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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
CAPTAIN SCOTT OWENS (Captscott)
New member
Username: Captscott
Post Number: 10
Registered: 2-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 5:41 pm: | |
Steve and Frank Georgia Report
January 23, 2009
Well I will just say if you have read the past 2 reports you will understand and if not read up! The fishing was just crazy!!
Captain Scott Owens
877-605-3474
St Simons Island Fishing
info@captainscottowens.com
Other Fishing Reports
Georgia Fishing Report for January
St Augustine Fishing in Florida
Fished in Saint Simons Island
St Simons Island Pier
St Simons Island Tides
St Simons Island Georgia
Fishing in Jekyll Island
Georgia redfish and triple tail
Summer Time fishing is hot
Sea Island Fishing with Keith
Fishing in Brunswick Georgia
Georgia Women's Fly Fishing |
CaptainJudyHelmey (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 4:58 am: | |
NOVEMBER 1, 2004
Right Whale Sighting
On Monday (October 25, 2004) while coming home from a fishing trip we got a great surprise. We spotted a pair of adult right whales about 8 miles southeast of the Warsaw Sea buoy. The two whales were cruising together in a southerly direction. They didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry. They never once changed their heading. It was clear that they were on some sort of a whale mission. We watch from a distance as they surfaced, blew making that wonderful whale sound, arched their backs, and tail saluted us. Over the many years I have been fortunate to see many of these wonderful creatures. However, it really doesn't matter every time is like the first! I still get as excited as my customers. Here are a few suggestions on what to do if you find yourself in the same watching mode or if a whale comes to you.
If a whale comes to you, please don't put your boat in gear. Just remain calm and as quick as they arrived they should leave. However, the good news is that there are no rules that specify that you can't take pictures. Please take all you can, because what is happening to you doesn't happen to but a few. The very next thing that you need to do is to contact the coast guard or have someone relay coordinates of your whale encounter. The reason is very simple, BUT VERY IMPORTANT "IT COULD SAVE THEIR LIFE." The coast guard will then contact proper sources so that coordinates can be sent to ships that are navigating in the area of the sighting. Right whales especially when swimming with their calves will quite often lay on the surface for long periods at a time. This normal act unfortunately can put them right in the path of large vessels or should I say, " IN HARMS WAY!"
For right whale that you happen up on please keep your distance. You are required by law to stay the distance of at least 500 yards. The reason being there aren't that many of these precious mammals left. A collision with one might cause serious injury or death to the whale. At last count there were less than 300 left in the world. Once again when you spot a right whale please contact the Coast Guard on Channel 16 of your marine radio.
A right whale has two blowholes. So therefore when they blow, the water comes out in a "V" shape. This view is only possible from a front or rear angle of the whale. I have had the opportunity to see quite a few "V" shaped spouts in my lifetime. These spouts can be seen from a great distance. If timed right even an average camera can take a decent shot.
This area is a critical habitat for the right whale. This is their calving ground. They skirt Georgia's Coast and the offshore waters from the middle of November to the end of April. During November they are usually headed to the south to have their young. During the spring they are making their way back to the northern areas bringing with them their new young calves.
Take a look at these measurements. The adult right whale grows to approximately 55 to 60 feet long. The adult female whale is usually a few feet longer than the male. Their weight runs about 200,000 pounds. A calf (baby whale) is normally 13-15 feet long and weights in at about 2,000 pounds. All right whale rather young or old have a flat back with no dorsal fin.
The bottom line when it comes to spotting a whale is to do the following:
Contact the coast guard on channel 16 of your VHF radio and report coordinates and time of encounter.
For whale reporting Cell Phone usage:
Savannah Coast Guard 1 912 786 5440 (Tybee Island coast guard)
Brunswick Coast Guard 1 912 267 7999
Charleston Coast Guard 1 843 724 7616
Another good source to report is Leigh Youngner, Georgia DNR 1 912 262 3141 direct line.
Inshore
The winter inshore bite has certainly taken off. Our inshore catches of prime fish continue to be goods one. Spotted sea trout are being caught in great numbers with them being well over the legal size of 13 inches (tail length). Spot Tai bass also known as red fish, channel bass, and stag bass are being caught with a higher numbers being over the size limit. The bass legal slot size is 14 TL to 23 TL. (bag limit of 5 fish per day). So therefore all fish that are over 23 inches must be released. There are a lot of these fish being caught and released. The flounder have also made a good showing this fall season. These fish have to be 12 inches TL to be legal.
Weed less grubs and screw tails
For those of you that like to pitch to or in the grass you all know how easy it is get tangled with the sea shrubs. Here's suggestion: instead of pushing that hook point out of your grub or screw tail simple turn you hook around. Once you turn it around and keep the hook point embedded in the lure it will glide throw the grass. Once you have preformed the art of backwards rigging throwing way up into the grass will be a pleasure and not a fear! As far as I am concerned with backwards rigging you have just increased your chances of hooking up the big one, because that's where they are especially when the full moon rises.
Whiting
Whiting also known as our southern kingfish are on wide-open mode. This is a fish that doesn't require a lot of planning or rigging. All you need a small hooks and bait to fit this fish's needs. Most of the whiting that are being caught are being found in the sound areas. However, I have had some reports of pier, river, and creeks catches. However, if you can get to the sound I suggest it. These fish love the taste of shrimp. The good news is that one shrimp will go a long way when it comes to the whiting bite. They prefer it peeled and will gladly take without hesitation small pieces on the hook. When putting your bait on your hook remember especially in this case, that the closer the meat is to the hook the better your chances are for a solid hook up. When peeling your shrimp don't discard the shells, keep then in a pile. This is going to be your whiting chum especially when the tide slacks. This fish puts up a great fight especially on light tackle. It's a child pleaser no matter what age they happen to be!
Whiting Bait Suggestion
When I can't get dead bait at the old bait/tackle store I go to the grocery store. Most seafood sections have different prices of shrimp. I choose the less expensive and I normally purchase a pound or two. These shrimp are fresh and easy to peel, as you need them. I always keep all of my bait carefully on ice, because in this case what is not bait will surely be used for that afternoon shrimp cocktail! Bon appetite!
OFFSHORE
Artificial Reefs
King Mackerel
For those of you that want to target this fish, it's time. It has been two years since our areas has had a good fall/winter run of king mackerel. Your best bet is to fish the artificial reefs located in 50 to 60 feet of water. We have been fishing the CCA reef and L Buoy artificial reefs. However, I have gotten good catch reports from those reefs located in South Carolina (Betsy Ross and Eagles Nest) and Georgia. The king mackerel run usually last in these areas till about the first week in December. After that the last of the kings can be found till about the second to third week holding at Gray Reef. They are pretty much at all reefs at this time, but will make their push to the south starting the first of December. So therefore you still have time to make your plans to go with us or to break out your own boat.
We are catching snakes and teenagers at this moment. The big kings haven't arrived to these areas as of yet. This big fish run will take place in about two weeks. The first migration of kings are normally made up of the kings that run from 5 to 10 pounds, better known as "snakes." Almost at the same time the "teenagers" arrives. Most all of these fish weights fall into the teen pounds. Most snakes and teenager kings can be caught trolling at 4 to 6 knots while using Drone spoons as bait. In about two weeks the "Smokers" will arrive and they will hit just about anything. However, it's hard to land a 30 to 40 pound king while trolling at 4 to 6 knots especially while pulling a planer. The reason is that when you pull a planer the drag is always semi-tight, because if it isn't with the speed you are pulling will cause your line to continuously advance out. So therefore a semi-tight drag is needed to pull your rig and to keep your line on your reel from feeding out. Now if a big king hits it, which is going to happen and you are not watching it your spoon will be gone. This is due to the fact that your leader can't possibly hold the fast drag of the spoon and the initial hit of the big king. However, if you are watching when the fish hits, loosen the drag, and slow the boat down you could be in luck. It best during this time to be a rod watcher!
In less than two weeks most amberjack and barracuda will have migrated out of these artificial reefs areas. This means for those of you that want to live line it's just about time. I'm not saying you can't do it now. However, we had tried and most of the fish if we get them to the boat have been mangled. My customers aren't too fond of "fish head soup." However it can be tasty, but boiling the head of a fish just doesn't seem like such a good idea. Here's one for you. Most people at this time of the year want their kings fillet rather than cut in to steaks. I have had customers request from the fish cleaners to keep the skeleton part of the fish that the fillets were cut from. According to my customers once you trim the fins off, wash, season, batter, and fry the skeleton of the fish it's the best part. I though about it and they do have a point. There is lots of meat left on the skeleton no matter how you fillet it. I haven't tried it, so therefore I can't disagree or agree with this type of cooking project. However, if you do try it, please let us know how it turns out!
South Carolina Artificial Reefs and North Snapper Banks
I received a fine two-day fishing report from James West this past week. He alone with his crew braved the rough sea conditions and took the plunge. His first day of fishing started with Naval Tower R 7. This is the spot where he loaded up on some badly needed bait. After securing enough of this fare he moved on to the north snapper banks to do a little bottom fishing. According to the report his caught a little of everything from amberjack to red snapper. However, his bottom bite with the red snapper turned out to be a bite more practicing than keeping. Most of the genuine red snapper didn't make the cut of 20 inches plus. However as you all know they are lots of fun to catch. All fish that didn't make the legal size were caught and released properly.
