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

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 -

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 5/21/2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - My customers and I have had a very good week. We have focused on topwater most of the week, along with a few alternates included that I have noted below. Enjoy the awesome pictures from this week and the reports below. I am filling up fast for June - I still have a few days open the week of June 4 and the week's following - give me a call and lets get out and enjoy some of this great fishing!!

We have continued to work brush located on off-shore structure for our fish. We have had good success with a wake bait in the mornings, followed by topwater, fluke, and Fish Head Spin action the remainder of the day. We have experienced some lulls through the day, but if you stay with it and continue running holes, you will find the active fish, and some good ones at that. I had Steve out with me Monday. For a guy that was not familiar with bait-casting equipment and was limited to spinning gear all day, he did very well. We kept running into stripers yesterday, and Steve handled them well. He simply tapped into his rugby experience and manhandled those beasts! Nice work Steve! On Tuesday, I had a couple of brothers out with me - Jeff and Jeremy. We had a great time on the water and really put together a very nice bag of fish. Had I not jumped off a 4.5 today at the boat on a FHS, we would have been at 19 lbs easy. We still ended up with around 17 lbs and alot of fish to boot. J&J did very well out there today - nice work guys! On Wednesday I had out one of my repeat customers, Ron D. Ron brought along his Director of Marketing from work - Mark. Mark came prepared with a sign based on what Ron had told him of his experiences on my boat - very funny that he thought this up in advance! They are posing above with the sign and one of the nice fish Mark caught that day. Lot's of fun guys!! On Thursday, I took out Tracy and his son Ben. Ben is an aspiring professional angler. This young man eats, sleeps, and breathes bass fishing, and he is quite the young talent. Dad is not so bad himself and has clearly set his son on the right path with some solid direction and coaching. We worked on some of the finer points that day with regard to the post-spawn topwater bite on Lanier. Tracy and Ben picked it up quickly and caught a nice sack of fish in the process. I look forward to more trips with Tracy and Ben - look out guys, Ben is on his way up! We caught fish on Wednesday and Thursday with a fluke and a spook over brush on points and humps. That was all we really threw and therefore what we caught our fish on - these fish were coming up and we just kept running and gunning. Too much fun! Friday was a special day. I had Bo and his Uncle Ricky out for some fun on the pond. Our day started off well as we had accumulated a nice sack of fish through mid-trip - probably around a 14 lbs sack with our best 5. Then the fun started. In about 2 hours, we drilled a 20+ pound sack of spots on topwater and a fluke over brush on points and humps. It was awesome! Bo and Ricky caught big fish after big fish. One of the most exciting flurries we have had in awhile. One of the attached pictures shows a double that Bo and Ricky caught on top in addition to the other beasts they caught that day. They were blown away and we all had an incredible time. I was too busy netting big spots to get a video, but I wish I would have shot some for this trip. I know these guys are coming back soon, and I look forward to it. Bo - make sure to wear that lucky shirt of yours again! I had out David and his son Michael for a mid-day trip on Saturday. They had been out with me on a trip back in the fall, and came back for some post-spawn action. Given the boat traffic and tough fishing conditions, we did pretty well yesterday. David and Michael worked hard to catch a solid bag of fish. Most of our fish came on a Sworming Hornet Lil' Dude fished over brush on points and humps. We did get one nice fish to come up on a spook, which Michael is pictured with above middle. Overall though, the fish were not in a "come up" mood yesterday, at least not through 3 PM. The later afternoon may have been different, and I hope it was for all those that had the opportunity to get out. Thanks again everyone - I will be heading North on Friday for my annual pilgrimage to the Indy 500. I will be back in town on Wednesday, 5/30/2012 with trips scheduled on Thursday and Friday of next week. I am now booking for the week of June 4 - I still have some open days that week. Give me a call or drop me a line to book your trip - I am filling up fast for June! 770-542-7764 For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, make sure to check out www.havefunfishing.com May God Bless!

