Jimbo's Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Report: 3/8/2015

Hey Gang - I hope everyone has enjoyed the recent warming trend. It was sure beautiful out there today! It is really great to see Spring arriving as we have all had about enough of old man winter! Who's with me??! I have been out on the water every day since last Saturday, and the fishing has been tough...in the lower lake. I spent 2 days down there last week and determined it was just not worth hanging around anymore. I have not been below Brown's Bridge since. LOL. The water temps are trending much warmer up north as with daytime warming today we found 53 degrees in the back of some pockets. The fish are biting up there as well, and we have had decent limits every day this week. The bite has seemed to get better each day. Don't get me wrong, you have to work your tail off, but the fish are there and will bite with some patience. We have been working jerkbaits, rattletraps, and Super Spins for some good early morning bites. We have mostly been focusing on shallow flats in the backs of creek arms and pockets in 10 feet or less. A 7 second pause on the jerkbait seems to be important for a bite. A Spro McStick and a Vision 110 have been our choices. The trap bite seems best on a steady retrieve for us, vs a yo-yo presentation. We have been working a 1/4 oz Super Spin tipped with either a Super Fluke Jr or a Kitech trailer. A slow presentation of the Super Spin with some hops and pops seems to be best on most days. A chatterbait has also given us a few bigger bites through the day as well. Slow and steady has been the best presentation. Through the day, docks back in creek arms and pockets have been our best bet. We have been working small plastics rigged on a 3/16 oz or 1/8 oz Davis Screw Lock Shaky Head, HBT Series. SLOOOOOOW is the key. And I do mean painfully slow. Move it an inch, make a phone call, drink a soda, move an inch, shake slightly, take a nap, read the paper, return emails, then....tick! The bites are very light and hard to detect. Often you will just see your line start to move after a pause of the bait, if you are not napping of course. LOL. The best docks seem to be in 15 feet or less. Often times, even on sunny days such as today, the fish are not under the docks, but just around them. Work the areas thoroughly and as discussed above, take your time. The DVD's I had produced from my January Seminar on ditch fishing have been selling well. Thank you! I still have a few copies left, and I will mail next day USPS, so you will receive them quickly. Please call me at 770-542-7764 to order your copy or email me at: jim@laniermapped.com The cost is $39. I have recently had a short preview from the DVD produced. Click on this link and take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyIbZMiBMlA&feature=youtu.be I also wanted to share a couple of tournament announcements. I will make a separate post for these tournaments on this forum as well. First, I am excited to report that Shimano/GLoomis will be hosting a series of owner tournaments this year, and one of the stops on the tour is Lake Lanier! Mark down June 6th at Little Hall (SL-3 PM) on your calendars for this awesome event. Entry fee is purchase of $300 or more in qualifying GLoomis, Shimano, Jackall, or Power Pro equipment from your fine local tackle stores such as Hammond's Fishing or The Dugout. Only GLoomis Rods and Shimano reels will be allowed in the tournament. The series covers Lake Lanier, Logan Martin, Smith Lake, and the Classic will be held at Guntersville. This is sure to be a fun and rewarding tournament trail. Make sure to check out the details and buy some Shimano/GLoomis or other qualifying product and come fish!! Also, I wanted to share some info on a tournament being held on Lake Allatoona for a very worthy cause. Fishin' for a Mission will be held on March 29, 2015 out of Gatewood Park (SL- 3PM) and proceeds will benefit Children's Healthcare. I will share the flyer for this event on a separate post as well. Make sure to put this on your calendars and come out and support Children's Healthcare. I am full this week and looking to wrap up a 16 day run of days on the water this coming Sunday. Here are the dates I have open the remainder of March: 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, and 31. Call for your April dates soon as those have been going quickly as of late. The warm weather this week is sure to get the fish really moving and making their push towards the spawn. The next few weeks are sure to hold some excellent fishing with some STUDS to be caught. Now is the time folks! Give me a call and let's go bust 'em!! Thanks to all, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Fishing Report: 1/27/15

