Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 7/14/2012

Hey Everyone - It was great to be back on the water again this week after being sick for so long. Man that stunk! The water temps have cooled slightly and the water has also came up an inch or so with all the rain and cloudy weather this week. We had a good bite all week on a number of different techniques. When the sun is out, a Fish Head Spin over the the brush has worked well. When it has been overcast, the Sworming Hornet Dude has been the ticket over the brush. We caught some very nice fish this week on the Dude as you can see from the pic above top right - the Dude is still hanging from her face! We have also caught some nice fish on a jig around sharp, rocky drops this week. When I was out with Stanley on Thursday, he got on a great bite with his newly acquired Bull Shad, not to mention the rod and reel he bought to throw it! He caught several nice fish on the Bull Shad, often on the first cast after we pulled up on a spot. Of course we fished the drop shot a bunch this week as well. It was not as effective in the cloudy weather. We caught plenty of fish up to 3.5 lbs on it from 20 to 40 feet, but never found a school of grown'uns willing to play. As the water continues to heat up, look for the spots to get tighter and tighter to the brush, especially on sunny days. Look for the bigger fish to be relating to drops and ledges in the 30-45 feet range. These fish will not necessarily be around cover or in great numbers - you may just see 3-5 fish on your graph on a drop off on the back side of a hump or on a flat spot at the end of a point near a break. Reading and understanding your electronics is always important, but it is especially critical this time of year. I am dialed into the Lowrance HDS electronics with Structure Scan and can help you read/understand what you are seeing in order to help you maximize your catch. Also, we went shallow this week a couple of mornings after the rains came through. We found some active fish up shallow that we caught on top-water plugs, which was a bunch of fun. Stanley from trip on Thursday was the king of that action! Way to go Stanley!! I have not ran any spot tail trips yet this summer (just one demonstration) but I have one coming up this week. I understand they are chomping those little critters and that some big stringers have been caught this week on them. I look forward to having some fun with the "crack" this week as well. I don't have any dates open this coming week, but I do have some dates open the week of July 23rd. Give me a call if you would like to work on reading your electronics, drop-shotting, or the Fish Head Spin/Lil' Dude - this is a good time to be focusing on all the above!! It is also a great time to have fun with the spot tails. If you have never spot tail fished, this is the time. It turns fishing into catching!! My forecast for the FLW Cup is that it will be won on one of the above techniques. (not the spot tails though!) For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, please visit the site of my good friend Ken Sturdivant: www.havefunfishing.com Thanks to all and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 7/4/2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - Happy Independence Day!! A BIG thank you to all of our service men and women who fight to keep our country free!! Let's all remember them today as we celebrate this country's Independence and remain cognizant of what it took to get here. A lot of selfless sacrifice is the bottom line. Thank you! It has been a little while since my last report. My apologies! I was very busy with trips through last week and then I got a nasty para flu virus this week that I am still fighting. (Got it from my kids - thanks girls!! LOL) Thanks to Phil Johnson for covering my guide trips this week - he did a great job with my customers and I certainly appreciate his support. Today, I finally feel well enough to get out a report and share some of the awesome pictures of the fish my customers have been catching out on Lanier! We have stayed with the topwater and swimbait bite as long as it would last. When its on, we have been using: spooks, gunfish, chug bugs, poppers, Farley Baits, Sebiles, and the Bull Shad. Often, we are placing a front runner on our topwater rig. The topwater is still there, but the bite has transitioned where that is not the best bite going every day. Some days it still is, however, on other days it has been something different. In addition to the topwater, we have been doing well on: drop-shotting Wackem Hand Pours and minnow imitations, the Sworming Hornet Little Dude tipped with a Fluke Jr., a PB&J jig tipped with a twin-tail trailer, as well as a 3/16 Davis Shakey Head tipped with a variety of different soft plastics. We have fished very shallow to very deep water each day and caught fish everywhere in between. When we are fishing brush, we have focused on the 15-30 foot range, but I sense things are changing and feel some of the big girls may be getting out even deeper. While there are a great many fun stories to tell regarding all the pictures attached, I am only going to highlight one as my energy levels are starting to wane again already as I type. Young Noah P and his father, Steve, have been out with me a couple of times already with more to come. Noah is an aspiring young angler with an extremely supportive father who is committed to getting his son up to speed in the sport of bass fishing. Noah is a quick study, and during our trip last week, we focused on the drop shot. Noah picked it up quickly, and I do mean quickly, as he caught a fish on his first drop! After that, he went on to catch several more and really cement the technique in his arsenal. Reports from Steve indicate that he has also been able to apply the technique to recent trips on his own and has done well. Congratulations Noah - great work brother! I am already looking forward to our next trip! You can see pictures of Noah on the BHFP 742012 slide attached. I still have some dates open next week - Wed, Thur, and Fri - July 11, 12, and 13th. Give me a call or drop me a note if you would like to get out there and have some fun! I am also running spot-tail trips as well if anyone is interested in learning/enjoying that technique. In addition, I would like to note that I have been promoted to a National Monthly Contributor for the Coastal Angler Magazine. My articles, which always focus on some aspect of Lake Lanier, will now be published nationally (530,000 copies) around the country. Make sure to check out the publication and my July submission online at: http://coastalanglermag.com/blog/category/fishing/ Enjoy and thanks to John!! I have also added some great new sponsors in the recent weeks and months and I want to take a moment to recognize the new additions as well as all of my existing sponsors and partners. The current list is below - please check out their websites as I have hot-linked all of their sites to the listings below. Thank you to all of these great people and companies for your support!! I am working to get my website updated with all this information very soon! For fishing reports on other GA Lakes, please check out: www.havefunfishing.com Thanks to all - enjoy the holiday and be safe!! God Bless - Jimbo -- Jim "JIMBO" Mathley Spotted Bass Fishing Guide - Lake Lanier jim@laniermapped.com Mobile - 770-542-7764 www.jimboonlanier.com Proudly Sponored By: St. Croix - Best Rods on Earth Lowrance Sworming Hornet Lures (The Original Fish Head Spin) Wackem Crazy Baits Seaguar - Always the Best Solar Bat Sunglasses JJ's Magic Attractant Hammond's Fishing Line and Lure Davis Bait Company LanierMAPPED.com

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

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