Jimbo's Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Guide Service Report: 7/24/2014

Hey Gang - WOW! What a great week it has been on Lanier! The cool weather in combination with the Corp pulling water regularly this week has made for some fantastic fishing!! We have been smoking the big girls this week on a swimbait and topwater. This has been some of the best late July fishing I have seen on Lanier. The water temp was in the upper 70's at the start of the week and the fish liked it. We have been running and gunning brush in 20-30 ft. on humps and points throughout the lower lake. The Bite Sized Herring and a Sebile have been our best choices for the swimbait, and a Sammy along with a Gunfish have been our best topwater offerings. When the topwater/swimbait bite slows, we have been utilizing a drop shot out in 30-35 for some nice fish as well. I ran some spot tail trips last week, but since then it has been all artificial for us. The first set of pictures above are from yesterdays trip with Jim, Mike and his son Tyler. They had a SACK yesterday, most on swimbaits with a couple of topwater fish. Tyler stroked a 18 lbs sack on his own - what a great day for him. Uncle Jim had bought the trip for Tyler as his Christmas present back in December. I think Tyler had a good Christmas....looking forward to next year guys! Awesome day! Also, on the 3rd pane of pictures attached, I want to give a shout out to Hui. She was the SuperStar that day when she and her husband Darryl were out with me. We were both very proud of her - great work Hui!! Here is what I have open over the next couple of weeks: JULY - 26, 28 (PM), 29 (PM), 30, 31(PM). August - 1,6, 8. Give me a call and let's get out there. I am still running spot tail trips also, so let me know your pleasure! Finally, before closing, I wanted to take a moment to share a great story of assistance. I can't speak highly enough of Shawn, Jody, and of course John at John Megel Chevrolet on Hwy 19 (GA 400) in Dawsonville. These guys are simply a Class Act! I was in a jam and these guys bailed me out without hesitation, and I am grateful. They took care of me and did so in a first rate manner. I was blown away with their attentiveness and professionalism. I can assure you when in comes time for me to purchase my next Chevy Truck, John Megel will be getting my business. I hope you all take the time to check them out as well. Thanks guys!! May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Fishing Guide Service Fishing Report Lake Lanier: July 12, 2014

Hey Gang - I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer. I also hope everyone's 4th of July was awesome as well. Such a great holiday, and we really do have so much to celebrate as a country. Even though I worked most of the holiday, we still had a great time and helped celebrate our country's independence through attending some of the local events - I just love fireworks! The fishing has been very good the last 10 days or so. The fish are now in a transitional stage as some of the bigger fish are moving out deeper as they traditionally do this time of year. We have been catching our fish from 20 feet all the way out to 40 feet on offshore structure, typically near brush. When the wind is up in mornings, we have found a very good swimbait bite. Rick's Bite Sized Herring has been king. Topwater has actually still been good on most days, but is not quite as dependable as it was. We are still able to bring fish up from the brush, and we have also seen alot of schooling activity. As most of you know, when you get a bait in the action, you will get bit! Just leave it in there long enough and don't jerk it away from them and you will connect! A fast retrieved Sebile has been a nice compliment as well on some days. We have caught a few on a jig this week, and have brought the drop shot into play as well. One day this past week we found a very good deep bite on the DS for some very nice fish. 35 feet or so was the key that day. Look for the deep DS bite to strengthen, depending on the temps. However, it looks like we are in store for a big cool down next week, which could revive the weakening topwater bite, which would certainly be fine with me! The first block of pictures are from the artificial trips the last few days. The bigger block of pictures is from all of our recent spot tail trips. I have been running several spot tail trips with some youngsters and that has been a blast! Watching and helping kids to catch fish is awesome. 20-30 fish in a half day experience has been the norm. This is a great time for young and old alike! This coming week, I have Monday and Tuesday open. With the weather change on it's way, as well as being on the tail end of the full moon phase, I look for some great fishing on the artificial side. Swimbaits and topwater come to mind...LOL. After this week, here are the days I have remaining open in July: 21, 23(AM), 24(PM), 28, 29, 30, 31. Topwater, Swimbaits, Deep Drop Shot, Spot tails....all sorts of options. Give me a ring, and lets fish! Rick also has some days up on Hartwell - let me know if you would like to get out with Rick as well. Thanks to all, and may God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 7/1/2014