Hey Gang! It has been awhile since my last post. I have been busy on some other fishing-related fronts and it has been an awesome January. I hope you all have been out and enjoyed some of the good days we have had recently, when we have had 'em. It is January after all, not all the days are good! LOL As many of you know, I have been running a Seminar Series this month. We held one on January 17th and I have another one coming up this Saturday, January 31st. My buddy Dan W. has graciously offered his company's state-of-the-art meeting facility down at Dekalb Office, where we are holding he seminars. This place is unbelievable and it has been a true pleasure to work with Dan. I can't say enough about his generous hospitality. Thank you Dan - you are the man! The January 17th Seminar was a HUGE success. We had over 90 attendees and discussed some of the particulars of ditch fishing, timber fishing, and tackle set up. In the January 31st Seminar, we will have an in-depth reveiw of electronics - how to read them and interpret them to catch more fish. In addion, we will discuss fishing the winter to spring transition, tournament preparation and game planning, as well as seasonal patterns on Lanier. Thanks to Dan, we have been able to add some additional chairs for this Seminar to meet the growing demand. We sit at 101 attendees, and can grow it to 110. So I have 9 spots left if you are interested in attending. This will be an extremely valuable course as we will help prepare you for fishing the coming months on Lanier. We will welcome you with refreshments such as coffee and donuts, raffles, giveaways, in addition to some great vendors such as Chattahoochee Jigs, SuperSpin by SuperFish, and Spro Lures. Please contact me directly at 770-542-7764 to reserve your spot. First come, first serve of course. Class starts at 9 AM, doors open at 8 AM. Registration is $85 and we will close the class at 110 participants. I hope to see you there for another great lesson on Lanier. I have also been playing in the tournament scene this month. We wrapped up the Hammond's Winter Trail on Saturday with a 16.92 lbs sack and a 2nd place finish in the Classic on a very tough day. My partner Joe and I were further honored to secure 2nd place in the points race for top team of the year. We were fortunate to have fished very consistently all year. Our strengths were planning and decision making, along with execution of course. These are areas that we will be discussing at this Saturday's seminar. A big congrats to Mark Hardin and Chad Spivey for their incredible year and 1st place honors in the trail. Also, a big thanks to Hammond's Fishing for running this highly competitve trail that consistently attracts Lanier's best. Joe and I then rolled into the first H&D Tournament of the year out of Little Hall on Sunday with a 15.74 lbs sack and a solid 6th place finish out of a 61 boat field. Conditions were much nicer Sunday, but the fishing was just as tough. Over the weekend, we focused our efforts in the 45 feet range on timber edges for most of our fish. A Chattahoochee Jig, a Shaky Head, and a drop shot were our main weapons. We did make some deviations on Sunday after we got our limit in the timber as we then went hole hopping for a couple of upgrades on the Chattahoochee Jig. Overall, a fun weekend and a pleasure to be fishing in January! Check out the PIG above that I caught last week on the SuperSpin from SuperFish Baits. This is a fairly new release to the market and in my opinion a great addition to the UnderSpin market. A longer blade arm, bigger eyes and a unique head design highlight the competitive advantages of this bait. The longer blade arm allows for a consistent free spin on the fall which is how I caught spotzilla above - on the fall. I am honored to be working with Kevin Stowers and his team helping to promote this new product. I encourage you to give this bait a try - I think you will like it!! Lastly, I want to announce that I have officially split from Sworming Hornet Lures. I enjoyed my time with Rick and certainly appreciated the opportunity to represent his company. I wish him all the best with his future endeavors. I have Thursday and Friday open this week for guide trips. The weather looks good so let's get out and catch 'em! Give me a call! Thanks to all, and May God Bless. Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spots Fishing Report and Seminar Reminder: 1/2/2015

