Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 12/21/2012

Hey Everyone - We had another great week on the pond as my customers were blessed with some more monster spots as you see above. Despite the inconsistent weather, the big fish really bit well this week. Fish it and they will come. Rain, Shine, or Build-An-Ark type floods, catch monsters with Jimbo on Lanier! LOL. I want to start by sharing this video below with everyone. Just cut and paste this link into your browser to play the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9nSwyRPOHQ My customers Michael Eaton and Jeff Kelley put this awesome video together from our day on the water. This was filmed the day before Thanksgiving this year. As I watched and enjoyed this video, I came to grips with three things: 1. Michael is an incredible video guy - what a fun video and a great memory from an awesome day on our beautiful lake. Thanks Michael - Outstanding job!! 2. I am fat and I need to lose weight! I always knew I was "heavy" like Private Pyle from Full Metal Jacket, but this is out of control! I have already started my lifestyle change in what and how I eat. If you are on my boat, make sure to hold me accountable! My goal is a 50 pound weight loss by my birthday in 2013 - June 10. I am looking forward to getting healthier and will soon start an exercise routine to go along with my changed eating habits. 3. I need to stop dipping. I look like an idiot with that stuff in my mouth - and maybe even without it - LOL. Goal for that is to be done by March 1, 2013. Again, feel free to hold me accountable. Now onto fishing this week. With the current weather and water temperatures, my focus area this week was 30 feet or less. There were plenty of big ones in that range to be had. The Fish Head Spin worked in the ditches produced a lot of very good fish for us and some big ones as well. These fish came in 10 feet or less in most cases. A big thanks to the Vision 110 Jerkbait for a few good ones too, including the one that Scott is holding above left. Other than that, the jig and worm worked out to 30 feet or so was the ticket for our bites. Creek Ditches mainly, but a few main lake points worked in there as well. I filled up for this week and next - thanks to everyone that called. I postponed today due to the high winds. My family and I are headed to Indy for Christmas this weekend, but I am back on the water with trips starting December 27th. My next open dates are January 1, 2, 4, and 5. Give me a ring if you would like to get out on any of those days. Lastly, I would request that each and every one of us keep the entire Hammond's Family in our prayers each day. They are going through some very difficult times right now and need our support. May God Bless them and keep them. I wish everyone of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and I look forward to another awesome and incredible 2013 with everyone on our beautiful and bountiful Lake Lanier! For fishing reports on other Georgia Lakes, please visit: www.havefunfishing.com May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo Mathley on Lanier

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: December 3, 2012

Hello Friends and Sponsors - We have had an awesome 2 weeks on Lake Lanier. Plenty of monster spots and lots of big sacks!! Our best bag of 5 fish was this past Monday when we had a five fish limit of spots that weighed 23 1/2 pounds!! Incredible! For the most part, we have been focusing on the creek ditches for our fish. The bait and fish both use these ditches as highways to travel. Sometimes the fish will be deep in these ditches around the timber, and sometimes they will be shallower on the lips of the ditches or simply in the middle. Find the bait and the fish will be somewhere close. A jerkbait and crankbait have been great weapons for us this week for some of these big fish. When the fish are not as active, we have been using the jig and worm at different depths in those ditches to catch them. We have caught fish this week from 4 feet of water all the way out to 45 feet. The spoon bite has been coming on for us as well out and around the timber in 30-40 feet. We have been catching a few almost every day on it, and some good ones are in the mix for sure. Don't commit yourself deep yet, because the fish are not committed there yet. Stay flexible on your locations and depths. Also, when the wind is up and blowing from a good direction like the South or the West, make sure to check shallow on some main lake points. We had a great double this past week on a main lake point in the wind - it is the two fish I am holding in the attached montage of pictures. Those 2 fish came on a spinnerbait and a jerkbait. For this week, I have Wednesday morning, all day Thursday, and Friday afternoon available. Obviously I have some half day trips booked and looking to fill a few holes. The week of December 9th, I have most of those week days open. If you want to learn to catch fish like the ones attached, give me a call and let's go bust some hammers! Thanks to all, and May God Bless. Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 11/22/2012

Hey Gang - Just a quick mid-week report and some pics from a stellar day on Big Sid. I had Jeff and Dennis out with me today for a morning trip. Our first stop was money and it never stopped. We caught monsters all day on a mixed bag of lures and ended up with a 22 lbs sack and 2 spots right at 6 pounds. It doesn't get much better than that folks... We worked jerkbaits and crankbaits shallow first thing for some big fish right off the bat. We should have had 20 lbs at our first stop if not for some long-distance releases LOL. After that, we hit some of my favorite creek channel bends and they were on fire also. We fished 30-35 feet of water in those bends and caught around 25 total for the morning. We caught fish in the creek channel bends on: Davis Shaky Head worms, jigs, speed craws, spoons, drop shot, and a cigar on a treble hook...LOL. Just a great morning and a ton of fun with Jeff and Dennis. Jeff is bringing another buddy out for a full day trip tomorrow. It should be fun and hoping to match the results. But you know how that goes... An update on my Deerapalooza experience from Saturday: I am taking the truck to Nick Nichols over in Flowery Branch this weekend for a fix 'er up. Nick reached out to me and I am always happy to support a local businessman - I hear he is awesome at what he does...let's see if he can take deer out of a Chevy LOL. I still have Monday November 26 open if anyone is interested. I am also booking for December - give me a call and let's go catch some toads! Happy Thanksgiving to all, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 11/17/2012