Hey Gang - This report, as well as the multiple pages of pics, are all from last week. I am in the midst of a 13 day straight run of trips. Somewhat exhausting, but it has been awesome! Thanks to everyone for the calls and keeping me so busy - I love it! I was on Day 9 today, so still a few more to go before a day off, which, yes, I am planning to spend fishing. And yes I will be out in the mornings over the holiday weekend. Should be interesting. LOL. A great story from last week is where I will start. If you y'all remember, I had just got back from Disney last weekend, and was starting back on trips as of Monday, June 23rd. I posted a report and included some pics from the week prior to my departure. All that said, I headed on out the 23rd to get spot tails for an afternoon trip with some kids. I launched early and tried to find some minnows. No luck. I had been away for a week, and wasn't sure where to check, as my usual haunts were not producing. Finally, I had to give up the search, and hope that somehow we could make the artificials work, which is a tough order with inexperienced anglers, especially kids. Looking back, I'm SO GLAD that I could not find the spot tails. I will tell you all that I had the best, most rewarding week of my career last week. I worked with 5 different young men and women with limited, if any, fishing experience, and taught them to fish. To really fish. From the ground up. Started with teaching them to cast a spinning rig, and then how to properly fish a chug bug and a swimbait. And then, how to fight and land a fish. All week, we threw those baits, and those baits only, to catch all of the fish pictured in these multiple posts. Those kids did so well and I was so proud of them for learning and applying all that information so well. The sense of accomplishment for them, and me, was incredible. It was just awesome. They now each have a great base of fundamentals that will carry them through a lifetime of learning and growing in a sport that we all cherish so much. Great week. Agian, all the fish pictured came on a chug bug or a swimbait. You can see the baits we were using in one of the photos. We had several multiple hook ups, including one triple and several doubles, which are also pictured. The topwater bite has slowed a bit this week, but it is still there and, at customer request, we are still chasing it. We caught several today, including a big one, and lost a monster as well. Pics on those later. I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday open next week (July 8,9,10). Give me a call - I would love to have you out. And, I would love to teach your kids to fish. I forsee some topwater, as well as a Fish Head Spin, a swimbait, a Dude, and a drop shot in my future, as well as some minnows. Maybe next time I can find some. LOL. Enjoy the Holiday weekend and stay safe if you chose to hit the pond this weekend. It should be quite a sight. LOL. Thanks to everyone, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report: 6/23/2014

Hey Gang - I am fresh back from a trip to Disney with the family. We had this vacation planned for awhile as it was a gift from my wife's parents from this past Christmas. There were 11 of us staying in a condo in Kissimmee and hitting all the different parks for 7 days. I am exhausted! LOL. The kids in the family had a blast and that is what it is about. We took about 4 bazillion pictures this week, but the above left is my favorite. This was taken early on day 1 just after we had entered the Magic Kingdom and pursued our personal appointment with Mickey. All the kids met with him and talked with him and it was cool to watch him interact with the kids, especially the younger ones in our family. The park staff would take pictures with Mickey and each of the kids in our group. With every picture, as it was about to be snapped, Mickey would say "Cheeeeeeese" really loud. Shocking I know. Anyway, as a spoof, I took the opportunity to meet him also as I was at the end of the line. The above left is a picture taken of Mickey's reaction to my question as he and I were posing for a picture about to be taken by the staff. As we posed, arm in arm, I said right in Mickey's ear - "So Mickey, about that money you owe me...". My family and the park staff lost it. The mouse turned and looked at me for a long time, speechless, and finally uttered "cheese?" in a questioning tone. Folks, you had to be there, but it was hillarious! One of my many favorite moments of the trip. Thanks to my wonderful in-laws for a great trip and some awesome memories. My good friends kept me up to speed on the bite while I was gone, and I am about to head out on a topwater and spottail trip with some youngsters this afternoon. I suspect we will be throwing topwater, topwater,and topwater this week when we aren't dropping minnows. I hear the bite is still strong in the right places. My favorite for sure. Hard to beat the action. The remainder of the above pictures are all topwater fish from last week before I left on the Disney trip. I have had a cancellation this week for Wednesday, June 25, if anyone is interested. I also have a free seat tomorrow afternoon. Just give me a call. Next week I only have July 1 and 2 open. I am excited to be back and looking forward to getting back on the water. Give me a call or drop me a line if you would like to get out there and chase 'em! Thanks everyone and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Report and Pictures: 6/6/2014

Hey Gang - Been out all week on trips with another one tomorrow morning to round out 7 awesome adventures this week. This fishing report will be very simple. The fish are chewing top water and swimbaits. They may be eating other stuff too, but I don't care. LOL. Find a brush pile and start chunking! The above pics from this week are just a sampling of some the beautiful spots we have been hammering - all on the fun stuff! I now only have 2 days open next week - Monday and Friday. Thanks to everyone for the calls. Then after that, I have June 24 (afternoon), 26, 28, and 30. If you like the topwater bite, now is the time! Call me and let's go fish! I will also be running spot tail trips in July. A great time to get the kids out (and adults) and turn fishing into catching! Good luck to everyone out there and stay safe this weekend. May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide Service Fishing Guide Report: 6/1/2014

Hey Gang - It has been a long week and I am grateful to have another one ahead of me this week. So, just a quick report tonight for y'all that might be getting out sometime this coming week. My clients enjoyed another great week of fishing. The Sworming Hornet Bite Sized Herring swimbait was responsible for the majority of our big fish. They are just pounding these baits. Rocky shoals and up from the brush in 20 feet or so have been the best locations for these fish. A Fish Head Spin, Topwater and a jig account for the other main producers this week. A shaky head still works well too, we have just kept the swimbait and topwater in our hands for the most part. The brush is really holding fish and they are beginning to get agressive. The traditional Lanier topwater/swimbait bite over the brush is stregthening daily and will make for some very fun fishing in the weeks ahead. I want to put in a quick plug for Randy, one of my regular customers who came out with me this week. He was using his own jig on our trip- a "Randy's Biggins" Jig, and popped some really nice fish that day, like the one he is pictured with above. Nice work Randy! Also, Rick Steckelberg will be fishing in the BFL All American this week over at Lake Wilson in Alabama. Rick tells me he is on 'em strong. Please join me in wishing Rick the best of luck in this big tournament. Go Win It Rick! I only have Wednesday, June 4 open this coming week and then here is what I have open for the remainder of June: 9,10,11,12,13,24,26,30. Next week is wide open and then only 3 days the rest of the month. The full moon is coming the week of June 9th and I look for the topwater bite to be outstanding that week. Give me a call and let's get out there! Thanks to all and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbos Lake Lanier Guide Service Spotted Bass Fishing Report: 5/24/2014

Hey Gang - Well for the first year in a great many we did not make the trek up to Indy for the 500. Things just didn't work out this year. I will miss it tomorrow for sure. The good news is that I have had plenty of time to fish! I ran 8 trips this week over 6 days on the water, including #8 this morning. It was starting to get nuts out there when we took out at 11 AM. Be careful if you get out on the water this weekend - I recommend out early and in early. LOL. My clients and I enjoyed an excellent week of fishing on Lanier. I am way backed up on posting pictures here as well as on Facebook - I am working to catch up. The above are just a few of the many - more to come soon. The spawn is definitely wrapping up as we have been catching several post-spawn females. We have been doing well on a number of different patterns this week. I am on a very strong bite at daylight and we have stroked them at first light every day. Wake baits, topwater, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, fish head spin - if it moves they eat it. We have often started the day with a 15 pound sack in the first 10 minutes and then built on it through the day with some studs mixed in. Rocky humps and points have been the key for this bite and the fish have been SUPER shallow - often in a foot or less as they focus on the remnants of the herring spawn. After the early morning bite dies, we have found a decent schooling bite through the day. A fish head spin along with a gunfish have been our best offerings for these fish. It seems the fish head works best for the schoolers as you can really launch it a long way into the action. A Davis Shaky head and worm combo has been good when the wind dies. We have been using the Screw Lock HBT Series in the 3/16 oz size along with a variety of green worms. The SL HBT Series has become my favorite Davis Shaky Head of the many they offer. Our best approach for the big fish through the day has been throwing the Sworming Hornet Bite Sized Herring Swimbait on points and humps. The key for this bite has been a slow retrieve. Get the right speed and they crush it. Brush is not necessary but can help - look in 15 feet or less for this bite. Still not a ton of bites on this, but the ones you get are hammers. Over the next couple of weeks, I have the following dates open - Thursday and Friday May 29 and 30, and then Wednesday and Thursday June 4th and 5th the following week. The topwater bite will be getting better and better and the swimbait bite will get stronger as well as the post-spawn fish move into replenish mode. Looking further into June, the spot tail minnow bite should be coming on soon as the fish lock into the brush. This is great fun for kids and adults alike. Bites are guaranteed! Finally, as we celebrate this Memorial Day with friends and family, I ask that we all take a minute to remember our fallen heros, who through their ultimate sacrifice have made the freedoms we enjoy in this country possible. And also a big thanks to all of the service men and women, both past and present, who work or have worked hard to defend this great country of ours every day. Salute! May God Bless - Jimbo