." Monster spot goes airborne with a wakebait hanging out of his face. "Holy Moly Jeffery, yes you do!!" Jimbo dives for net. Fish landed. Boy's dream made and a lifetime of angling assured. Those moments are why I do what I do. All things fishing on Lanier should be improving steadily through June and into July. Over the next 2 weeks, I have June 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11 open. Rick is available for Lake Hartwell. Nick is on tour in Oklahoma. I am here and ready to go! Give me a call and let's go fish!!! For fishing reports on other GA Lakes, please visit: www.havefunfishing.com Thanks to all, and May God Bless! Jimbo -- Jim "JIMBO" Mathley Spotted Bass Fishing Guide - Lake Lanier jim@laniermapped.com Mobile - 770-542-7764 www.jimboonlanier.com

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Service Report: 5/18/2013

Hey Gang - No question about it, the pond is heating up and so is the fishing! My customers enjoyed a very good week and some great results. Thursday and Friday were particularly good, with Thursday being the best. I am excited to share two big announcements before getting to the fishing report for this week. First, Jimbo's Guide Service is EXPANDING to include Lake Hartwell! I am happy to report that Rick Steckelberg of Sworming Hornet Lures has came on board with Jimbo's and will be my lead guide on Hartwell. Rick is a very accomplished angler as most of you know, with several major tournament victories to his credit. He now lives near Lake Hartwell and I know he will provide fantastic results to my clients up there as he knows the lake well. Rick has been a long-term sponsor of mine, and I am tickled that we are in a position to grow our relationship further. Please contact me directly to book a trip on Hartwell, and there will be much more to come in the near future regarding this development. Welcome Rick!! Speaking of Rick, he and I got together on Thursday afternoon on Lanier to test prototypes of his latest creation, the Sworming Hornet Bite Sized Herring Swimbait. One of these gems is pictured above hanging from the face of a donkey that fell victim to its tantalizing action! I was impressed with these baits and absolutely loved the movement and size - it is the perfect solution as it's total weight is around an ounce and therefore very user friendly. Big swimbait rods are not required to toss this little jewel. We went out Thursday afternoon just after my morning trip and jacked an 18 pound sack in short order, with Rick's new swimbait being the main contributor. These 3-Joint Swimbaits are 5 inches long and will be offered in both Floating and Fast Sink models, and will come in 3 colors: pearl, blue back herring, and gizzard shad. You can order one of these baits on TackleWarehouse.com immediately, and they will be available locally at Hammond's Fishing and Outdoor Depot soon. I will also be selling these directly to my customers as well. You need to get you one of these beauties!! OK, now onto fishing for this week. We ran points and humps with brush in 20-25 feet most of the week and focused on pulling fish up from the cover. This pattern by far produced our biggest bites. There are some monsters out there willing to eat topwater and swimbaits right now - we had 2 of the biggest spots I have seen out there pull off on topwater this past Friday. Heartbreak! As I mentioned, topwater and swimbaits were the best offerings for the bigger fish. Also, when the fish were not willing to come up, they ate a Fish Head Spin and a shaky head worm pretty well around the same type of cover. We caught a mixture of pre and post spawn fish this week. There are several post-spawners starting to show up, particularly in the creeks. It would not surprise me to see a big wave hit the beds on this full moon coming up next week - particularly the main lake fish. For all of those that have been calling asking about the timing of the topwater bite on Lanier, it is here and should only get better. It's time to book your trip with Jimbo! The herring spawn is also starting down south and will be getting stronger as the days progress. I am booked all 5 days next week on Lanier, but Rick has some open days on Hartwell if anyone wants to make a trip up there. He tells me the herring spawn is in full swing and the fishing is fantastic. I understand some new cover is about to make its way into the lake as well. LOL. My only days left on Lanier in May are the 29th and 30th. I am also booking for June and starting to fill quickly. Make your reservation now for the June topwater and swimbait bite - it is shaping up to be a great one. Give me a call for Lanier or Hartwell! For Fishing Reports on other Georgia Lakes, make sure to visit: www.havefunfishing.com Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo -- Jim "JIMBO" Mathley Spotted Bass Fishing Guide - Lake Lanier jim@laniermapped.com Mobile - 770-542-7764 www.jimboonlanier.com

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 5/11/2013

Hello Everyone - I am grateful for another busy week in the world of fishing as I wrapped up another 6 day week today. Lake Lanier is an awesome place and I am blessed to be able to make my living out there - a HUGE thank you to all of my customers for your support - I appreciate your business and greatly value the many friendships I have garnered through my guide service! OK, enough of the sappy stuff, onto fishing! The fishing this week has been good, albeit ever-changing. It seems like the best bite changes, and sometimes dramatically, every day. Overall, the most consistent option for the better fish seems to be focusing on the summer brush in depths of 20-30 ft on points and humps. A number of different techniques work in and around the brush, from shaky heads to jerkbaits to topwater and swimbaits. It just depends on the conditions and their mood when you pull up to the pile. So, stay flexible in your approach. As far as the numbers bite, there are many options and I know there are several techniques and areas working right now. We have caught our numbers around docks and on clay banks with shaky heads, drop shot worms, jerbaits, top water, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits. I know that list does not cover all the options, but it covers what we have been doing. While I have not been up there, I am told the herring spawn has begun in the warmer water up north, and therefore should make it down south soon. I have checked some of the likely areas down south, and not much sign of them yet. An update from some commitments I made earlier this spring. I had committed to quitting the dip on March 1, 2013, which I have done. 72 days dip free and counting. I also had committed to lose 50 pounds by June 1. I was on a good track in that category, and then I quit dipping. I am still down in weight overall, but gained some back when I quit the snuff. Quitting tobacco is unbelievably hard! In retrospect, I should only try to quit one bad habit at a time. LOL. I am rededicating myself to the weight loss and exercise now and have modified my goal a bit to be down 35 pounds from current weight by Halloween this year. Updates to follow. The forecast looks awesome for next week with pleny of sunshine and I am sure some good fishing. I have some days open next week so give me a call and let's get out there and bust on 'em! For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, please be sure to visit: havefunfishing.com Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Service Report: 5/1/2013

Hey Gang! The fishing has been good to very good this past week. The lake has came up again with the recent rains and we remain over full pool. Wow. What a change. Lots of water out there! We appear to be having a trickle spawn this year as there does not seem to have yet been a major wave of fish to hit the beds. There are definitely some fish spawning, but based on the condition of most of the fish we are catching, there are several remaining to spawn. We have shifted our focus a bit this week in terms of the areas we are targeting. For numbers, we have been hitting clay banks at the mouths of pockets and creeks in the 10-15 feet range. A shaky head and worm or crawfish immitation will work well to catch these fish. Experiment with jig head sizes and worm lengths, as sometimes lighter and smaller is better. 1/8 to 3/16 is standard jighead weight for this time of year. It is also important to note that we have began to catch some better fish in the 3 to 4 pound range up in the shallows this week. In terms of of a consistent approach for the bigger fish, we have been targeting the staging females out over the summer brush on the main lake and mouths of the creeks. A jerkbait and topwater have been our best offerings to catch these fish. While the bites on this pattern are fewer, the size is fantastic as we have caught some hammers this past week. Folks, if you have been waiting for the "right time" to fish, now is it! I am full this week and weekend, but have some dates open both next week and the week after as well. This is a great time to catch a bunch of fish and as well as learn how to catch staging female fish out deep! Give me a call and lets get out. Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo