Lake Lanier Fishing Report: August 21, 2011

Hello Friends and Sponsors -

Even through the hot weather, the fish are still biting on Lanier - not just smaller fish - good SOLID fish are eating in the right places.

I have been throwing a Fish Head Spin and Drop Shot worm for the majority of my fish. Topwater has produced some each day as well, but not the quantity of the drop shot nor the quality of the FHS.

I have been drop-shotting a variety of hand-poured worms and minnow imitations to get bit. Wackem Plastics, Roboworms, as well as the Jackal Cross-Tail Shad and Flash-Trix minnow imitations have worked at one time or another. Colors include: morning dawn, prizm shad, sunrise orange pearl and baby bass.

The FHS has produced some big fish this past week. I have been working the bait to include a pause, thus allowing the bait to drop, which seems to trigger the strikes in most cases.

As far as locations, I have been hitting humps in both main lake and creek areas, as well as ledges and points with steeper breaks near deep water. I have found most of my best fish in 35-40 feet of water. I am also targeting standing timber with tree tops that come to 25-35 feet. These areas seem to hold fish through the day, but some days better than others.

Sportsman's Feast - Come join me, Rick Steckelberg, and the legendary Hank Parker at Blackshear Baptist Church this Thursday evening, August 25th. Admission is $10 and includes dinner. Rick and I, along with others, will be giving seminars and there will be several booths to peruse as well. They are giving away some great hunting and fishing packages, to include a trip with yours truly! Come join us for a fun night at Blackshear Baptist Church! Check out the details HERE.

I have Monday and Friday open this week, and I am still running my "Beat the Heat" specials through August. 3.5 hours in the AM or PM for a reduced rate. I also have my normal full and half day trips available as well. Call me TODAY to book a trip! 770-542-7764.

Thanks to all, and may God Bless -

Jimbo

Lake Lanier Fishing Report: August 16, 2011

Hey Gang -

I was out today on a full day trip with Butch, and yesterday with Brian. The weather today was incredible - just awesome to have some cooler temps.

The fishing today and yesterday was awesome. I am pleased to report that I have figured out a good big-fish pattern for August - I have been putting it together for a bit, and thought I had lost a big spot in an area down lake the other day, but couldn't confirm it because it I busted off - could have been a striper, but I didn't think so. Based on the last 2 days, I am pretty confident in the pattern.

Running this pattern the last 2 days my clients and I have caught several solid fish and some good ones. I had one today close to 5 (4-14 on the digitals) and lost a 4 at the boat in the same area. In addition, fish like the one Butch has above are available, as well as an occasional 24 pound striper! (23-6 on the digitals - nice catch Brian!).

I am fishing in 25-30 feet of water, but doing something a bit different. We have been throwing the drop shot, a jig, and a FHS. I have been doing only artificial trips of late - no spot-tail cheating!

My August special is still running - 3.5 hour trips in the AM and PM to "Beat the Heat" at a reduced rate. Of course the standard half and full day trips are available as well. I have Thurs and Sat open this week if anyone is interested in getting out.

Thanks to all, and may God Bless!

Jimbo

Lake Lanier Fishing Report: August 8, 2011

Hey Everyone -

It is certainly August - hot and hotter! The fishing has been up and down over the last week - some good days for numbers and some days for size, and some days not so good for either - LOL!

I was out with Doug H today for our second trip of the summer. Doug is a great guy and recently purchased a brand new Ranger Comanche 520. He is a good angler, just looking to learn Lanier and our spotted bass as he hails from Florida - not quite the same type of fishing - LOL!

We worked on the drop-shot and the fish head spin today. We caught several fish on both, as well as topwater. Most of our fish came from 25 - 35 feet of water on or near brush located close to sharp drops and ledges. We fished down south today, but there has been a solid bite up north as well. I will be out and up North tomorrow in preparation for trips the rest of the week. I am grateful to be busy in August - thanks to all who have put your trust in me.

Good Luck out there to everyone - I am booked the rest of this week, except Saturday, and I have some days open the next week if you would like to get out and learn how to overcome the dog days of August and catch fish!

May God Bless -

Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Report - July 22, 2011

I had the pleasure of once again taking out Mr. Gene J and his son-in-law Keith today. It was a bit toasty out on the pond, but we still managed some good fish and had a good time together as usual.

