Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 9/14/2015

Hey Gang - Well the weather is cooling (finally) and we are enjoying some wonderful chilly evenings. Love the fall! The fish are changing too, which is very welcome! It has been a very gratifying week for me as I was able to help two of my tournament guys get a 1st and 2nd place recently in their respective tournaments. Always feels good to help people and see them do well! The fishing has been good the last week. We have been averaging 14-16 lbs a day on most days. We are fishing very shallow most of the day focusing on steep rock. We have been starting the day with 3 productive lures: Spro MD Crankbait in Cell Mate, a buzzbait, and a War Eagle Spinnerbait. The fish have been very active the first hour of the day. After that first hour, we have been staying with the rock and adding in some points with sharp breaks and working a Shaky Head/worm combo and a jig for some fat fish. These fish are also shallow, but very close to the deep water. While the brush is not yet holding many fish, the bait is starting to show up in force on the key fall locations around the brush. I look for the topwater and swimbait bite over the brush to really pick up in the next week or two. This is always a fun bite and a great part of fall fishing on Lanier. I'll make sure to keep everybody posted when the topwater fun starts full steam! I still have some spots open for my Lanier Fall Fishing Webinar which takes place this Wednesday evening at 7 PM. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a phone. We will cover the same information we covered in the live seminar back on August 15. This information will get you ready for all aspects of the Fall bite on Lanier! The cost is $59, and you can also purchase a recording of the Webinar if you cannot attend at the scheduled time. Just shoot me an email or give me a buzz if you would like to attend. As far as open days, here is what I have left open in September: 18(afternoon), 22, 23, and 28. I am also filling up for October, so please give me a call to secure your date ASAP! Thanks to all, and May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo on Lanier Spotted Bass Fishing Report: 8/30/2015

Hey Gang - Man it has been a hot summer, but the promise of fall is evident, and the fish are starting to move. We have had some cool nights this week, and things are just beginning to change out on the pond. We have seen some evidence this week of fish moving back to the brush in the 25 ft. range, out from roaming over and around the timber in 40+ ft. The big ones aren't up there in force yet, but they won't be far behind. I look for the topwater and swimbait bite to bust open in the near future. I can't wait! The drop shot is still a good tactic for targeting the deeper fish, and even now with the fish starting to move shallower. The Lanier Baits offerings of Passion2 and Obsession2 have been my choices. A good option if you want a break from the off shore structure is working steep rock walls and points with a Shaky Head and a Jig. Drag them slowly and let them cascade down the sharp breaks. Make sure to pause the bait often and be patient as you wait for the strike. We have been catching these fish in the 10-20 foot range around these areas. There are some shallow fish to be had a daylight out on the points and humps. These fish are often in the 15 ft range when we have found them up there. Try a Spro Little John DD or MD crankbait or a SuperSpin tailed with Super Fluke Jr. or a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper on these fish. We have also been working shallow back in creeks for some good spots and largemouth as well. Set out with the idea of covering lots water and shallow cover. A shallow diving crankbait, a buzzbait, and a prop bait can all be good choices. A buzzbait is just plain fun to fish, and we don't get as much opportunity to fish buzzbaits on this lake as some others, but it's time is coming in tune. Look for the buzz to cough up some good ones in the next month. Here are the dates I have open in September right now: 8, 10, 14, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30. Give me a ring or drop me a note soon to get on what is sure to be some great September topwater and swimbait fishing. These dates will go fast! Thanks to everyone that came out to my Seminar on August 15th. We had a good crowd and it was awesome to see everyone. I will have the DVD from the event out shortly, and I will also soon be scheduling a Webinar which will cover the same seminar information, all for those that were not able to attend due to travel or other commitments. MARK SATURDAY, JANUARY 30TH, 2016 ON YOUR CALENDAR NOW! We are planning a BLOWOUT Seminar for this date to focus on every aspect of Spring Fishing on Lanier. We are well into the planning stages for this event already which will offer a longer program than we have offered in the past. We have 9 vendors committed to the event, as well as several guest speakers who will address and teach the crowd in separate break-out sessions on topics such as the Float 'n Fly. We will also be offering rod giveaways, product raffles, plenty of giveaways, a fishing trip raffle, and more! We are also working on some special guest speakers to include a lake biologist to help shed some light on the scientific aspects of fishing the lake. Further, we are close to securing a special speaker who will address the growing aspects of High School and College Fishing in a breakout format. We are expecting over 200 people at this event and we now have the space to accommodate the demand. Registration will open as soon as we cement the final details. This one will be a no-miss opportunity and a great way to shake off the winter blahs. Mark Jan 30, 2016 on your calendar right now and plan to come join us for an outstanding event. I want to close with a shout out to John Megel Chevy up on 400/19 in Dawsonville. What an outstanding operation they can boast up there. Their attention to detail and customer service are second to none. They really bailed me out of a jam about a week ago and did everything necessary to keep me working! Thank you! My Chevy is getting a little older now, and I know I will be giving my business to John Megel when it comes time to buy a new Jimbo Truck. I suggest you give them a look for your purchasing or servicing needs. You won't regret it! Thanks to all, and May God Bless Jimbo

JImbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Report and AUGUST 15 SEMINAR REMINDER: 8/9/2015

Hey Gang! Sorry for the delay in reporting. Unfortunately I had some back issues flare up recently and I have also been preparing for the upcoming seminar on August 15, in addition to guiding 4 days a week through August. Been pretty busy lately! I appreciate all that have signed up for the August 15th Class. We have a good crowd coming and we have a great event planned for you. I do still have a few seats left for anyone interested in learning more about fishing the fall and early winter on Lanier. This is going to be a very informative and in-depth program folks. We will have some great vendors, raffles, and giveaways too. And donuts! Can't forget the donuts. LOL. The flyer with all the details is posted above in the pictures. Would love to have you come out to network with other Lanier anglers and learn some cool stuff. Give me a call or drop me an email to register. I am using this post to catch up on some pictures from the last month or so - we have really caught some big fish this summer. The bottom slide of pictures are from spottail trips, the rest are on artificials, mainly topwater. As far as right now, it is definitely August on Lanier. The surface temps are hovering in the upper 80's to near 90 and the lake sits at 3.31 feet down from full pool and dropping as of this post. I will say the afternoon bite has been much better than the morning bite of late. It just seems the fish are not moving around much in the mornings when the lake is quiet. When we have storms role through in the evening however, the bite seems to be better the next morning. The water cooling down slightly seems to trigger the better bite. With all that said, here is a recap of what we have been doing. There are still some fish schooling in the early mornings around humps that offer quick access to deep water. Sometimes the fish are shallow, and sometimes they are out over 80 feet of water or more. The best you can do is get in the right area and wait for the blowups. When they come, fire a bait in there ASAP. A Sammy and a fluke have been our best baits for these fish. After the schooling bite ends, we have found a decent bite on steep rock banks with wood cover. This has been our best post-schooling bet. A shaky head and a jig will both get bites in these situations. The drop shot has been the deal for us in the afternoons. 30-40 feet has been the best depth for the better fish. Obviously deeper brush or timber edges are a plus, but there are often fish just hanging between the brush and timber. Make sure to drop on these fish as well. The biting fish are not always tight to cover. There are still days when we get a mid-day topwater bite. A gunfish and a chug bug, along with a fluke will sometimes get bites through day over deeper brush (30 feet). Here is what I have left open for trips in August: 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, and 27. Now is a great time to learn how to get those finicky deep summer fish to bite. Also, my September is filling up quickly as I already have several dates on the books. If you would like to get in on what is sure to be some great topwater and swimbait action, make sure to reserve your date ASAP. Thanks to all, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Report for Spotted Bass and Largemouth: 7/5/2015