In his second fishing adventure he fished South Carolina's artificial reef "Betsy Ross." This area was loaded up with the fall/winter run of king mackerel. He caught his limit while trolling the ever-popular Clark spoon behind planers. The king bite was steady. Mixed in with king schools was surface feeding false albacore. They managed to catch a few of these fish, which were immediately released unharmed. These fish are fun to catch, because they are such strong runners. Thanks again for the report!
Bottom fishing tricks of the trade at the old snapper banks
After many years of constant fishing certain facts come into play in regards to fish. It is a known fact that fish follow a pattern year after year. In fact I call it the "fish's blueprint." The only way that this information was ascertained was by the keeping of continuous records. After years of what seemed like insignificant moves by fish it all came into play. We now know about where, when, and why fish migrate. My records for this area are "priceless" to me and probably to many others especially if they could read my writing. I have narrowed down many things that fish do during feeding, resting, and migrating. Feeding is one of the most interesting accomplishments of a fish. Not only do they have to find their own next meal, but also catch it. While this is going on with one fish, many others from the very smallest to the largest fish are doing the same exact thing.
In 95 to 110 feet of water there is what I call "Captain Judy's Pecking Order!" I need to set the stage so that you can understand where I am coming from. I fish a lot of isolated spots, which I call "fish cities." This reason that I call them this is because all the different types of fish are living and surviving in one spot. This spot is usually a small type of live bottom area that has rocks, some sort of coral, and vegetation. It's a place that's perfect for a lot of marine life to survive. This area is normally surrounded by not a thing but sand. All types of fish from large to small live here. Here's some of my important information that I have ascertained about this kind of area.
I am always talking about sand perch. This is a fish that red snapper love to eat. They don't get a lot if them because sand perch don't live inside the fish city. Their home is on the outskirts in the sand. Now if you catch one of these fish you are probably are fishing over sand. However, when you do catch one you had best save it, because it is great bait for red snapper and grouper. When a sand perch is pulled up from 95 to 110 feet of water it develops the fish bends. This is where the fish's air bladder gets too full of air and needs to be deflated. If you don't release the air your fine bait will die. Dead bait is of no absolute value when you are targeting a big bottom fish. Here's another tip. As you are drifting over your fish city your first indication that you have left and arrived on the out skirts is the fact that you are catching sand perch. So therefore you should have learned that when you are catch sand perch you are basically fishing over sand.
Here's another piece of information that I have gathered over the years by keeping records. I have noticed this after fishing a particular isolated bottom spot for while. When you start catching white bone porgy it's an indication that the bite is over at least in the particular area that you are fishing. So therefore when I am fishing an area and we catch a white bone porgy I move on to another area. Now here's the rub. If you are just dropping down in an area for the first time, catch a white bone it's up to use to ascertain whether the bite is over or just beginning in this particular area. I always suggest just going fishing and leaving all of these unbelievable calculations to others.
GULF STREAM
Captain Tim Gaylor of Miss Judy Charters and the "Old Cracker" teamed up and took that blue water ride this past week. They started their fishing debut trolling their bait offerings at the South Ledge area. Due to the weather pattern up north of the area large sea swells and waves were present during this fishing trip. However that didn't stop this team from pushing forward to the fishing grounds. They ended with several nice dolphins, few Wahoo, and some real good hard runs. The bite was soft leaving the action good, but the hookup ratio hard to accomplish. However, the trip was a success, because they wanted to go!
For those of you out there that want to make the blue water run catching can always be in your future. The reason being is that if the top water fish don't bite you can always drop to the bottom. Bottom fishing in this area isn't and shouldn't be considered boring. This is due to the fact that any type of fish both top water and bottom fish might take you up on your bait offering. As far as the best bait, the sky is the limit. I have used with success the follow baits on the bottom: unrigged cut horse ballyhoo pieces, the whole ballyhoo, mullet whole or cut, squid, outer cuts of the stomach wall from my landed top water fish, and any type of live bait fish.
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
Wolf Fish and all that implies!
My new friend and northern connection Tom McGee sent me a picture of a wolf fish. Many years ago daddy use to tell me some unbelievable stories about this fish. The wolf fish looked exactly like daddy had described.
My father had shared with me some pretty graphic descriptions of this fish. Since he called it a "wolf fish" I assumed it had to look like a dog or wolf without hair, but having large teeth. According to daddy this fish had a very bad attitude. Back in the old days, before mechanical power was invented, there was rowing; sailing, or drifting with the current for marine movement. My father used to tell me stories about oarsmen's and their troubles in regards to "wolf fish." This fish supposedly would attack the oars and latch on. As you all know it hard enough to row, but with a large fish attached things in the movement department would definitely be slower. So therefore the six-year old mind vision that I had was a simple one. All I could see was large fish with big teeth attacking and holding on to my set of oars. As I rowed by boat I had to wonder when this would happen to me. It never did but the though of it never left me.
Tom has some interesting things to say about the old wolf fish. They are a by-catch fish that are usually caught while targeting cod or haddock. Wolf fish are normally found in 150 to 230 feet of water. They have a fine set of choppers that are very sharp. If this fish isn't handled properly it can deliver a nasty bite. According to Tom if you can get pass the snapping teeth and are able to clean it, the meat of this fish is very good. As of this moment there have been no documented wolf fish attacks in his area. However, as of this date Tom has been put on the alert mode. He has promised to send us complete details of any "wolf fish attacks!" Just to let you know Tom, "we will always be standing by!" Thanks
Here's my line now bite my hook!
Captain Judy
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Judy Helmey (Captjudy)
New member
Username: Captjudy
Post Number: 4
Registered: 6-2004
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 25, 2004 - 6:12 am: | |
Saltwater Fishing Report
October 25, 2004
From the Bank and Pier Report
Bridges and piers are great places to catch fish especially in our area. These places have structure such as pilings and rocks, which supports a great marine growth foundation. Marine growth is just another word for "food" in a fish's world. So look at these places as potential fast food places for fish to catch a quick meal. Most all public docks, bridges, and ocean piers provide a surface that offers both vertical and surface feeders (fish) opportunity to school and feed. I have reports from fishermen who are catching lot of spotted sea trout while fishing these areas with live/fresh dead shrimp and artificial lures. I must add a few technical points in this case. Keep in mind when fishing these areas that tide plays a big part on where the fish are going to be holding and feeding. So therefore when you find the fish in that certain area and they stop biting trying presenting your bait opposite from where you placed it before. When the tide changes the bait, on which the fish were feeding, always heads in a different direction. Bait has a tendency to swim against the current when re-locating. The fish know this routine. This only means when the fish bite slows all you have to do is to change sides. In this case the best news is the fact that you don't have to re-set your anchor! There are many advantages to "just fishing stationary!"
Dock Light fishing
In the past weeks I have written a lot about night fishing around the "old dock light." This is another area that when you get the access that they ought to take advantage of. The fishing is still great when it comes to this event! Just think of the light as the focus point and fish all points from that area. You are going find that there is a "pecking order" to be found in this arena. Mullet love the light. After taking a good look at them you will see why. They have the biggest roundest eyes for their size than most fish. So therefore they focus on the light and hone in on it. However, after a few attempts to swim to the light and they find they are attacked they have a tendency to just hold off while schooling up.
How to catch a mullet using a hook and line!
The primarily feed on just plain algae, but that will not stay on a hook. The meaning according to Webster's dictionary algae is any of numerous groups of eukaryotic one celled or colonial organisms that contain chlorophyll, which usually flourish in aquatic or damp environments. In other words they don't have roots, stems or leaves. So therefore we are talking about pond scum, seaweeds, and many types of plankton. I am glad I got that out of the way. Now you know why these things that mullet eat won't stay on the hook. However, as a small child my father and I caught lots of mullet right off our dock. We would use 6-pound line, add a small split shot, and tie on the smallest thin shank "J" hook that we would find. For bait we would use raw dough, balled up dry bread, marshmallows parts, or small pieces of the white part of raw smoked bacon. We even tried small pieces of lettuce. It was fun fishing off of our dock.
Just a note for all of you frustrated inshore fishermen that don't get to fish all of the time.
When it comes to fishing there are always problems to be had in the "catching department." This only means that you don't catch them all of the time. However, we all do try. Some of us have more experience than others, which means we have had more time to fish. The bottom line is that those of you out there that don't get to fish all of the time I suggest trying to step outside of the box. Those of you out there that get to fish sometimes probably always go to the same spots time after time. This can only mean that a high percentage of the time you probably don't catch a lot of fish or at least what you thought you should. I am suggesting that you move about more especially at this time of the year. Fish and bait are on the move. Think for a moment about the places that you fish now and use that information to think about where you can find a duplicate situation. You can be sure of one thing, "let a spot rest long enough and it will come back alive!
Bait Department Suggestions!