The bite was tough in the morning - not much schooling activity where we were and not a very aggressive bite at all. We moved around quite a bit with only a few offers on a drop shot and one decent largemouth on topwater. We mainly stayed on structure, looking deep and shallow for the best concentration of fish. We did see some very shallow activity in the AM, but still I found a good number of quality fish in the 18-25 foot range.

We decided to get a few spot-tails to see if it might help our efforts. Thanks to Phil J for a quick shout out on a new spot tail area - worked great! We labored the afternoon heat and caught several with the spot-tails - only a few areas really seemed to be holding the active fish, and we worked those thoroughly for our bites.

Thanks again to Gene and Keith - looking forward to the next time!

May God Bless -

Jimbo

Jimbo's Lanier Fishing Report: July 19, 2011

Hey Everyone -

I had the pleasure of taking my two youngest daughters out fishing today - man it got hot, but we had a blast! They had been bugging me alot to take them, especially after seeing the pictures of all the big fish we have been catching lately. So, when I had an off day, I finally made it happen.

My youngest daughter, Olivia, got the hang of things quickly and popped the fish above - a solid 4 pounder - not bad catching a 4 lbs spot at 8 years old. I had to help her lift the rod tip a little when the fish made some runs, but she caught it all on her own. I was a proud papa!

I let the girls fish with spot-tails, and I threw some topwater around through the day and called a couple up, but not big ones. We did see some huge spots breaking over and near the structure, but I was just never in a position to get a quick cast at them.

I still have Thur and Sat open if anyone is interested in catching some fish - hot or not, the fish are still biting!

Thanks, and may God Bless -

Jimbo

Lake Lanier Fishing Report: July 16, 2011

Hi Everyone!

I was off the water most of this week as I took a much needed vacation with the family to Myrtle Beach, SC. The kids loved it and we had a great time together.

I did have a trip on Friday of this week and had the honor of taking out one of my best clients, Johnny P. Johnny goes with me once a month or so and we always have fun and I really enjoy his company - he has great stories!

The weather was very odd for July on Lake Lanier - cool, drizzling, and very windy. None of that makes sense here in GA for July!! Johnny and I found good topwater action for most of the day. We worked chug bugs around the breaks of long running rocky points near the mouths of creeks for most of our bites. We also ducked back into a few of the larger creeks for some fish as well. The normal structure/brush had fish around it too, but they didn't seem as active as the rock fish. I had some action on the drop-shot too, but the topwater action was better, so we abandoned thoroughly fishing the spots and just went running and gunning. One of Johnny's best fish is pictured here, and I should have one too, but I "rookied" a toad first thing in the AM on the chug bug - I must have been rusty from all the salt water this week!

I have a couple of days open next week if you would like to get out - just give me a ring or drop me a line.

Thanks, and may God Bless!

Jimbo

Jimbo's Fishing Report 07/08/11

Water Temperature: 85
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet

Hey Everyone -

I was out on trips all week - lots of great fishing despite the rising water temps over the past few days.

I did both artificial and spot-tail trips this week, with the artificials producing the best fish by far. We worked topwater, drop-shot worms, and texas-rigged worms for our best fish. The topwater activity seemed to get better as the day progressed. We found that you could launch a bait at the blow-ups, even after several seconds, and still get them to hit after working the lure all the way back to the boat. The fish seemed to be staying up in the water column after a round of herding bait, and would hit the topwater's when presented. This has not been the case lately, as the fish seemed to come up and go back down quickly.

As far as the spot-tails, now is a great time to get the kids out and fish. The spot-tails work well, especially in the afternoon when the sun is out. It is also a great way to get the feel of a properly fishing a drop-shot - the bite is very similar to what you would experience with a worm or a minnow imitation on a drop-shot rig.

If you are looking to learn the drop shot technique with artificial baits, now is definitely the time. The bite is good most days, and they are definitely eating the drop-shot. I have worked with several clients on mastering the read of your sonar in conjunction with proper presentation. Come on out with me and learn! I have another trip tomorrow, but have some days open at the end of next week.

Thanks to all, and may God Bless -

Jimbo

Jimbo On Lanier - Jimbo's Spotted Bass Guide Service
Call: 770-542-7764
Website: www.jimboonlanier.com