Hey Gang - Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone. The AM weather the last couple of days forced some trip postponements, so I have enjoyed a relaxing 3 day weekend off - the first one I have had in a LONG time! It has been nice. I hope you all enjoyed some time with family and friends as together we celebrated our Nation's Independence. The fishing last week made a nice rebound with the rain and cooler temps. The water temps also made a significant drop as we went from 86 on the surface down to 81 in many places. The water level sits at exactly 1.50 feet below full pool at the time of this report. The most welcome change was the return of the topwater bite. It had gone down hill significantly with the heat wave, but rebounded nicely with the cooler weather. The top frame of pictures show some of the recent topwater results from this week with Michael, and on a separate trip Austin and his Grandfather, all spanking some nice topwater fish. The gunfish was by far the most productive bait for us through the week, and the standard brush in 20-30 feet was the location. The jig and dropshot were also both very productive through the week with the jig getting the nod for better size fish and the DS for better numbers. No surprise here. That may change as I now have in my possession the New Lanier Baits offerings, which look awesome. They will be getting a workout this week and I look forward to posting some positive results. We have also been picking up some crankbait fish on the SPRO Little John dd. That has been a good option around the brush when the other techniques mentioned above will not produce or have already produced and you're looking for another option to serve them. Something else for you to try as you are out there exploring. Lastly, I want to congratulate Tanya O. on an outstanding spottail outing recently as she hammered some big fish with this fun technique (bottom frame of pics). She has been out with me 3 times this year already and caught them good on artificals previously, but really enjoyed the ease of spottail fishing. The big ones were biting that morning and she had a field day! Her first fish was her biggest at about 4.5 lbs (2nd from right), but most of what she caught that day was in the 3.5 lbs range or bigger. Outstanding day Tanya! The seminar registrations for my August 15th event have been going very well. Thanks for all the calls. We have moved to a larger venue to accommodate the increased demand as we sold out our previous seminar in January. The August 15th Seminar will focus on Fall and Early Winter techniques and is sure to be a big hit. Don't miss out on this valuable learning opportunity. The advance registration price (by Aug 1) is $89, so call or email me at 770-542-7764/jim@laniermapped.com to register. Thanks! I have morning trips booked each day this coming week (July 6-10), but have the afternoons open each day if anyone would like to come out. I anticipate the afternoons to be the best topwater bite. Here are the other dates I have open in July: 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, and 31. Give me a buzz and let's get out there and catch 'em up! Thanks to all and May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Fishing Guide Service Fishing Report and Seminar Announcement: 6/21/2015