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope y'all enjoyed a safe and happy holiday season with family and friends! I want to wish everyone a fulfilling, healthy, and prosperous 2015! We made the trip back to Indiana for Christmas in a most excellent 11 hour downpour all the way there....and back. We enjoyed the time there anyway, but I am glad to be back in Georgia where at least we see the sun every once in awhile! I want to start by thanking everyone for registering for my upcoming seminars on Jan 17 and 31, 2015. The response has been incredible and I am grateful. There are a still a few spots left, but not many. These Lanier-intensive, winter fishing-specific seminars will cover such topics as: Ditch Fishing, Deep Timber Fishing, Ledge Fishing, Fishing the Winter to Spring transition, Reading Electronics, and much more. I invite you to call or email me to register for these valuable classes while there is still space available. The seminars will be held at the Dekalb Office Conference Room which is conveniently located just off of Exit 12 on GA 400. These facilities are top-notch with a beautiful, spacious break room and outstanding conference space. If you register and pay before January 14, 2015 the price is $99 for both classes or $69 for one. The pay at the door price will be $85 per class, if space is still available by then. Refreshments will be served, and there will also be Vendor/Sponsor tables and we are working on a raffle as well. I encourage you not to miss this wonderful opportunity to learn more about fishing our awesome lake in the winter time, as well as enjoy some great networking opportunities with your fishing peers. The fishing since my last report has been good. Aside from the few days around Christmas, I have been out on trips every day. Thank you all for keeping me so busy! I love it! The fish have been spread out with a good concentration of fish deep, as well as mid-depth ranges and even shallow. We have been starting our mornings in the back of creek arms/pockets and fishing 20 feet deep or less. We have had several 10-12 fish stops on our first hole, often accumulating a 13-15 pound sack and then moving out deeper for some bigger bites. We have been working an underspin, a jerkbait, as well as a Chattahoochee Jig and a Shaky Head worm in these areas for our bites. As the day progresses, we have been moving out to the ditches with timber and working a Chattahoochee jig, Shaky Head worm, and a spoon for our catches. Fishing the baits slowly is key. There are some big girls out deep right now, and I look for the fishing to improve out there as the weather gets colder later next week. This should concentrate the bait and fish a bit more in the deeper water. Isolated timber in 40-45 feet has been most productive for us of late, but there are fish along the timber rows/edges as well. Rock bluffs have been a good option as well on some days. The key here is chosing areas that have deep water close. The fish may be 15 feet or less in some situations, but there is always deeper water very near. Again, work the bait slowly, particularly on those areas with ledges combined with steep drops. This coming week, I have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday open (Jan 5, 6, and 7). With the full moon phase and a cold front coming later in the week, these should be good fishing days. Give me a call or drop me an email and let's go get 'um!! Also of interest, I will be presenting at the 2015 Atlanta Boat Show again this year. I will be on the Bass Tank at 5:30 PM on Friday, January 16 and again at 3:30 PM on Saturday, January 17th. I will be demonstrating some principles that I will be covering in my fishing seminars, so come on down and join me for some fun and learning at the 2015 Atlanta Boat Show! Thanks to everyone, and May God Bless! Jimbo Jimbo On Lanier - Jimbo's Spotted Bass Guide Service Call: 770-542-7764 Website: www.jimboonlanier.com

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report, Pictures, and Fishing Training Class Announcement: 12/14/2014

Hey Gang - We have had some cold mornings and beautiful afternoons over the last week. I trust everyone is enjoying a great holiday season and hopefully you have had a chance to get out and enjoy the great December weather. Two Notes of Interest to Start: 1. Christmas is just around the corner. A guided trip makes a great gift. Consider the gift of Jimbo this year! I have already sold several gift certficates and would love to prepare one for you as well! Contact me directly for your professionally prepared certificate. 2. I will be running two classes next month, one on Saturday, January 17 and second on Saturday, January 31. The classes will be from 9 AM until 12:30 PM and will be held at at the Dekalb Office Conference Room, which is located off of Exit 12 on GA 400. 