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: May 13, 2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - It has been awhile since my last report, so I have some catching up to do today! I have had 9 trips over the past 6 days, including a 2 boater on Saturday. Let's start with a wrap up of the week of May 4th. If y'all remember, I had Steve S. from Richmond, VA out with me for a few days last week. I have included one pic I did not have room for last week of him - I expect him back from VA very soon. He had a super visit and we caught some great fish. On Friday, I had a couple of tournament guys out, so no pictures of them. But, I will say that last Friday was an amazing day. We pulled up on our first stop, in the pouring rain, and I was teaching them the wake bait and how to present it appropriately. I made 2 casts trying to explain and demonstrate how to work the bait, and I had a 4 and a 3.5 on those 2 casts. The fish were on fire! They were just getting used to the wake baits so we lost some fish, but we could have easily had a 20 lbs sack on that one stop. We then caught fish the entire day long on topwater and had an absolute blast. I have included some pics of the fish I caught that day after the rain stopped, but these are far from representing the day we had - it was just awesome. Now onto Monday - Wednesday of this past week: I had one of my best customers, Johnny R, and his dad Bill out twice last week for half day trips on Monday and Wednesday. His dad came down from PA for the week and John took some time off work to make the most of his visit. I was successful in getting him to put his phone away long enough to get him catching fish - LOL! Both days were very productive and John caught some very big spots - the biggest he has ever caught I might add! We fished topwater and wakebaits over brush located on off-shore structure for the majority of our fish. I know it sounds like a broken record, but the topwater bite is just too fun, and we chase it every day this time of year. On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of taking out Brent and his buddy Kevin from AL who came over to enjoy some spotted bass fishing. We caught a good mix of spots and stripes through the day on top, and didn't lose any of our plugs! That the first thing I think when I see one of those stripers hit is "I want my plug back"! Especially when I am using the custom-painted Daniel Truit specials! Man I hate losing those things. On Thursday, I started the day with Jimmy V - we had a blast out there that morning. This was the AM after the cold front blew in, and the topwater action was on fire that morning. We started with a wake bait, and then switched to a spook after the sun got up and we hammered some good fish. If not for a fish that got off due to a straightened split ring, we would have been knocking on the door for 20 pounds that morning... In the afternoon, I connected with Seth. We were out through the afternoon and towards the end of the day, the topwater bite got going again very strong. We caught some great fish, and missed some donkeys as well. Always fun to see them come up. The shallow brush was also our pattern in the afternoon - some good fish have been coming off the old stuff out there that you can sometimes see just under the water. Yesterday, I had Jeff out with me. He lives up in the Chestatee River, so we started around Vann's, then headed north the rest of the day. Most of our fish came on topwater through the day over shallow brush in 18 feet or less. It seemed the further North we got, the tougher the bite got. Although, from the reports I heard from folks, perhaps we should have started up the Chestatee! Jeff had fun and learned alot - he is pictured with a nice double we had together. Phil Johnson also ran a trip for me yesterday with Kirk and his son Ellis. Phil has a boy Ellis' age, so Phil was able to connect with him quickly and get him catching fish. They also threw topwater through the day for most of their fish. On Friday, I had a good customer out with me who's gig is in security, so no pictures of him. However, his buddy, Roy, came down from Virginia to catch some spots, which he had never done before. He is pictured with a nice one from that day - a 4.4 spot. We caught some good fish through the day and also missed some super opportunities on some tanks, but got to see alot of action and caught several fish. We through wake baits in the morning, and the spook the rest of the afternoon for our fish. We had to run alot of piles to find ones that wanted to come up, but we stayed with it and found them! Overall, it was just a great week for us last week - lots of fun and lots of topwater action - hard to beat it. I am open Wednesday and Thursday this week, and then I have Mon-Wed (May 21, 22, &23) & open the following week. Give me a ring or drop me a note if you would like to get out! 770-542-7764 Thanks again to everyone. Best of Luck out there - it is too fun right now. For Fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, be sure to check out www.havefunfishing.com May God Bless - Jimbo

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

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

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