Hey Gang - Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! It has been awhile since my last report. I apologize for the delay, but y'all have been keeping me very busy! I have been guiding 6 days a week, often doing a full day trip followed by a half day trip to accommodate all my new folks and regulars as well. Those 14 hour fishing days keep me going with not much time for anything else. LOL. I still love it and appreciate everyone so much. Thank you! I just hate the thought of turning anyone away. Guiding my customers is my priority. If you want to fish, I will find a time for you! Before we get to the fishing, I am excited to announce that my next Seminar has been set. Saturday, August 15, 2015 will be the next installment in the Jimbo Seminar Series. The last one was very well attended as we maxed out space with over 100 people, so we have found a larger venue to host the next event. We will focus on techniques for Fall and Early Winter Fishing on Lanier, and will cover key topics such as: Brush Fishing, Topwater and Swimbaits, Deepwater Dropshot, SuperSpin in the ditches, Effective Use of Crankbaits in the Fall, Spoon Fishing, Early Winter Jig Fishing, along with Lure and Tackle choices with examples for every technique. We will have more vendors as well as some great door prizes and raffles. Refreshments will be served. Seminar will start at 8:30 AM and conclude at 12:30 PM. Doors open at 7:30 AM and we will have a mid-morning break. Also, for those interested and to make sure everyone's questions get answered, I will host a special post-seminar round-table from 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM for anyone that wants to stay afterwards. The event will be held at Grace Chapel here in Cumming, which is conveniently located off Exit 13 from GA 400 at 6755 Majors Road. Call me direct or email me to register. 770-542-7764 or jim@laniermapped.com. Cost is $89 if you register and pay by August 1, 2015, or $115 at the door. Can't wait to see you all there for what promises to be another outstanding event that is sure to get you prepared for the awesome fall fishing on Lanier! Speaking of fishing, why don't we talk about that! The bite on Lanier remains very good. More options have opened up in terms of patterns with the warmer weather. Topwater is still there, it's just not as much of an all-day thing as it was. We are still finding very good stretches with the Gunfish throughout the day in the right places. The 20-25 ft. brush located near a sharper depth break seems to be much more consistent than the brush on the flatter stuff. Look for points and humps with deep water nearby and with significant contour breaks to be your best bet for the topwater and swimbait bite right now. The first hour of the day still offers a good schooling bite around steeper rocky points and deeper bays. You can generally call up a few, but getting in the middle of the action is still your best bet. Next up is the SuperSpin. This bite has really came on in the last couple of weeks. Slow reeling the bait over 20-25 ft. brush or throwing it into schooling fish has been very effective. We have been tipping a 1/2 oz SuperSpin with a Little Dipper or a Swimming Fluke. Steady reel the bait with an occasional rod pop to trigger strikes from followers. We have also found a good jig bite on rocky points in the 15-20 ft range as well as in the brush. Slow drag a 3/8 Chattahoochee Jig in PBJ on rocky points for some nice fish. A 5" Yamamoto twin tail in Cinn/Black Flake is my trailer of choice. Also, work the same jig slowly through brush when the fish will not come up. A drop shot has been effective also in picking up those less aggressive fish in an around brush in the 20-30 ft range. I am looking forward to trying Lanier Bait's new selection of Drop Shot worms as they have been getting a bunch of attention on social media recently. I think Jimmy has some on the way to me now... I have some great pics to share this week with some great stories. Up top, the three on the right are Jason and his son Jackson. They were out with me on a topwater trip recently and just POUNDED monster spots. 9 year old Jackson caught the first one a gunfish all by himself. He is one awesome little angler. Watch out gang, this kids coming!! On the second row, we again have Tom D with his very own highlight reel, as usual. Tom has been out with me on several trips this year and on his last trip had the best fishing trip of his life on topwater. He came back 2 weeks later and came close to doing it again. We started on a bream bed bite that morning and caught 2 big LM first thing, and when the sun got up we ran the brush for some big spots on a chug bug. He has come so far this year with me, his progress really makes me proud. Great job Tom!! On the bottom set of pics are some results from a couple of recent spot tail trips I have done. Campbell and Smith are pictured on the right, and on the left side, young Nicholas. He was out with me on a very successful spot tail trip a few years ago which we caught on video and is still up on my website. Well, a much more grown-up Nicholas came back for another round and had another great day. It was awesome to see how much he had grown up and advanced in his fishing. Spot tail fish is a great way to just catch fish. Young, old, experienced or not, it's a blast. Make sure to schedule your spot tail trip for this summer! Here is what I have open for the first part of July: 2, 6, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Also have a few dates open later in the month. July is a great time to work on the SuperSpin bite, Deep Water Dropshot, and jig bite, not to mention some topwater here and there. As I mentioned above, it's also a great time to spot tail fish. Give me a call and let's go catching!! Thanks to all, and May God Bless! Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Fishing Guide Report: 5/25/2015

Hey Gang - Happy Memorial Day to everyone! I hope y'all have enjoyed time with family and friends, and more importantly, taken special time to remember our fallen heros who have, over many years, paid the ultimate price for the continuing freedoms we enjoy today. God Bless our Service Men and Women, both past and present. Now, onto fishing. In a word, the fishing on Lake Lanier has been AWESOME the past couple of weeks! While there are several patterns working, the only one that matters to me is topwater! LOL. It's just hard to beat watching a big spot, or any fish for that matter, crush a topwater plug. Fishing at its finest. Check out the top set of pictures - those are just a few of monsters Tom D and I hammered this past Friday - all on topwater. Too much fun! It was Tom's best day on Lanier and maybe his best day of fishing ever. He said I made him feel like a HERO! LOL. I was honored to be able to provide that experience for him. Tom has been coming out with me all year, and I think this was his 6th trip so far. He has learned a bunch and been able to apply it to fishing on his own to really improve his catch rate. We has booked another trip for next week to enjoy some more topwater fun. Great day and super job Tom!!! We have been fishing flat rock, humps, and points with brush for most of our topwater action. The depth has varied from very shallow all the way out to 25 feet or so. Again, it just depends on the day and time of day as to where you will find the best action. Several different baits have been working, it just depends on the day as to what bait they prefer. A list of some of the top producers: Spook, Gunfish, Chug Bug, Redfin and a G-Splash just to name a few. For the periods when the fish are not active, a drop shot and a Davis Shaky Head/finesse worm combo have been great options. We are fishing the same type areas as noted above and just going down to them when they won't come up. A swimbait has been working on some days also, as well as a spinnerbait, especially on the windy days. The bottom line is that several fish have gotten past their post spawn funk, and they are strapping on the feed bag! It is a great time to be fishing on Lake Lanier! My June open dates have shuffled around a bit, so here is the latest list of what I have open in June: 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 29, 30. Don't miss this great season of topwater on Lake Lanier. It is an experience like no other. Give me a ring and let's go bust 'em!! Thanks to all, Happy Memorial Day, and May God Bless - Jimbo

Jimbo's Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service Fishing Report: 5/11/2015

Hey Gang - My apologies for the delay since my last report. You guys have been keeping me VERY busy, and I am grateful. Thank you! Other than Mother's Day and my little junket to Guntersville a few weeks ago, I have been on the water every day. I am going to switch to only half days on the weekends at this point as the lake has became quite busy in the afternoons as I am sure you can imagine. The fishing has been excellent over the last couple of weeks. There are plenty of patterns working and lots going on, so you can take your pick. First and foremost, the herring spawn has started and offers some great early morning action. Look for shallow, flat rock or sandy areas to be holding the herring best. A variety of baits will work on these fish - spinnerbaits, wakebaits, swimbaits, flukes, jerkbaits, and the list goes on. Pick a moving bait and throw it. A spinnerbait is the best search instrument. If you have herring following your spinnerbait back on the retrieve, you are in the right place! The action on these fish only lasts about the first hour or so of the day. Get out early and enjoy! There are still plenty of spots on the bed, and a few left to go. You can catch these spawning fish with, among other things, a 4" worm on a 1/8 oz Davis Shaky Head. Move the bait very slowly. Drag it, don't hop it. Sandy pockets and the areas near them seem to be best for this bite right now. Lot's of fun and plenty of fish if you have the patience. There are some post-spawners showing up as well. The topwater bite has been getting better on these fish. Rocky points as well as brush piles have been holding these fish. Topwater poppers and walkers of all sorts have been productive, along with the wakebait as well. This bite can go throughout the day with some wind. A big swimbait has been working well out over the brush when the wind is really up. A medium steady retrieve seems to be working best. We have been catching some big pre and post spawners on this for several weeks now. This and the topwater bite should only get stronger in the weeks ahead. Late May and June should offer an excellent topwater bite. This is not to be missed! You haven't lived until you have seen a wolf pack of 4 pound spots chasing your topwater bait! Off the chain baby! If you have not yet, take the opportunity to make your qualifying GLoomis and Shimano purchases so you can qualify for the big owners tournament out of Little Hall on June 6th. This will be an awesome event with lots of great prizes, don't miss it! See the fine folks at Hammond's Fishing or the Dugout for details. Upcoming I have May 20, 21, and the 27th available for full day trips. I have May 28 and 30 available for half days as well. My June is filling up quickly with the anticipation of the coming topwater bite. Call me soon to get a date, this bite is incredible!! Thanks to everyone and May God Bless - Jimbo