1320 Ridgeland Parkway in Alpharetta. This is a top end, state-of-the-art facility that Daniel W has helped me secure. Thanks Daniel! These trainings will be intensive, Lanier-focused sessions to include detailed information on some of the following popular topics: Winter fishing to include ditch and timber fishing - how to find the best areas and how to fish them and with what, identifying and fishing productive ledges, tournament fishing pointers to include developing a gameplan as well as managing the mental side of fishing, matching tackle to techniques, reading and understanding electronics and processing the information you see to make better fishing decisions, establishing seasonal patterns, and much more. There will be a generous time slot allowed for an open forum/question answer period, as well as time for one-on-one questions after the training ends. The first session will be more winter focused, and the second session will address prepping for the winter/spring transition which will start in February. Each class will have a short morning break as well to include refreshments. If you register and pay in advance, prior to January 14, 2015, the price structure will be as follows: $69 for one training, $99 for both training sessions. Day of/at the door price will be $85 for either session. Space is limited so I highly recommend making your reservations in advance ASAP. There has already been a great deal of interest expressed from many people, so spots will go fast. You can call me at 770-542-7764 or email me at jim@laniermapped.com. You can also send me a message through my website. Payment forms accepted include: cash, check, credit card, and paypal. Please note that all electronic transactions will have a $7 processing fee added. This is going to be a very detailed and information-filled training. Don't miss this opportunity to improve your fishing on Lake Lanier! I will have a flyer out soon with a specific agenda and course topics for each class. Now, on to fishing. The bite has been good through the week with several different options out there still. At daylight, we have been working a crankbait, jerkbait, and Fish Head in the backs of pockets and creek arms. There have been some big fish very shallow early back in those areas. In addition, rocky points and bank lines have been productive early in the day. A crankbait worked slowly in these areas has been good for some big bites as well. A deeper diving model works best - make sure you maintain contact with the bottom during your retrieve. A jig has worked well in these areas too at times. Stay flexible. As the day progresses, we have been moving out to the standing timber in the creek ditches. A jig, a Shaky Head worm, and a spoon have been our choices out deep. The spoon bite has been very good for numbers and an occasional big fish over the last week. The jig and Shaky Head has been a good producer as well. The timber edges in 40-55 feet have been our main target. Slow is often the key with the jig and worm. SLOW. This is very important. Keep it on the bottom and slow. This will be even more important as the water continues to get colder. Lastly, here are the dates I have left open in December: 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30 and 31. This time offers a great opportunity to learn ditch and deep timber fishing. I would love to work with you and teach you. Give me a call and let's fish! Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo For reports on other GA Lakes, please visit: www.southernfishing.com

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 12/5/2014

Hey Gang - I hope everyone enjoyed a great holiday season and y'all are geared up and ready for Christmas. We have decorated outside and inside in super-duper Clark Griswold fashion, and we are ready. Not really ready but sort of ready. LOL Fishing has been good the last few days. The warm weather and warming water temps have got the fish spread out quite a bit. There are fish up very shallow, mid-depth, and deep right now. The shallow fish contingent seems to be getting stronger each day with the warm weather. We have been starting shallow each day on rocky points or in creek ditches, and then rotating all the depth ranges as we go through the day to look for the most productive bite. As long as the water temps stay in the mid 50's range, look for the spread of fish to continue. Each day brings different condtions and therefore different fishing situations and best approach, so stay flexible until you dial in the day. A crankbait worked up shallow early on windy rocky points and pockets has been hard to beat. These are often very good fish that are positioned very shallow and are agressive. Don't expect a ton of bites, but definitely some good ones. A Chattahoochee Jig worked up shallow on the rocks has been productive also. You can pick those jigs up around the lake at Hammonds Fishing, Oakwood Bait and Tackle, the Dugout, and soon the Bait and Tackle Store at Buford Damn Road. They are hand-tied jigs on the display racks at the front of the store, but packaging has arrived so look for them on the main racks soon. I trail these jigs with either a Yamamoto Twin Tail or a Zoom Twin Tail Grub. We have also found a good bite deeper on rock points around 30 feet with the Chattahoochee Jig. This has been consistent location and depth recently with the cloudy weather. Some days