Danny Smith plus crew while fishing his boat "Sea Note" in about 100 feet of water off of Beaufort, South Carolina had an interesting day of fishing. His crew came up with some interesting bait experiments. While bottom fishing and using the normal bait they found themselves in a "Shark catching haven." However they weren't targeting sharks, but instead an entirely different species. They had gone to all of the trouble of catching the right bait for red snapper and grouper. As a fisherman I know that after a plan is made, bait is carefully caught, and the wrong fish bite takes place it can be very aggravating. After lunchtime the group decided to change from live to the plain old dead stuff as bait. The first fish that they caught was a nice 2 to 3 pound blackfish, which did put a smile of everyone's face. Danny's nephew having a little of his sandwich left decided to use it for bait. He took the provolone cheese/salami/ham off his sandwich and put it on his bottom hook. When his bait offering reached the bottom the biggest black fish of the day ate it. This is just about when the bait experimenting started. After ascertaining what else they might have on the boat to try as bait a "Slim Jim" was contributed. They cut the dry greasy sausage into suitable pieces, baited their hooks, and down to the bottom they sent it. As soon as it hit another large black sea bass hit it. As you can see these fishermen were on a serious "bait roll." The next double hook bottom rig dropped had one hook loaded with squid and the other with a piece of Slim Jim. Here's how it went. Out of three drops sporting the same bait proved that the "Slim Jim Ruled!" Thanks for the report!
This report reminds me to remind you of a few things!
"Shark Feeding Frenzies"
Quite often while we are bottom fishing us charter boat captains find ourselves in this dilemma. Sharks are fun to catch. However, after a few keepers and near misses from their genuine bite ethic enough is enough. Sharks go into the feeding frenzy stage when they have something to feed on. Many things could prompt this occurrence. The number one reason is if the fish on the ledge have been in some sort of feeding frenzy. Lots of fish movement along with noises that fish makes when they are feeding attracts sharks. They have a keen sense "period." Blood in the water, which can be attributed due to the fact that you are throwing over your fish carcass's from your bait board. This trail alone will get them going. We don't throw anything overboard when we are cutting bait. We have a bucket that we throw all discarded bait parts in. We discard part when we are moving down current of the ledge.
South Carolina Artificial Reefs
Chris, while fishing a king mackerel tournament, covered some ground. The good news is that while doing so he shared the information with us. According to the report, Betsy Ross held lots of barracuda, which gladly took him up on any bait offering that he was offering. He was using all types of bait from top water to deep action. He was looking for a king bite, but instead found the "toothy monsters" jumping on everything that he put out. He then moved the artificial reef "Eagles Nest," which also proved to be slow. However, when he reached this area, the tide was slack. We as fishermen always say, "a king fish loves that tide moving!" Chris was aware of that, but he had to try it anyway. After pulling and searching he decided to do what all fishermen do when "their backs are up against a wall!" He went where he knew there wasn't any fish, which is usually the most likely place. The Hilton head Reef, which is also referred to as the "Tire Drop." He put out his bait offering of trolled mid-column rigged "Ribbon fish" and went for it. A lonely king fish, which turned into a third place contender hit the bait. I take my hat off to this fisherman. He did what it took to find the fish, which was to move around without getting discouraged. As you follow this story you find that he had to move over three different artificial reefs to find his targeted species of king mackerel. Rule of thumb when fishing an area that his lots of live bottom or in this case artificial reefs "you have to stay on the move, because the fish sure do!" Thanks for the report! Please keep them coming!
Georgia's Artificial Reefs
Ed Field and crew (Sam Durham) while fishing his boat, "White Knight," had a "fish catching kind of a day!" He fished the artificial reef "L," which is located about 18 miles off of the coast. Captain Ed found lots of snakes kings holding over the higher structure. He method was best one and my most favorites. The pulling of the old drone spoon, which has been a old proven lure for many years. According to the report king mackerel wasn't the only fish interested in this lure. In fact an 8-foot shark hit one of his spoons, which ensued a fun fight that lasted about 30 minutes. Just goes to show you that an artificial lure at an artificial reef really does work! Thanks for the report.
King Mackerel
Find your bait in the tackle box not the freezer! This year's winter king mackerel run could turn out to be the best that we have seen in years. According to the reports that I have been getting artificial reefs located in both South Carolina and Georgia have been "Hotspots" for this fish. The good news is that the fall/winter migration mackerel run usually lasts until about the first week in December. For those of you that want to use light tackle or slow/fast troll now is the time to sharpen your hooks. My most favorite style of fishing for king mackerel is a simple one. It's not considered light tackle, because it's too fast. Here's how I do it. I am pulling a wire line on the starboard and a monofilament on the port. The starboard wire is my long line. The port is short and is what we considered closest to the boat. I am pulling a #3 Sea Striker planer with lure from both rods. My planer has a swivel attached, 30 foot of 80-pound test leader, another swivel attached, and then a 31/2-inch Drone spoon. I prefer plain silver or black and green combination spoons. However, I have gotten several reports of blue/silver combination also being a hot lure. The bottom line to selecting a color is to pick one that has worked for you in the past. It is my belief that boats and their noises that they make demand a certain color combination. In my case "blue" isn't in my combination code. Many captains in my company have proven without a doubt that the blue spoon does work. It's just not my boat's color, but I always keep one on board just in case.
The artificial reefs that normally hold the kings at this time of the year are usually in less than 70 feet but more than 40 feet of water. You are going to have to ascertain by trial and error how much line to let out. Too much line can trip the planer when it hits the ocean floor. Please keep in mind that while trolling these areas that you have high structure to deal with. Keep that in mind when you plan on trolling close to the ocean floor. Tangling with one of these can cost you an entire rig outfit! My boat speed around 5 to 6 knots. This is fast, but necessary in my situation. Once we hook up I only slow the boat down to idle speed forward. Whatever you do when using a planer don't take the boat out of gear. You increase your chances for loosing your fish. King mackerel normally hit your trolled spoon at a great speed ripping quite a hole in the hook-set area. Any amount of slack in the line can result in releasing your already hooked fish. So therefore keep your boat moving at all times.
The good news about using an eighty-pound test leader is the fact that you can just drag your fish in over the gunwale and throw it directly into the cooler. For those bigger fish that need gaffing it takes three fishermen. It takes one to hold the rod, one to pull in the leader, and one to gaff the fish. Have a plan and stick to it or someone might get hurt. Always have the rod angler hold the rod to the side over the water. If the fish decides to make a run the leader man is going to have to let go. If you rod isn't placed properly the planner could hit the leader man on the head or even worst hit them behind the ear. I don't think I need to explain what this could mean! (Ear-less in Georgia)
A king mackerel's make-up
Things you need know about this fish. King mackerel have to swim all of the time. So therefore their first couple of runs especially when using light tackle are going to be strong ones. Once you get the fish under control and headed your way, the fish will get tired quickly. They normally start swimming in a circular motion, which is also know as the "death roll." At this time don't try to horse (pump, pull erratically) your fish. The speed at which your king hit has probably caused the hooks to rip a big hole. This means that any slack what so ever will allow your not so embedded hooks free. So therefore as long as you keep the line tight and steady coming you should be able to land your fish.
Genuine Red Snapper
I have to say, "that this is the most fish requested" in the bottom fishing department. They are strong pullers, good to eat, and you don't catch them everyday. I have to admit that since we have started back fishing the action for this fish has been great. As all fishermen know during hurricane season we had about a month of "no fishing" especially at the Savannah Snapper Banks.
The red snapper have definitely started their winter migration. In the fall/winter large schools of all sizes migrate closer to shore. This includes all sizes from small to large. A small red snapper, which is less than 12 inches long, is called a "peanut." Red snapper that range from 13 to 19 3/4 inches are called "juveniles." The ones that are 20 to 25 inches are called "legal." According to federal rules and regulations red snapper have to be 20" plus to keep. They carry a legal bag limit of 2 (two) per day. Any red snapper larger are called "sows." I am always looking for this fish. It's my favorite!
You are just as likely to catch a red snapper in 120 feet as you are in 30 feet of water especially at this time of the year. Snapper that you find in the shallow water areas or in areas that you normally don't find them will be easy to catch. They are migrating and hungry. The bad news is that they could be there today and gone tomorrow. However, keep records of where you find them and when, because they should arrive at about the same time in early spring. (I consider the fall push as being the strongest.) As the fish move some will find that they like a certain area and make it their new home. This happens all along the migration trail. These fish then become what is known as "residents!"
Gulf Stream
The time has come, but the rough ocean hasn't let up. According to numerous good reports the "South Ledge" is the spot. Wahoo in a range of sizes where caught while trolling and live lining this area last week. To add to the mix black fin tuna are also sharing the same area. It rough, but it's time! Find yourself a big boat and take that ride.
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
GNATS
Here's one of these suggestions that I don't suggest using. However, I had to share it with you. Long before bug spray of any type there was the "old smudge pot method." My father used this method to ward off gnats quite bit in the old days. He would take a metal bucket, lined it with a brown paper bag, throw in some damp marsh grass, set it on fire, and boy did it smoke a lot. This day and time this task would definitely not be a safe thing to do so for several reasons. Most of our buckets are made of plastic and we aren't fishing from a wooden rowboat. Our metal bucket just floated around in the water that was in the bottom of the rowboat. This would keep the smoke flowing un-consistently and keep the bottom of the bucket cool, which means no fires elsewhere along with absolutely no gnats!
Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!
Captain Judy
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Judy Helmey (Captjudy)
New member
Username: Captjudy
Post Number: 3
Registered: 6-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 18, 2004 - 5:37 am: | |
The inshore bite continues to soar. I have had many reports and seen lots of fish on my own dock this past week. Here are a few suggestions on getting your self a fine rod bender.
