u/GooberTimeGuide

Big thanks to Kenya and her family for spending the day on the water with us at Lake Chesdin! 🎣

With water temps pushing 85°, the summer bite was definitely a bit of a grind, but this crew stayed focused and kept the rods bending!

We started off strong putting a nice mess of crappie and white perch in the boat. When the action cooled down, we turned around to work our way back and found a second wind—adding more crappie, perch, and a couple of solid largemouth bass to the tally.
The bass certainly gave us some drama on the way home, putting on an acrobatics show and spitting the crankbaits right back at us, but that's all part of the fun!

Warm water conditions just make the landed fish that much sweeter. Thank you again Kenya and family for fishing with us—we had an absolute blast with you all and are already looking forward to getting this crew back on the water with us in the spring! 🐟☀️

#LakeChesdin #FishingGuide #VirginiaFishing #BassFishing #CrappieFishing #FamilyFishing #TightLines #SpringFishing

🚨 NEW TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT! 🚨

We’re taking it to the shallows! By popular demand, we have officially added 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8-hour Smallmouth Bass guided wade fishing trips to the Goober Time Guide Service booking page! 🎣🌊

Want a preview of what river wade fishing looks like right now? Check out this afternoon’s quick session:

📊 Quick Trip Report: Upper James River

Time on Water: 3.5 hours

Smallmouth Bass: 35 landed 🔥

Bluegill: 24 landed 🎯

Had to pick through a bunch of smaller fish to find the quality ones, but the action was non-stop from start to finish. The smallmouth were absolutely on fire, and the panfish kept the bite exciting the entire time!

If you’ve been wanting to get off the boat, step right into the river, and experience target casting for hard-fighting bronzebacks up close, now is the time. Whether you want a quick 4-hour quick-hit or an all-day 8-hour river trek, we've got a option for you.

🎟️ Dates are live now—head over to the booking page and lock in your wade trip today! 👇

https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/book-charter?category=1412b3db-5430-40ea-a353-2e53a9b51181

A HUGE shoutout and thank you to Michael, Corbin, and Gabe for joining us on the water!

We had an absolute blast with you all, and what better way to celebrate a birthday than with non-stop rod-bending action? 🎂

This trip was a complete summer frenzy! Here are a few highlights from an unforgettable day:

💥 157 fish brought to the boat!
🏆 Trophy Blue Catfish landed
🐟 Non-stop, fast-paced Striper action
🥳 The ultimate birthday celebration on the water

Want to see the photos and read the full breakdown of how the trip went down? Check out our latest fishing report now!

👇 Read the full report here:

https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/157-fish-summer-frenzy-birthday-trophy-blue-catfish-striper-action

Tight lines! 🎣

#GooberTimeGuideService #FishingReport #TrophyBlueCatfish #StriperFishing #SummerFrenzy #BirthdayOnTheWater #GuideLife #TightLines

A huge thank you to this awesome group for booking with Goober Time Guide Service! 🎣🔥

Last summer, these anglers set an incredible mark by landing 164 fish in just 3.5 hours—and they came back this time determined to smash their own record.

Did they pull it off? You’ll have to read to find out! 😉

Check out the full fishing report, photos, and all the action on our website:
👉 https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/nighttime-catfish-white-perch-striper-action-218-fish-with-goober-time-guide-service

Ready to set your own record? Book your trip today! 🐟✨
#GooberTimeGuideService #FishingReport #TightLines #CatfishFishing #WhitePerch #StriperAction #FishingGuide

Huge thanks to today’s guests Kevin and Colin—an awesome father-son duo—for coming out on Lake Chesdin with us! Even with a tough, challenging bite, we put the work in, relied on our Catch the Fever gear, and powered through to bring 16 fish to the boat across 4 different species. Days like today are what making memories on the water is all about.
Want to see how the action went down and what tactics worked best?

Check out the full trip breakdown on our blog! 👇
📖 Read the full report here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/summer-multi-species-success-on-lake-chesdin-father-son-morning-trip-report

Ready to get on the calendar for your own multi-species adventure? Shoot us a message or visit our website to book your trip! 🚤🐟

A huge thank you to Harold, Eric, and Ken who made the trip down from Waldorf, MD, and absolutely filled the cooler with slab crappie, white perch, and some chunky largemouth! That summer fish fry is going to be legendary. 🍽️

Want to see how we did it? Check out the full fishing report for the exact depth and tactics we used:
👉 https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/summer-crappie-and-multi-species-action-lake-chesdin-fishing-report

Summer dates are filling fast—visit our website to book your trip!

🎣 What a day on the James River! 🌊
A huge thank you to our incredible guests for joining us out on the water. You all fished hard, and the river definitely rewarded you with some absolute monster blues! 🐟💪
A massive congratulations on landing those trophy catfish! There is nothing quite like the thrill of reeling in a true James River giant, and you handled it like pros. 🏆👏
Want to see all the action and find out exactly how the day went down? Check out the full fishing report on our website now! 👇
🔗 https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/trophy-graduation-giants-james-river-blue-catfish-fishing
#GooberTimeGuideService #JamesRiver #BlueCatfish #TrophyFishing #CatfishFishing #VirginiaFishing #LifeOnTheWater #CatchAndRelease

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a quick trip recap from this past weekend. Had an awesome crew—Brian, Cole, and Amanda—out on the boat to celebrate Father’s Day and a birthday.

The James River blue cats definitely showed up for the party. We ended up staying out late and found a really solid bite pattern once the sun went down. Always great introducing people to the kind of heavy-tackle action we get out here, especially for a family milestone.

I just put together a full breakdown of the trip, including the late-night action, patterns, and photos. If you're interested in how the bite is shaping up right now on the James, you can read the full report here:

https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/james-river-blue-catfish-fishing-report-trophies-birthdays-and-late-night-action

Tight lines!

Looks like the spawn on the James is finally coming to a close. For those who know, this is the transition we’ve been waiting for. The fish are going to be hungry and moving out of their spawning areas, which usually means the post-spawn bite is about to fire up in a big way.

I wrote up a quick article detailing the adjustments we’re making to our gear and locations to stay on the fish as they transition. Hopefully, it helps you guys capitalize on the upcoming action.

Check it out here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/mastering-the-post-spawn-blue-catfish-bite-on-the-james-river

Just got off the water at Lake Chesdin—huge shoutout to my guests today for putting in the work and making it a productive morning! We had a blast.

I’ve put together a breakdown of what we were seeing and how we were targeting them. You can check out the full report here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/lake-chesdin-multi-species-fishing-report-a-productive-morning

Had a productive day on the water at Lake Chesdin on June 3rd. We were targeting panfish and had a solid bite in 8–14 feet of water using Arkie 220s and Bandit 300s. Ended up with 28 fish total (mostly crappie and white perch, plus a couple of bass and a channel cat).

If you’re interested in the gear/rigging setup or want to see the full breakdown, I posted the report here:

https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/lake-chesdin-multi-species-trolling-trip-goober-time-guide-service

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how the spawn is affecting the bite on the James. I just put together a deep dive on my site regarding the biology of the Blue Catfish spawn, our "conservation-first" policy for trophy fish, and the specific setups we’re using right now to pivot to flatheads and smallmouth bass instead.

Hope it’s a good read for those of you also hitting the river: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/james-river-catfish-spawn-guide-goober-time-guide-service

Just wanted to give a quick shoutout and thank you to all the awesome folks who have jumped on the boat with us recently—including Jose, Omar, Tucker, and Cesar. We've had some killer days on the water lately!

The multi-species action is really turning on right now with a solid mix of crappie, catfish, and bass hitting the deck. If you're curious about what patterns and baits have been working for the summer bite, I threw together a quick breakdown in our latest report.

Tight lines everyone! Full report here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/multi-species-action-crappie-catfish-and-bass-heat-up-the-summer-bite

Just wanted to drop our latest trip report from Lake Chesdin for anyone looking to pattern panfish on the lakes right now.

The Conditions: 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Clear skies. Water temps started at 69°F at lines-in and warmed up to 72°F by late morning, which really fired up the schools.

The Strategy Switch: We initially started long-lining jigs early on, but it was dead quiet. We pivoted entirely to a full trolling spread of crankbaits to locate where they were suspended, and that completely changed the morning.

We staggered the depths running Arkie 220s (hitting mid-depths around 10-12ft) and Bandit 300s (digging deeper to 12-16ft). Once we located the suspended schools up-lake, it was game on. We ended up with 22 fish total: 13 Crappie, 8 White Perch, and a nice Shellcracker.

If you want to check out the full breakdown of the gear, setup, and structural patterns we targeted, feel free to read the full report here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/lake-chesdin-multi-species-fishing-report-a-birthday-trolling-success

Had a great session this past Saturday with some awesome guests celebrating a birthday. The river gave us a few presents in the form of some solid trophies!

It’s an exciting time to be on the water right now as the patterns shift. I just posted a vague breakdown of the trip and what we’re seeing out there on my blog. Huge thanks again to the crew for coming out!

Full Report: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/birthday-trophies-on-the-river-may-2nd-fishing-report

Focused on long-lining and trolling crankbaits for our first guide trip of the year. The spring transition is in full effect!

Full breakdown on tactics and gear used: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/reeling-in-success-a-kayak-fishing-masterclass-with-goober-time-guide-service

Focused on long-lining and trolling crankbaits for our first guide trip of the year. The spring transition is in full effect!

Full breakdown on tactics and gear used: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/reeling-in-success-a-kayak-fishing-masterclass-with-goober-time-guide-service

Just got off the water at Chickahominy and the multi-species action is incredible right now. We put 59 fish in the boat yesterday, including a massive variety of panfish and some aggressive predators.

The water temps made a huge jump throughout the day, which completely shifted the bite in the afternoon. I’ve posted the full breakdown of the patterns, depth, and the specific locations we worked over on the blog for anyone looking to head out this week.

Full details here: https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/chickahominy-lake-fishing-report-spring-panfish-slam