the brush is important to this bite and some days they are just sitting on the rocks. In addition, we have found a good spoon bite out in the timber on most days. 40-50 feet around the timber edges has been the target depth and location for these fish. A jig and a worm have worked well also at times out there as well. It all just depends on the day and the prevailing conditions. Overall, the more wind we have, the longer I am going to stay shallow, particularly when we are looking for the bigger bites. As we all know, and as I have already mentioned, Christmas is coming. A guided trip makes an excellent Christmas gift for the fisher man or woman in your life, in my humble opinion anyway. LOL. Consider the gift of Jimbo this year for Christmas! Call or email me and I will be happy to mail or deliver a professional and festive looking gift certificate promptly. Right now, I have Tuesday, Thursday and Friday open next week. This is a great time to learn how to pattern these unpredictable late autumn fish and maximize your catch in different conditions. Give me a call and let's fish! Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, I was very busy over Thanksgivng week. I ran 8 trips in 7 days, including Thanksgiving Day. I expect the same for the weeks around Christmas and New Years. If you are having family in or have some down time and want to fish, please call me early to reserve those dates as they will go fast! Thanks to all, and May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Spotted Bass Fishing Report: 11/26/2014

Happy Thanksgving Everyone! I hope you all are enjoying this time with family and friends, all while taking time to reflect and offer thanks for the many blessing you enjoy - like this incredible lake we get to fish! The lower lake temps are right around 56 degrees in the morning, and right now the lake sits at 3.52 feet below full pool, which is about a half-foot up from Sunday prior to the rain. I have been slam packed with business. I am very thankful for that. Save last Sunday in the rain, I have been on the water every day for the last 9 days, and I am full through the weekend, including a morning trip tomorrow on Turkey Day. I am blessed! My wife finally let me guide on a holiday. She has already told me Christmas is out! LOL. The fishing has been very good for the most part. The rain we got Sunday definitely spread them out a bit more than they had been. Prior to Sunday, there were several dependable patterns out there. They are all still there, just a little more looking around to find them. There have been some very shallow fish, some mid-depth fish, and some fish in 35-50 feet around the timber edges. All have worked well at one time or another every day. In the mornings, a spinnerbait and a crankbait on windy, rocky points has been very good for some big bites. In the mid to late morning hours there have been some good spooning opportunities out in the timber. In the afternoons, we have been working a jig and a shaky head around rock in 5 to 30 feet of water. There are some variations to this protocol, but this has been our normal schedule each day. The ditch bite with the fish head was coming in very nicely last week, but has since disipated some. I am guessing we can thank the rising water for that as well as the fish and bait moving around a bit more. They should get settled down and deeper as things stabilize and the water continues to cool. Look for the timber bite to strengthen and the bigger fish to be out deep more consistently. This is a great time to learn the timber bite with a spoon and a jig or shaky head out deep. Again, this should only get better. I am hopefull the fish head bite will return in strength as well. The ditch bite on Lanier is key to some big stringers this time of year. Bait choices this past week have included a Strike King 6XD crankbait, a white spinnerbait, a Chattahoochee Jig, a Davis Shaky Head, and a War Eagle spoon in nickle. I still have Saturday morning available this week if anyone is interested. I am pretty open next week as it stands (starting Dec 1), but with the warmer weather forecasted, I expect to fill up quickly. This is a great time to learn the ditch bite and the timber bite (which are often one in the same, just at different depths) so give me a call and let's go bust some donkeys! Thanks to all, Happy Thanksgiving, and May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 11/11/2014