Flounder
These fish are known for hanging and waiting for any type of food to get their attention. For bait, you could use anything from mud minnows to an artificial jig and screw tail to get the job done. These fish usually move up to the bank as the tide is rising and situated themselves so that they can get close to those other small bait fish that are also doing the same thing. There is always a push on the incoming tide to get to that oyster bed. Your fishing field can be all around this area from close to shore to offshore of where you are actually anchored.
Trout
This fish is a natural born killer as you can see once you take a look at their mouth design. They don't carry this set of teeth to chew gum. They have front teeth like a dog so therefore that bite like one.
This fish has to kill and turn the bait around in its small mouth before it can eat it. Therefore a trout will take longer to get the bait situated. On most occasions this fish is a sight feeder. So I say, "give them something good to look at!"
Red Fish
This fish is basically a bottom feeder. They root around looking for what suits them best. They certainly don't fear or could care less about shallow water. They are forever finding it and feeding allowing their tails to be waving in the wind. (Called "Tailing Reds") They move in close to shore as the tide rises looking for something to eat. They prefer anything type of bait from fresh dead or old dead. This fish puts a lot of stock in smells and then eats them. Once the tide reached the grass red fish just move right in with it. They gladly feed off of the marine life that attaches itself to the grass. Shallow draft boats work great during this time. Not only do these boat allow you to get to see them, but also a chance to catch them.
These tips that I have suggested are just a few of the many that will successfully help you to target each particular fish. All three fish that I have mentioned could be caught in the same area. Along with this fish come a lot of others that I didn't mention such as the "fetish fish." These fish are known as the "Professional Bait Steelers". They have a small mouth, don't take the entire bait, but basically destroy it so that no other fish will want it. They take the legs first and if you leave it long enough will pick at the rest until it is gone. So I suggest taking lots of bait. Here' a suggestion. Don't throw those leg-less shrimp overboard I would keep them. The body of a shrimp can be great bottom bait for whiting especially at this time of the year. If you happen to catch a "fetish fish" they also make great cut bait.
Back in the Old Days, the old gnat killer!
Here's one of these suggestions that I don't suggest using. However, I had to share it with you. Long before bug spray of any type there was the "old smudge pot method." My father used this method to ward off gnats quite a bit in the old days. He would take a metal bucket, lined it with a brown paper bag, put in some damp marsh grass, set it on fire, and boy did it smoke a lot. This day and time this task would definitely not be a safe thing to so for several reasons. Most of our buckets are made of plastic and we aren't fishing from a wooden rowboat. Our metal bucket just floated around in the water that was in the boat. This would keep the smoke flowing un-consistently and keep the bottom of the bucket cool, which means no fires elsewhere and absolutely no gnats!
Twenty-Mile Run Pay Off!
The team of Frank Cullum Jr. Frank Cullum III, and Charlie Kilpatrick won the last Yacht Club inshore fishing tournament. While most boats headed north to the Savannah River in search of fat trout the duo had other ideas and followed through with them. They ran to their personal fishing area, which is about 30 miles to the south. As you all know the northeast winds pounded us on this particular weekend, but their secret south spot kept the fishermen out of the wind. They had a great catch of trout and spot tail bass. Their catch won them 3 categories and also the Calcutta. Now you know what you get when you put three great fishermen together in one boat, "A Winning Team!"
Captain Frank also reported that he had a flounder, flounder, flounder sort of week. While fishing the Burnside River he had a bonus week while using artificial stuff. His favorite bait or should I say, "the flounder's choice of the day," was a salt and pepper Salt Water Assassin pulled on to a standard 3/8 jig head. According to the report all his had to do was to drop to the bottom and "drag it slowly" on the bottom. He had most of his action while doing the dragging thing on a mud and sand mixture type of bottom. The flounder that he caught fell into the "door mat size" category.
More Fishing under the lights
Captain Frank took to night fishing when there was no more sunlight to be had. He caught while using the deadly Yo-zuri Pin's Minnow lure some nice trout. Capt Frank wanted good fishing so he used his ultra light tackle, which was loaded with 6-pound test line. The trout pounded this lure. It was an active night around the old dock light. This just goes to prove you that most fish are just "spot light hams!" Thanks for all of the great fishing reports!
There are two types of Yo-zuri lures that I have tried. They both work great depending on your fishing desires. They fall into the Pin's Minnow series. I suggest the sinking and suspending styles. I have been using them on ultra light tackle with 6 to 10 pound test line. They are easy to cast and not only work at daytime hours, but also under the dock light situation. The good news in this department is "NO BAIT NEEDED!"
OFFSHORE
Artificial Reefs
Fall is now officially in the works. I have seen the migration of the cow nose rays as they were passing our area. This is truly a for sure sign of the fall/winter design! We try to hold on to the summer months as long as we can. However, no matter what dance we do the cooler temperatures arrive. Cooler air causes the water temperatures to drop, which then puts into play our "pre-migration period." This means that fishing will be good, but not real stable. Let me explain. With everything moving from the bait to bigger fish locating is going to be a big part of you fishing day. I will give you one thing to look forward to. Once finding the fish they generally are hungry, which means they are going to eat almost anything that you might have. So therefore your bait line could be anything from fresh dead parts to frozen squid. I have been using just plain old cut frozen squid. It has been working and the bottom fish love it. We have been catching large black sea bass, triggerfish, Atlantic flounder, ocean perch, and scup while fishing the artificial reefs. Most of these fish will eat about anything at this time of the year. It's not what you use as bait as much is how you put it on the hook. Black sea bass are gulpers, which means the take the bait hard and then swallow. Triggerfish, ocean perch, and scup are what I call "the jabbers," because they pick and tare at the bait. They also use the "double-teaming method" a lot. These three fish feed in the upper water column and do it together. While one fish is picking the others are pulling at the bait. Once the bait is shredded the fun starts all fish attack together. This begins once your bait starts to make its drop to the bottom. When this happens there is no way for you to know that you have lost your bait, because it takes so place fast. I suggest that when the picking stops that it's time to bring in your line, because if you had any bait left you would definitely know it. Here are a few secrets of the trade when confronted by "the jabbers." Your bottom rig needs to be made using small hooks. I am using about 40 to 50 pound test for my leader and 1/0 "J" style hooks. Always make sure that your hooks are real sharp. These fish have tuff skin especially around their mouth area. As far as our bait we cut it up small. This goes for all types of bait no matter whether you are using cut fish or squid. By using small bait the initial hit will be close to the hook giving you a better shot at getting a solid setting.
I would like to set the record on triggerfish's table fare. It is very good fried, grilled, and pan seared. It's very easy to fillet, but there is secret to this job. Always wash you fish first then lay on side. Take a knife with a real sharp point and cut through the skin all the way around the perimeter side of the fish. This outlined area is the surface size of your soon to be fillet. Once you have done that simply grab a corner and pull the skin off. You don't need pliers to grab the skin it's not slimy. In fact you can take the skin, hang it in so that it can air dry, and it will make the best sand paper that you have ever used. This is how, back in the old days, they sanded the decks of ships. All they had to do was to wrap the dried skin on a block of wood and start sanding. So therefore a triggerfish can and did have many purposes in a fishermen's life. They put up a great fight on light tackle. They are great to eat and their skin can be used to do some great "small honey do's" around the house. Just think about the conversation piece that you will be building!
Artificial Reefs in 50 to 60 feet of water
The good news in this department is that the fall/winter kings have started to show up in these areas. A few kings were caught this past weekend while trolling Rapala lures. For those of you fishermen out there that don't have any Rapala's on hand I suggest pulling the basic 31/2-inch Drone spoon. It's the old stand by lure that works almost every time when pulled at around 5 to 6 knots. I will fill you in on several more of our fishing techniques in next week's fishing report. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on the kings! It's time to go "Silver Streaking!"
Savannah Snapper Banks
This is the area to visit especially when you want to catch a lot of fish. This isn't a labor-intensive area to fish especially at this time of the year. All you need to do is to pull your boat up over some live bottom, drop in some baited hooks, and you should be in the "pulling business!" (I am using Gamakatsu "Octopus" 4/0 red hooks on my bottom rigs, which are made of 80 pound test monofilament line) In fact during this time I have found some of my best future fishing sights. The bottom fishing is great and you are just as liable to catch a big bottom fish mixed in with the small ones. Just about everything is migrating, which means what you find today at a spot might not be there tomorrow. This is not a bad thing, because as you drift your selected area the fish are more apt to follow your bait. Most of the fish at this time of the year are movers. Once they find a spot to refuel and rest a bit they tend to move on afterwards to their intended migration areas. Once again I canned stress enough the importance of a logbook. For instance, if you had made notes of what you caught where last year at this time you would certainly nowhere to start your fishing day. I have got about 30 years plus of records in which to determine the best location to fish. My job is done! However, I am still keeping records on a daily basis.