Hey Everyone - So I headed North on GA 400 at about 5:15 AM this morning on my way to meet my customer Ron Clark to fish the second of the Hammond's Winter Trail tournaments. Apparently, even though I didn't know it, I was going deer hunting this morning. LOL. I T-Boned a big ole' buck between exit 12 and 13 - great way to start the day. LOL. Chevy Trucks are truly like a rock - given the fact I whacked a 170 lbs deer, she is still drive-able. Love my Bowtie. Besides being a little sore, I am fine physically. I spent the day talking to insurance companies and getting estimates. So, no tournament for me today. Heard it was tough - we had been on 'em all week though and I was really looking forward it. A HUGE congratulations to my good buddies David Blue and Daniel Truitt for their victory with 16.18 lbs. Awesome work guys. Also on the tournament front, I would like to congratulate Paul Watson for his great finish in the Federation State Qualifying Tournament held Friday and Saturday this week out of Laurel Park. Paul finished 2nd in a field of 112 anglers with a 2 day total of 24.75 lbs. Paul hired me on Tuesday of this past week and we went out together from Daylight to Dark and developed a game plan to suit his strengths. Paul spent his tournament hours in a special ditch of mine that is not often fished, and he almost won the whole thing right there. Paul is pictured above with a couple of nice ones we caught during our trip this week. I also must congratulate another one of my buddies who won the whole shootin' match with 25 lbs and change for the 2 days - David Morton. Great job David and congratulations!! We have been catching some big fish all week long. My best weapon for these fish has been a jig. We have been focusing on pockets and ditches in the 18-30 foot range most of the week. Monday offered a great crankbait bite on the main lake in the pre-front conditions, but after that, a worm or jig put in the right places was the way to go for the bigger fish. We have had to work the baits very slow to get bit. Hopefully things will change up a bit and we will get back on a consistent crankbait or Fish Head Spin bite. On my Wednesday trip, we had a 20 lbs sack by 10 AM on a jig. Our first 3 bites were all 5 pound + spots. That is the way to start the day! I am full this coming week as I have trips all week through Saturday, except Thursday. My wife still won't let me fish on major holidays. LOL. The following week I have the 26th and 29th open. I still have some dates for December, but those have been going fast lately too. Give me a ring ASAP if you would like to get out and enjoy some great fall fishing. I look for the deep bite to get stronger and stronger. This is a great time to learn to fish deep on Lanier! 770-542-7764 Thanks to all and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report: 11/10/2012

Hey Gang - We have had another good week on Lanier. Lot's of big fish and lot's of happy customers! I had trips all week and we enjoyed variety every day. The ditch bite is starting to come in nicely as it should this time of year. We have been starting shallow early in creek ditches for some big bites with a Fish Head Spin. As the sun gets up, we have been moving out further in those ditches in the 35-45 feet range and working the timber lines for some big bites. Some days it has been the jig, other days the drop shot. The best bite in these areas seems to change day to day, so stay flexible in your approach. We also had a good day with Jerkbaits on the main lake when the wind got up in the afternoon. We focused on windblown rock and got some of those fun aggressive bites. There is still some variety to be had out there as well. One day we had been working a creek ditch with a DS where we had caught 5 good ones, then went to a brush pile in 15 feet and popped a 4+ spot on a Redfin in the middle of the day. Pretty cool. I look for the ditch bite to continue to get stronger. Where these fish will be positioned and how active they will be will vary day to day. On days they are active, the jerkbait, crankbait, and the fish head should work well. When they are less aggressive, look for the jig and drop shot to be the way to go. I am happy to report that the Good Lord Blessed my customer, Ron Clark, and I with a 2nd place finish in the first Hammond's Winter Trail Tournament last Saturday. We weighed 16.34 against a strong local field of 47 boats. Congrats to Dan Roberts and Mike Fraker for the win with a sack of 17.02. I nailed our biggest fish on a spinnerbait on our first stop, then we worked a jig around brush on steep breaks the remainder of the day for our sack. The next event is on November 17th - these are great tournaments and well run by Tim and JJ - come out and enjoy us for some fun! I am almost booked for November. I only have the following dates left this month: 23, 26, 27, 29, and 30. Give me a ring and let's get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and the awesome fall fishing! Thanks to all, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 10/29/2012

Hey Everyone - I was out every day last week on trips, and then took the weekend off for some family events, and then a trip to "Perry's Pond" on Sunday. One of many big results of the trip to Perry's is shown above right. Thanks for the invite Perry - what a blast! Last week was the a classic junk fishing week on Lanier. We caught fish from 5 feet to 50 feet and on almost any lure you can think of - topwater, swimbait, jig, shaky head, and drop shot seemed to be the most consistent of all the choices. As far as what type of stuff we fished, there was almost as much variety there as well. We fished deep in timber around creek ditches, pockets, points, humps...the bait and fish were spread out last week and you could go from shallow to deep on alternate casts and catch fish on both presentations. Things changed from day to day. Most of the spots we fished were either in deep water or had deep water close by however, which was a key. We found some good schooling activity early in mornings last week, and then randomly through the days with some days being better than others. I fished North a good bit last week, as the south end is turning which contributed to the inconsistent bite down there. When conditions were right, however, those fish did bite. Once the wind gets out of here, I expect the fishing to be little more predictable over the next few weeks. The cooler weather should concentrate the bait a little better and make the fishing more consistent. I heard the weekend fishing out there was great with the pre-front conditions. Look for the jerkbait bite to really pick up in the near future. I postponed my early week trips due to the high winds. I am full the rest of this week and then have Mon, Tues, and Friday(Nov 5, 6, 9) open next week. The week following, I have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (Nov 14, 15, 16) open. Give me a ring if you would like to get out. Should be alot of fun and good fishing in the weeks ahead. Thanks to all and may God Bless! Jimbo