Hey Gang - We have had a great past couple of weeks out on the pond. The weather has been gorgeous and the fish have been biting! The water level continues to drop as does the surface temperature. We currently sit at 3.68 feet below full pool and the surface temp in the morning has been around 62 degrees. Things are changing out there right now, as is to be expected with the weather changes. The bait and fish are scattered and can be found in many different areas and types of places. There are fish deep, shallow and all in between. There are fish on rock, brush, flats, humps, points...take your pick. I am actually excited for the upcoming cold weather as it should settle things down a bit and put the fish in much more predictable patterns and consistent locations. "Junk Fishing" is the rule right now as any bait can work on any day and about any place. Over the past couple of weeks, we have caught fish on: jigs, shaky heads, crankbaits, topwater, swimbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, spybaits, and a drop shot. Right now you can have any or all of these on the deck at any time and catch a fish on all of them. For us over the last few days, the crankbait, spinnerbait and jig have produced the best fish consistently. The shaky head is getting better for numbers. Our best locations have been creek pockets and main lake points in general, although we are fishing lots of different areas. It changes alot out there from day to day, so staying versatile is important. Look for the bait and you will find the fish in most cases. If you are not seeing bait in the area you are fishing, your chances go down. LOL. It's simple but true. We have found some shallow fish in creek pockets the last few days in the mornings. When they are active, a crankbait picks them off pretty well, when less active, a jerkbait or a jig. We have also found some shallow fish early on rocky points and flats that will crush a spinnerbait. Again, look for the bait in these areas. Later in the day, we have been working a jig around main lake and creek mouth brush in 20 feet of water for some good fish. As I mentioned before, a shaky head is a good bet at anytime right now for some bites. I am looking for the cold front to really improve the fishing over the next few weeks. It should concentrate the bait and fish in the ditches and then look for the Fish Head Spin bite to be on fire. The deep jig bite should get alot better as well as we continue to cool down. As the water continues to cool, remember to look more to the rock and slow down your presentations. To close, I wanted to share some information I learned from the lake biologist regarding turnover. Some of you may remember that I went on a shocking trip with the biologists back in April. I took that opportunity to ask several questions on many topics regarding our lake. Turnover was certainly one of those topics. I asked Patrick when this lake turns over. His answer intrigued me. He said, that without fail, this lake turns over each year sometime between Christmas and New Years. I responded " Really? What about all the dirty water, bubbling, odd smells, etc. that occur well before that time?" His explanation made alot of sense, and I wanted to share his response. He stated that through the year, the water warms and the lake stratifies by temperature range. For demonstration sake, lets say the top 10 feet of the water was at 80 at the end of September, the next 10 feet at 70, the next at 60, and so on. Of course the depths I am using are just examples, but it gives you a reference point. Patrick then explained that as the top 10 feet of 80 degree water cools to 70, it mixes with the next 10 feet of water that is already at 70 degrees, and then you have 20 feet of water at 70 degrees. Then, when that 20 feet of water at 70 degrees cools to 60 degrees, it mixes with the layer at 60 degrees. Now you have 30 feet of 60 degree water. This process continues until the temperature of the entire upper portion of the lake, that was previously stratified by different temperatures, all reaches 50 degrees, which is approximately the base temperature of the lake and the temperature that is almost consistently found in the Chattahoochee River that pours through Buford Dam. When the entire upper portion of the water column drops below the base temperature of the lake (again, somewhere around 50 degrees), the lake turns over - top to the bottom and bottom to the top. Until that point, what you are seeing when the water looks black or dingy, etc is the previously stratified layers of water mixing as the upper portions cool. I know that was long winded, but I hope this helps clear up some of the questions regarding turn over on our lake. Thanks Patrick! Here is what I have left open for the rest of November: 14, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 26, and 28. Those dates around Thanksgiving normally go fast when we get close to the holiday, and I have had many people ask about that week already. If you have some family coming in or just want to use that down time to fish, please call and reserve soon. Otherwise, be happy about the cold front coming and look for the fishing to really heat up. Give me a call and let's fish! Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo