Hey y’all,
On a recent episode of Monroe Today, my good friend Gilda Stanbery welcomed local fishing expert Jeff Mooney. Along with being a tourism partner of Visit Forsyth, Jeff is the owner and operator of All Seasons Guide Service. He takes folks out on Lake Juliette, a beautiful 3,600-acre reservoir lake here in Monroe County. Mr. Jeff truly lives and breathes Lake Juliette so after finally catchin’ him on dry ground, Ms. Gilda sat down with him to learn more about his love of fishing. For those who didn’t tune in, here’s a recap of Ms. Gilda and Mr. Jeff’s conversation so you can have an inside look into the world of fishing in Monroe County.
Get to Know Mr. Jeff
One of the first things made apparent during their interview is that Mr. Jeff was born and raised with a love of all things outdoors and fishing. Ever since he was a young boy, Mr. Jeff would be out with his daddy, grandaddy and great-grandaddy on Lake Chatuge. He spent most summers out on that lake fishing for white bass. In fact, the white bass Mr. Jeff grew up fishing and the hybrid he fishes now are so similar that he’s been able to use the knowledge he gained as a boy for his career. I don’t know about y’all but it sounds like it was fate for Mr. Jeff to become an expert fishing guide! He shared that each day is a new adventure, especially with the people that he gets to meet. It’s what makes him excited to get out of bed each day knowin’ he’s got a new group to teach how to fish.
Expert Guidance
For his charters, Mr. Jeff keeps two pontoon boats in his fleet which each can hold four guests. Both boats are ADA accessible for those in a wheelchair which Mr. Jeff did in honor of his buddy whose daughter is a wheelchair user and an avid fisherwoman. He’s had people from all types of backgrounds, ones with zero fishing experience and others with expert knowledge. The age ranges too with the youngest guest being 2 years old and the oldest being in their 80s. If you’re a bit hesitant to go out on a boat without knowin’ what to do, you can be rest assured that Mr. Jeff actually loves it when he has guests like that! It’s a special thing to share with someone the experience of catchin’ your first fish and reelin’ ‘em in. While you’re out on the water, you can expect to catch a variety of fish from hybrid striped bass and catfish to bream and perch. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources recently restocked the lake with 11,000 hybrid striped basses around an inch long. Mr. Jeff shared that in a year, they’ll be around 12 inches! One thing is certain and that’s the gratitude from Mr. Jeff for DNR’s work towards takin’ care of the fish at Lake Juliette.
All Seasons Guide Service
After you book a guided tour with Mr. Jeff and meet up by the water, he takes care of all of the hard work so you can have fun! He offers tours at four, six and eight-hour excursion lengths every day of the week. If you ask some experts, they’ll say that the early bird catches the worm meanin’ you gotta be out on the water at the crack of dawn. Mr. Jeff on the other hand shared that the fish are going to bite when they’re going to bite. So, Mr. Jeff bases the fishing times instead on what he sees out on the water. Another factor in the fish at Lake Juliette has to do with the lake itself. Instead of having natural creeks or rivers that flow into the lake, a man-made pump feeds water from the Ocmulgee River. Sometimes Mr. Jeff will have a great mornin’ out on the water catchin’ fish and then an hour later he won’t know where the fish have gone. He attributes this to Lake Juliette being “a different breed” instead of your typical lake.
Fish. Beer. Repeat.
Mr. Jeff has partnered with Visit Forsyth for their new Fish.Beer.Repeat. campaign. By booking a package, you’ll get a guided tour with Mr. Jeff out on Lake Juliette for a day of fishing and fun. For more information on the package options, visit our Fish. Beer. Repeat. page! If you’re interested in booking a tour with Mr. Jeff directly, you can reach him at 678-656-0105 or check out his Facebook and Instagram. Before you go, make sure to take a look at our other Forsyth stories as told by yours truly.
Listen to the Monroe Today episode below!
‘Til Next Time,
Your Storyteller