While drift fishing I suggest putting these extra lines out in addition to your bottom rigs. You will need to hold and work your bottom rigs, but these two lines I suggest work just fine in the rod holder. I would put out a top line sometimes referred to a "flat line or king mackerel line." However, you aren't just targeting king mackerel. There are lots of other top water fish that are displaced at this time of the year. We have caught yellow/black fin tuna, dolphin, and Wahoo by simply putting out an extra line. I am using 20 to 30 pound test line on a king mackerel light tackle type rig. This rig can be anything from a King Buster skirt rigged with a live fish to dead bait to just naked bait. I prefer a cigar minnow or ballyhoo (dead bait) for this particular rig. This is due to the fact that when I decide to move back up to the live bottom area I don't have to pull it in. I can slow or fast troll it back to the spot, which offers up yet another chance to get a hook up. I usually drift this bait at about 30 to 50 feet away from the boat. When pulling back to spot I let out another 50 feet so that the bait will troll sufficiently behind the boat. Always remember to set your clicker on (noise maker switch on the reel that makes that sound that all fishermen love to hear when a fish gets on!), because if you don't you might get a hit and not realize it. My second line that I put out is the live bait big bottom fish rig. I am using an 8-ounce trolling weight or egg sinker, 25 to 30 feet of eighty-pound test leader (monofilament line) and a big eye Gamakatsu 9/0 circle hook. On this rig I am using a few different types of bait. My most favorites are a live sand perch or rock bass. These baits are known bottom feeders and are usually prefer by big bottom fish. The best size to use is around 6 inches long. Give or take an inch or two. Just remember the size of fish you are dealing with and pick your bait accordingly. (Big fish such as red snapper and grouper) I drop this rig and bait offering to the bottom. I then reel up about 10 to 15 feet and put reel in rod holder set with a medium drag setting. While using this rig set up you don't set the hook. I don't move the line or adjust anything until I am going to move. Just watch the tip of you rod. If you get a hit, try not to pick up the rod even though I know you want to. Let the fish take the bait at its own pace. When the rod bends over double and the drag sings, it's time to grab the rod, and scream, "FISH ON!"
Don't forget your dip net!
I don't normally gaff my big bottom fish. We just dip them up in a big dip net. It's simple and easy to do. You can use a gaff, but a lot of errors can take place in doing so. Red snapper have an armor of big scales covering their entire body. It's easy for one of these big scales to get right on tip point of your gaff, which doesn't make it easy to gaff your fish. In fact it's almost impossible to do so with the scale covering the point of your gaff. The fish's weight doesn't normally allow you to forcefully penetrate the armor of scales. The grouper doesn't have scales. However the skin that covers them is very tough. If you don't hit them just right with the gaff you just might knock them off the hook. Here's another problem when it comes to gaffing as opposed to just dipping your fish up. When a large bottom fish is pulled to the surface they more than likely will develop the bends. The bends when it comes to a fish is where the air bladder expands with extra air, which basically bloats the fish. The fish is still alive but it can't swim back down to the bottom unless the air bladder is released of the extra air that it's holding. Now if you miss gaff, puncher the fish while knocking it off the hook you are going to be watching that 30 pound red snapper or grouper making it way back to the bottom. Therefore I highly suggest buying your self a net! And now you know the rest of the story and why!
GULF STREAM
I don't really have any actual reports, because as you all know the winds have been prevailing and strong. This keeps most all fishermen whether they have small or large blue water boats tied to the dock. However, I think that our time might have come for some good blue water fishing. Even though it's a little late in the season there is still time to get what left and coming for the fall/winter run. Before the last blow there were reports of black fin tuna being spotted schooling in around 100 feet of water. When the western edge of the stream develops back strong with a temperature drop, good fishing can be had. I normally get some good reports from both the north and south of our area, but the weather has stopped all of that. I do feel that if we get a couple of good days fishermen will make that run. When you do know matter what happens please let me know.
My Name is Captain Judy and I approve this fishing report! Good Fishing!
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
"Pearling Expedition"
My father was an avid hunter. He loved to hunt and fish. I went with him everywhere on his adventures. One of his favorite things to do was to go to his so-called private oyster beds, pick out a few, and eat them right on the spot. Heck, I even joined in on this one. As a child and adult I have always loved raw oysters. When daddy and I would go on an oyster hunt it was always a lot of fun. I loved playing in the mud and also I didn't mind too much picking up the oysters. My father's secret place was located in Bull River. It was a great spot for picking oysters. According to my father it was perfect, because even at the lowest tide stage his oyster beds were still right under the water. My father always maintained that oysters that spent too much time out of the water during a tide change tasted differently. As a child I was always looking for that white pearl. As I got older and smarter I realized that daddy was only telling me that because it put a twist on the collecting. In other words, it made me happy to help as long as a pearl might be had. As you all know our oysters don't usually produce pearls. At the time I wasn't privy to that information. So therefore it was just an oyster hunt to daddy. However for me it was what I considered a "pearling expedition."
We had to use proper footwear for the occasion. My father had the big black thick rubber boats of which he had cut off of his retired duck waders. Back in the old days I don't think rubber boots even came in children sizes. So therefore I wore daddy's old pair. They were big but we found out that if I wore my shoe inside of his boots it wasn't too bad. We pulled the old wooden rowboat behind our big boat. As we gathered the oysters we dumped them into the rowboat. When we were tired the oyster hunt came to an end and we went home. Now that I think about it no matter what we were doing when daddy was tried we stopped and moved on.
Upon arriving home it was time to cook the oysters. We had to wash them. Believe me there were no power washers at this day and time. So we sprayed them with water and then brush them to get them clean. It definitely took longer to clean than it did to cook them. According to my father there were types of cooked oysters. There were the "warmers, semi steamed, and the open ones."
The first two had lots of juice, which is referred to "oyster liquor." His favorite thing to do was to loosen the so-called oyster's anchor, which was attached to the inside shell, lift the shell up, and pour it in the old mouth. Occasionally you might see him add a few drops of hot sauce. There was only juice available in the first two stages of cooking. I like them cooked in all stages, but the last was my favorite. I didn't have to bother with trying to get them open. They were already popped open, easy to get unanchored, ready for dipping in cocktail sauce, and fit prefect on top of a saltine cracker. I'm sorry that I can't finish this story, because I'm leaving to go get me some oysters!
Captain Judy
"Old Fish Physic!"
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Judy Helmey (Captjudy)
New member
Username: Captjudy
Post Number: 2
Registered: 6-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 6:30 am: | |
INSHORE
Striped Bass, Rock Fish
The fall bite has started off with a little flare. Some of our inshore boats caught some nice 5 to 7 pound striped bass this past week while fishing the Savannah River. The bait of choice was live shrimp and finger mullet while using the traditional float rig. All striped bass were caught and released. There is a NO-TAKE regulation for striped bass and hybrid white striped bass for the Savannah River, which means catch and release only.
Once you find the holding pattern for striped bass also known as rockfish, you can make the bite real interesting. Float fishing for them with live bait is one way to get this fish's attention. However for those of you that want to pitch your artificial lures this is one fish that loves to chase it intended meal. Upon finding the fish change up and go to just artificial. I like to use a lure that I can readily be placed pitched, such as buck tail jig pattern. I also like a surface pulled lure that when cranked just skims the surface. Striped bass love fast moving water, bait that moves, and the attack mode!
Red fish, Spot tail Bass, Channel Bass, and Stag Bass
No matter what you choose to call them this is one fish that gives you a great fight on light tackle. We found ourselves in a "Spot Tail Bass" feeding frenzy this past week. While trolling through the hundreds of surface feeding jack crevalle the bass started hitting our lures. After a few moments it was ascertained that large schools of hungry bass were feeding under the jacks. It was a sight that I won't forget for a while. I was offshore between the KC Buoy and the Warsaw Sea Buoy when we found the large schools of fish, which contemplates to about 71/2 miles off the barrier island. Both types of fish were schooling near the two rips that most always form that run a north to south pattern. We usually cross these rips on our way to the KC artificial reef buoy. My definition of a rip comes in two parts. It's where two different currents meet. This area can also hold a different temperature break on each side of the rip, which makes for an interesting gathering of bait and fish. They are very noticeable; because when these current meet it forms a line. This line can hold all types of floating objects such as seaweed, discarded things or should I say "trash," and the best part "fish." The currents in the rips this past week was strong. When a strong set of current meets "sea foam" (at least this is what I call it) is formed on the surface. Looks like shaving cream or whipped cream, which really helps you to located the rip. The foam normally hangs right in the rip indicating the rip boundaries. In fact it forms a line, which is great. When trolling I usually pick a side to troll down. It all right to cross over the rip, but I would choose a side and stick with it. The water quality could be clearer on one side than it is on the other. Different fish like to hide and hold in certain shades of the water. It's kind of hit and miss until you ascertain the blue print of the rip that you are fishing. Normally where you see birds feeding or hovering you have some sort of fish holding below.
Where there is fish there is fish.
Their pattern of feeding was very noticeable not only because it was calm, but also because the birds were having a field day with the leftovers. The rule off thumb on this fish day was when you saw bird diving in the distance you probably had jacks and bass feeding. As the morning went on we must have caught at least 12 of each fish while trolling the basic drone spoon. I tried spoons and planers at first, but they only wanted bait that was flipping on the top. I also pulled a Cajun Thunder with a large Clarke Spoon in tow. This bait attracted quite few fish. The fish not only like the lure, but also the cork part of the popper.
Back to the birds
When I saw birds diving I was confident that fish were under them feeding. However, I started watching the birds that were just hovering above. I found that these birds were basically watching, but not feeding. However, once arriving to the spot in question I found many fish below. Who knows maybe the bird were full and in a holding pattern.
Something else I learned
I found large schools of spot tail bass holding in the rips. They didn't seem to be feeding just holding. As soon as I dropped a few buck tail type lures to them the feeding frenzy started. We hooked up two fish as soon as the lure hit the depth that the school was holding. I watched the fish finder and found that the entire school seemed to be staying with the hooked fish. When the hooked fish were brought the boat the others followed right to the surface. Not only were these fish curious, but also very hungry. We fed them about 5 pounds of finger mullet. All fish were caught and released unharmed. This is my new type of fishing it called "Fishing for Memories!"
"Night Fishing at the Old Dock!"
Jay Ohsiek pulled himself up a dock and had a an extraordinary night of "Night Fishing!" According to the report Jay and fishing buddy had a great fishing experience while using 6-pound test line. Their fishing night started at 8:00 PM instead of 8:00 AM, which according to Jay is a first for him. While using artificial screw tails with the old standby "metal flakes" the action was "HOT!" This is my favorite lure especially at the light. I think the added reflection that the flakes takes on from the dock light makes the lure more "Snappy" to the fish, which means "harder direct hits!" (Been there, done that) During the course of the evening/night they caught 15 keeper trout, and released a dozen healthy 11 to 12 inch ones. Not only did they have a bonus bite from the trout, but also a red fish in the 20 to 25 inch range took Jay up on his artificial bait offering. All was good at the dock in the bite, catch, and release mode. I think they did a great job when you consider that they didn't use a boat, bait, or daylight. Back to basics!
Things that go bump in the night around the old light!
While at the dock fishing Jay brought up some interesting points. He could hear all types of fish noises from them jumping to surface popping. All this with the absent noises of boats, planes, and trains. When I am on the dock fishing at night the light is the focus point. It's like watching a well-run show with all of the actors wearing skins and scales! I have one more thing to add to the show, which must go on and that is "night vision glasses!" You haven't lived till you try a set of these babies while engaging in this almost forgotten fishing method. One look around the dark perimeter of the dock light will allow you to see "the rest of the story or should I say the rest of the tails!
King Fish, Blue Fish, Trout
Good Old Beachfront Fishing
It has been brought to my attention once again by Emanuel Lombard that you really don't need a boat to catch fish. Emanuel's favorite fishing spot is the beachfront areas. According to the report he had a great time doing a little floating and bottom fishing. The average cast most fishermen make is about 50 feet. This is a good distance and it doesn't take so much thrust that you lose your bait in mid air. That's just about where Emanuel caught most of his fish. He used the traditional float rig method while using live shrimp as bait, because he likes to see the "sinking of the Cork!" Heck, we all do! He set his float so that his bait drifted about about1 to 2 feet off of the bottom. Emanuel also fished directly on the bottom at about the same distance off the beach. For bait he used live shrimp, fresh dead shrimp, and "fish bites." The bite was very good starting at low tide and lasted until too much water started covering the beach. He caught blue fish, trout, and whiting, also known as southern kingfish. The whiting were on the large side.
Fish Bites
He has been experimenting with a new style of bait. According to Emanuel once the bites are wet they re-constitute themselves back to what they were before they were conveniently compressed and dried. At any rate "Fish Bites become great fish food and attracters." (Emanuel works in the tackle department at River Services of Thunderbolt; Georgia 912 354 7777). They are carrying this new line of bait that doesn't require any type of refrigeration. Give him a call or drop in!
7 Point Buck
This is not a hunting report. However, I do have some interesting information to share with you in regards to a very large buck. Captain Ken Kennickell of Miss Judy Charters, while on his way to pick up some customers at River Street had quite a find. Let me back up a bit to give you a little background on Captain Ken. He is known for finding some of the most unbelievable stuff floating in the creeks, rivers, and ocean. Some of his finds included the follow items: cooler full of tackle, jet ski, 24 foot sea cat, wheel barrow, 5 gallon gas can full of gas, buoy's of all types and sizes, assorted size boards from large planks to the small stuff, balls, and personal floats. I could go on but I really don't have enough room. I think you get the point, "his eyes are always open and looking for a find!" He came upon this floating deer, which was dead, but not decomposing as of yet. The deer had an unbelievable rack. He didn't have a saw on board, which isn't unusual for us, charter boat captains. So he decided to tie the deer carcass to a marker. Captain Ken then proceeded on his way to pick up his customers. He called the office and had Deidra bring him a saw to River Street. On his way home he pulled the deer in, cut off the rack, took it home, and is going to mount it. Now this is one rack that will hold more than just an ordinary tale!
A shark or two!
While coming in from fishing in Warsaw Sound this past week Chris reported that he saw what appeared to be two large sharks surface feeding on what looked like a turtle. Many years ago this would have been one of those reports that I wouldn't have believed or should I say, wouldn't want to believe!" However, I have seen this take place on many occasions, but still find it shocking. While I was fishing at one of artificial reefs I witnessed a large tiger shark stalk and tire-out a large loggerhead turtle. We all watched as the shark repeatedly pushed the turtle to the surface as it tried to bite the lower half off. I had seen the turtle earlier that fishing day and noticed all of the scratches on the back of its shell. At that point I had no idea what so ever that it was a tiger shark's intended meal. Over the years I have seen sharks chasing and eating everything from birds to other smaller sharks. It still amazes me about the birds. As you know they should just fly off when the shark surfaces and goes into the stalking mode. However, they just move over a bit and then it happens, "lots of floating feathers with no bird attached!" All I can say at this point is "this is nature at it finest!"
OFFSHORE
Yellow butterflies
The yellow butterflies are here! As you all know, if you have been reading my fishing reports that they arrived about a month ago. For those readers that might be scratching their heads on this one I will explain. The yellow butterflies and fall/winter run of the king mackerel normally make the same migration at the same time. However, I must admit one thing for sure. The butterflies must not communicate with the kings, because they have arrived and the kings haven't. I'm sure that all of this is due to the fact that the weather and bait has been so unusual.. We have had plenty of weather and absolutely not much bait. I am looking to the bright side of this entire mess. The kings will arrive late making the season last longer. Don't laugh! I can dream can't I?
Savannah Snapper Banks
95 to 115 feet of water
I don't have enough room to tell you about this past weekend. The bottom fish bite is the best I have seen in a while! We caught large vermilion, triggerfish, porgy, amberjack, red snapper, and grouper. In the bait department there isn't much to tell, because we didn't find many of air bladder-less baitfish. These bait are free to move up and down in the water column with decompressing themselves. Spanish sardines, Atlantic mackerel, Jack mackerel, big eye shad, cigar minnows, bar jacks, and horse-eye jacks don't have an air bladder. We caught a few greenies and thread herring at the artificial reefs. However, take it from me, we can't find many fish that are very interested in a live thread herring. However, they did work a little better as cut bait. As far as those baits with air bladders such as sand perch and rock bass they are work great for the larger bottom fish. We have been using them live on a single circle hook with long leaders.
Cut Fish Bait
We also used quite a bit of cut fish or fillet fish. Don't consider this a second rate type bait, because it isn't. Bottom fish are known to be very picky eaters. So therefore your bait board should have a little of everything that you can offer. When it comes to fillet fish there are all kinds to choose from Here's how we classified them. Fish such as black sea bass are what we consider a dark fish. Once fillet the meat is white and the scaled side is dark. The ocean perch and tomtate better known as ruby red lips or fire mouth also make great cut bait. Once filleting this fish you are going to find that the meat isn't as thick as the sea bass. However, the outer skin is much lighter making this yet another different source of good bottom bait. After filleting all fish we cut in two by two inch and one by one inch squares. We also have this cutting method of stripping the bait, which boils down to making long pieces. We then place the hook at one end leaving the other to flow in the current getting all types of fish's attention. Last but definitely not least is the vermilion snapper. This is great cut bait no matter how you shape it. On some occasions bottom fish only prefer this type/color. So therefore have you bait board prepared. We always keep a wet cloth over our cutting board. This keeps the bait from drying out.
Always keep the carcasses from your cut fish in a bucket. Discarding them at the wrong time can cause a shark feeding frenzy. However, if you want a frenzy of this nature just keep tossing out what you are cleaning and believe me with big teeth is going to find the food source, which is the boat.
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
"Cool Toes"
My father had a lot of home remedies. These remedies would only work if you use them continuously. So therefore according to daddy it was always a work in progress. If you have been following my stories you already know that the consumption of cider vinegar supposedly will keep the red bugs away. Drinking a cider mixture will also help prevent on coming leg cramps. My father's cider mixture was simple, two parts vinegar and one part water. Just drink it straight I don't suggest putting it over ice. The concoction over ice tasted terrible. Believe me, unfortunately I tried it. You can also rub watered down vinegar on your sunburn and the sting seems to just go away. However, you now smell like a human pickle, but the bottom line is that you do feel better.
You could always find a big bottle of mineral oil at daddy's house. He drank it on a regular basis. He said that it oiled and kept his pipes clean. I never tried this. The thought of drinking straight oil such as this made be very sick. So therefore I will leave out approximate amount to consume. He used quite a bit of WD 40 for not only his reel parts but also his joints. According to daddy a couple of sprays a day kept his joints moving freely. Not only that but it help eliminate all those noisy popping sounds that his joints made. The reason being according to daddy was because of the penetrating oils. Heck, I looked on the can for the list of contents and it did indeed indicate that WD 40 contains this type of oil.
He put Colgate toothpaste in his shoes, because it kept his toes cools. My father ran a charter boat until the age of eighty. So therefore you can't ague with any of this aforementioned captain doctoring. However, if laughter is the best medicine then I'm sure that you are already well!
"Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!"
Captain Judy
"Old Fish Reader!"
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Judy Helmey (Captjudy)
New member
Username: Captjudy
Post Number: 1
Registered: 6-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - 5:48 am: | |
August 2, 2004
Saltwater Fishing Report!
Inshore
Bait Options
The good news about this time of the year is that you can purchase or catch your own bait. For those that have the time I suggest catching your own. For those that prefer to use mud minnows there's the old minnow trap. All you have to do is to bait your trap with canned cat food, raw chicken, hotdogs, or anything that you think will lure these small fish in to the trap. Now for those of you that prefer other baits such as finger mullet and shrimp you had best get out the old cast net. The good news about this catching method is that you might net enough shrimp to make yourself a nice shrimp cocktail. Not only shrimp but also there are chances of catching finger mullet, which also is great live bait for this time of the year. When casting any by-catch other than shrimp and finger mullet becomes a potential bait. This secret to all of the catching is that you must keep it alive; because basically that is about the only way it's going to work.
Rigging up for your bait options
All baits mentioned above can be presented in many ways. For instance, for those that want to just want to hook their bait up naked then this is your best start. I have gone as far as just tying on the hook and just putting on the live bait. There is an upside and a downside to this style of fishing. The upside is that you most likely will get a hit, because it appears to be a free swimming bait fish that is easily targeted by a hungry fish. However, the downside is that without some sort of a leader the line may or may not hold up to the tension and the teeth of the fish, but this is a sure way to get hooked up. Live bait also works when weighted and put on the bottom or suspended in the mid-water column, which is my favorite way to fish. I seem to always get a nice flounder when using the method of live fish on the bottom. Your last option, which is the most used, is the traditional trout (cork) rig. This allows you to adjust your bait to any depth that you wish.
The Versatile "Cajun Thunder"
These are suggestions for both inshore and offshore fishermen. Both inshore and offshore captains use the Cajun Thunder. The inshore set up is simple all you have to do is tie on a piece of leader and add your hook. You can use live, dead, or artificial baits with this style setup. This is a float and lure combination built into one, which means it, can be pulled or you can just float it. It's up to you. This cork comes complete with the bells and whistles. A sharp pull on the Cajun Thunder causes a clicking noise that imitates the same sound that a shrimp makes when it's fleeing. Believe me this is the noise that puts fish into the striking mood.
The offshore set up is also simple to make. I just take a cigar shaped float, tie on about 5 to 10 feet of 20-pound test monofilament line, and attach my lure. My favorite and most productive lure is the "0-RBMS Clark Spoon!" This is one of the best trolling lures that you can pull. However, with all lures there is an up and downside it. The upside is that you will most likely get a hit. The downside is that not only does the lure get the fish's attention, but also the float itself. So therefore I suggest purchasing more than one float, because sometimes one attack by a mackerel or little tunny is all it takes to destroy your float. Even though you do have to change up just think about all of that above-water entertainment! Fishes-a-jumping!
Most tackle stores carry these great versatile Cajun Thunders floats/lures. I personally use the yellow, green, and orange colored floats. As far as the shape, I prefer the Cigar and oval shaped ones the best. They are easy to spot just look for them mounted on a yellow card!
Spanish mackerel, where to go
If you indeed want a "Big Mack Attack" give the shipping channel a try, because it has definitely been the hotspot for about two weeks. The good news is that this bite should continue for a while. It's the most simplest and easiest fish to catch at this time of the year. You don't have to take a long boat ride to the fish and it doesn't take all day to find them. There's more, they taste good, and after the morning bite you have plenty of time to fix them for supper.
How to get you best shot at catching them
As far as methods to get this fish to the hook give these options a try. For those that want to drift and pitch it's available. However, stay out of the way of the ships. For those that want to troll we have been catching Spanish while pulling #1, #2, and #3 Sea Striker planers. Please remember to attach a snap swivel to the planer before you tie your leader on. By adding the snap swivel you help eliminating your leaders from curling so tightly. When this happens your lure is restricted to its movement, causing less fish attention. Your best bait to pull behind your planer is a Clark spoon. I am using both single 0 and double 00 RBMS Clark Spoons. I'm not saying that other type lures don't work. It's just that it the lure we all prefer to use. We are using lengths of 10 to 20 feet of 20, 30, or 40 pound test monofilament line as our leader. Please remember that it's best to tie your spoon directly on the leader. The added snap swivel on the backside of the planer should take care of any curling of the leader.
DUA Artificial Reef
Captain Frank Cullum and crew had pretty interesting day fishing at the old DUA reef. He decided to give this area a try and it turned out to be the right decision to make. The first thing that they did was to set out the light tackle to catch some Spanish mackerel. They were using the trolling method of Clark spoons behind #1 sea Strikers planers. Now for the good news, the bite was big in the Spanish mackerel department. The first Spanish landed looked more like a snake king. (A snake king is less than 7 pounds) It was approximately 27 inches long. The next couple of fish landed were big also. These fish averaged in length from 18 to 20 inches. While doing the semi-deep trolling they were also pulling rigged ballyhoo, which were getting plenty of action from the "toothy monsters!" (Barracuda) After having most of their rigs destroyed by the sea monsters they pulled out a good old stand by in my book. The ever-popular Cisco Kid, which also turned out to be the right thing to do. The fishing was good and so were the ideas to get them to bite the hook! Thanks for the report Captain Frank!
Tarpon bites and tales
Here's another great story fishing stories straight from the fisherman. Carter Mobley and friends were fishing the local Savannah Sport Fishing Club Tarpon Tournament when this happened. According to the story they had jumped three tarpon and finally hooked one. After about 30 minutes into the fight they all observed a huge brown dorsal fin of a big hammerhead heading toward their hooked tarpon. Carter told me that the shark had to have fit in the 12 to 14 feet range. As soon as the shark starting attacking the tarpon the light tackle line broke. According to the story it appeared that the tarpon did escape the jaws of the shark. All of this action took place in less than 10 feet of water and within good eyesight of the barrier island. According to Carter, a shark like this will make you think twice about swimming off of Tybee. Thanks Carter and we are certainly glad that the shark didn't jump into your boat!
It's Shark Season
I hate to be the first one to holler "SHARK," but it's now time. I have received many fishing reports regarding sharks, which has warranted me wanting to give all of you fishermen a "HEADS UP!" Normally sharks don't just attack on sight. However, when a fish is hooked up, which generally causes the smell of blood and the fear is in the water it can definitely happen. With all the right ingredients a shark's natural eating switch" is flipped to the "ON POSITION!" Please don't get me wrong I'm not trying to scare you I am trying to make you aware of our current situation. Anytime that you hook up there is a great potential of attracting a shark that might try to attack your catch. This is what they do, because they are eating machines.
Best places to look or to avoid sharks
1. Directly behind where a shrimp boat is or had dumped it's by-catch
2. The outskirts of surface feeding bait or deep holding bait
3. Concentrated fishing and catching areas such as piers, docks, boats
4. Inlets that lead to the open ocean
5. In the creeks and rivers sharks hang out in the deep holes
6. Offshore anywhere where there is water
Bottom Fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks
It continues to be good with strong catches of multiple bottom species are being brought back to the dock. The good news at this time of the year is that you could catch a big fish as well as small fish while using the same bait. It's a known fact that large fish do like the larger baits. However during this time all fish just eat according to what puts them in the mood. When the water is cooler there is much less bait so therefore the bite is more predictable. It's easier for fishing professionals and those individuals that fish a lot to figure out the bite pattern. However, as I said, "during the warmer months, when targeting a specific species, it can be hero or zero!" The good news for all of us whether we are the all timers or the some timers in the fishing department there are plenty options open for all. I suggest using live or fresh dead bait such as cigar minnows and Spanish sardines while fishing on the bottom. Don't forget to take along your old stand-by bait of squid. It always works for all sizes of fish.
Gulf Stream
I heard of a few fishing rumbles from this area. The roomers were sketchy, but I believe them to be true. A few boats went and tried the trolling thing, which resulted in a great amount of frustration. However, there was a few large bull dolphin caught while trolling a weed line just east of the B-liner hole. The fish weren't landed, but identifications were made. The trolling bite was slow, but once they dropped to the bottom they had a blast pulling in one after the other. The bottom fishing in 150 to 200 feet of water was "Red Hot!" They did the right thing they switched to an "Alternative Style of Fishing."
Bottom fishing is good at the snapper banks, which is located in l00 to 120 feet of water. However, when the water is on the warm side such as it is now the bite can get a little nostalgic. The good news is that the deeper water at the Gulf Stream isn't too affected by the warm water conditions. This only means that the bottom bite should be good year around in this area. I would like to add one more thing to the already good situation. This area gets less fishing pressure.
"Little Miss Judy's Believe it or Not!"
Achieves fishing for the Allusive Sunfish #3
I have been writing about the allusive sunfish for a couple of weeks now. I have had a great many fishermen, young and old; suggest that I might be talking about a tripletail. I don't think so, but I am keeping that door open. I received a report from yet another fishing elder that also believes in, has seen, and has caught sunfish. Buddy Nail of Cobbtown, Georgia has fished the Shellman's bluff area for about 30 years. According to his report he occasionally spots sunfish in or near the grass mostly during the high tide stage. You have to really look for them in this situation. This fish has a tenancy to lie a little on it's side especially while holding in the grass. Here's how he got them to take a hook. Mr. Nail suggests that if you spot a sunfish, pitch your bait right in front of the fish. Once the fish identifies it as something to eat, you had best hold on. The best bait to use according to Mr. Nail is shrimp or finger mullet. He and his wife have caught several sunfish in there fishing lifetime. I am concurring with Mr. Nail. Yes, there were sunfish in our area at one time. Thank you for sending me the information!
"Here's My Hook Now Bite My Hook!"
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 5:49 am: | |
July 26, 2004
Barracuda Attack
Over the last 50 years I have had everything as far-fetched as hooking up with a nuclear submarine to a bat landing on my boat, but never have I had a fish fly into the boat and cause injury to a customer.
It's a known fact from watching the Discovery Channel that a barracuda can take flight even though it doesn't come standard with its own set of wings. The bottom line is that most all fast feeding fish do jump. Last week we had such a landing on the Miss Judy Too. One of our customers, "Mr. Ziggy Zablotay" was standing in the doorway of the boat's salon when a large cuda came crashing in. Unfortunately the cuda before making deck-fall and in only a few seconds did considerable injury to "Mr. Ziggy's" hand. The bottom line to this situation is that fishing has always been taken serious at Miss Judy Charters. However, at this time we must add serious and dangerous to our fishing slogan.
All of us from Miss Judy Charters hope and pray for a speedy recovery for "Mr. Ziggy!"
INSHORE
TROUT, SPOT TAIL BASS, FLOUNDER, WHITING AND SHARK
Trout, spot tail bass, flounder, whiting, shark, blue fish, croaker, and the old so-called "Yellow tails and spots" are in their full season swing. Trout, bass, and flounder are what I consider the "High Maintenance Fish." In other words these fish are very bait sensitive. They prefer live shrimp or mud minnows, which can either be purchased or caught by you. As we move down the line you see I have added whiting and shark. They are those fish that don't necessarily hang together, but can be caught in about the same area. The whiting lay low on the bottom to feed while the sharks move about looking for food that is moving in the upper water column. Whiting do prefer fresh dead shrimp, but will eat the old stuff. In this case where you find the whiting you will probably find the sharks. So therefore your catch of whiting can be your bait for the sharks. Either way you win!
YELLOW TAILS AND SPOTS
I know you are dieing to hear about the spots and yellow tails. These are the simplest fish of all to catch. All you need is light line, small hooks, small pieces of bait, and some water to drop all of this tied together in! In other words pull yourself up a floating dock or boat and give it a try. You haven't a thing to lose, but your bait!
NEAR SHORE, SOUNDS, ARTIFICAL REEFS
For those of you who want to live line, slow troll, or just plain pitch your lure these are the areas to try. The Spanish and king mackerel have arrived and are set for the rest of the season. This can only mean one thing, "Fish On!"
As you all know that Spanish mackerel are known for hitting the old but classic spoon called "Clark Spoon." In fact I think that this lure has almost been around as long as the fish. So therefore buy some, pull them either naked, behind trout sinkers with 20 lb test leader, or just plain pitch them into the surface feeding schools of fish. I am sure that you will get some sort of "scaled Attention."
The good news about the Spanish mackerel is that they are finally starting to push their intended meal to the surface. So therefore trolling blindly is not necessary in order to locate this fish. You should be able to see them with the old naked eye. Another good thing is that you aren't the only one looking for them. You will also get some much-needed help from your fine-feathered friends. Where those birds are-a-flocking, there's fish a feeding! Here's your sign!
Packaged Value!
Snakes, Teenagers, and Smokers
The king mackerel come in what we call this type of packages. They start being "Snakes," then grow to "Teenagers, and finally reach the final stage, which is "SMOKER!" All stages of this fish love to eat live bait. However, you must be selective with the bait if you are targeting a certain stage of king mackerel. For instance if you intend on having a lot of action, which means lots of fish not necessarily the big ones go with small live baits. The baits to use are usually cigar minnows or Spanish sardines. They are easy to catch and basically easy to use. Now for those that want to target big fish only there is a secret that I must share with you all! Go with big live baits such as blue runners or Spanish mackerel. However, another great bait to use is menhaden or mullet. They aren't as big, but are also very effective. You might not catch a bunch of big fish, but you chance of a large hook-up will definitely be in your future.
"SMOKERS'
The snakes and teenagers are being caught more so on the artificial reefs and live bottom areas such as the Savannah Snapper Banks. Quite a few of these fish were also caught fishing the perimeter areas of the Naval towers located in around 100 feet of water. This past week R-6 naval tower was holding quite a few nice snakes and teenagers. Most of these fish were caught while slow trolling fresh dead cigar minnows rigged with Mylar skirts. The secret to catching these fish is that you must use light tackle. According to optimists king mackerel have superb eyesight. In other words what they can't see attached to the bait will definitely give you a better chance for a hook up!
For the big boys better known as the "Smokers" fish close to shore and use big baits! The hotspots to fish have been Port Royal and Tybee Roads, which is better known as the shipping channel.
Savannah Shipping Channel
I fished the shipping channel this past week. I couldn't believe all of the large king mackerel that I got to see sky rocketing out of the water. In fact almost everywhere I saw a big fish jump there were sea birds hovering and the smell of fish oils were strong in the wind. As soon as I saw a king jump I headed in that direction. Once arriving to said spot, sure enough the oil sheen was noticeable on the surface. It's a known fact that large kings during this time push their intended meal toward the surface so as to make the kill. Once the fish feels that it has pushed the bait to exactly the right spot they hit it will great thrust. This great thrust that I am talking about usually jets them right out of the water. In fact, I have seen large king mackerel airborne with Spanish mackerel in mouth. Now that's a mouth full!
I decided that I would pull my old faithful king mackerel stand by lure make-up kit. It's a simple design that usually works. I take a number #3 Sea Striker planer (SSP3), add a snap swivel, and then tie of about 30 feet of 80-pound test monofilament line. On the line I slip on a "Judy Jig" and directly tie on my hooks. (No wire is needed) My hooks consist of three 5/0 "J" style hooks that I have put together by opening the eyes. There is three baits that I use while pulling this rig: Spanish mackerel (small), cigar minnows, and medium ballyhoo. The main thing to remember when rigging your bait up is to place the first hook through the fish's bottom lip and up through the top of the head. All you have to do with the next two hooks is to place and bury. This set up allows your bait when pulled to have a more natural look.
Our Atlanta Connection!
Todd Ingram and Jim Armstrong had a great day while fishing the Savannah Shipping Channel this past week. According to Todd he did exactly what my fishing report suggested and had some great success in the catching department. Todd and crew took his 23-boat to the shipping channel to try to catch a "smoker king." According to the story, it seems that old Todd went back in time and just used the old basic way to catch a fish. His new boat wasn't equipped with downriggers and he didn't have any planers. So therefore he decided to just rig up his bait offerings of ballyhoo & finger mullet and give it a try. He put his naked un-weighted finger mullet and his weighted ballyhoo out. His plan was to slow troll, which means just enough throttle to keep control of the boat. Todd's top trolling speed was 2 to 3 knots, which worked out prefect. The first fish they hooked up weighted in at 35 pound. As soon as they landed the first smoker the second hit came, which resulted in landing a 40-pound king mackerel. The 35-pound king had been hooked before. While admiring his catch he found that it had a nice set of shinny new live bait hooks embedded in it. In my book the more a fish is caught and escapes the smarter it gets. So therefore congratulation is in order to Todd and Jim for a job well done in the "Smoker Department!" Welcome to the club! Thanks for the report!
The Koncul Fishing Boys!
After reading this report you are going to know that those "Koncul boys" have done it again. While fishing for king mackerel and other scaled ones a serious sail took them up on their bait offering. The sail fish was caught at the Artificial reef "L" Buoy. This area has been "Real Hot for Bills." In fact over the past years quite a few Atlantic sails have been caught and released in this area during this time frame. For those of you that are not familiar with this area, it's an artificial reef that is located in approximately 50 to 65 feet of water. It has low (concrete, pallet balls, barges) and high (subway cars, tug boats, battle tanks, dredges) type structure scattered throughout the area. Bait and bottom fish of all species find this area a great stopping off place. I guess you could say, "It's a great watering hole in the middle of a vast sandy area." Once again I find myself asking the same question that I do year after year, "Do fish communicate?"
James Massey and Geno Sauers had the offshore
Trip of a lifetime
I received a call from James as soon as he made landfall. On July 21, 2004 he and Geno Sauers took to the ocean for fishing trip that would prove to be one for the records books. They decided to fish the artificial reef "L," which is located about 15 miles 115 degrees off the Warsaw sea buoy. I only have enough room for what they caught instead of how they caught it. James and Geno caught 13 king mackerel, which came in assorted sizes from 10 to 15 pounds. While all of this king mackerel fishing was going on they also landed a 50-pound cobia. While they were cleaning up a bit a lonely school dolphin approached the boat. A quick reflex along with the desire for more action meant yet another fish added to the already seasoned cooler. All along while catching mackerel, cobia, and dolphin more species were landed. They hooked up with several barracuda and amberjack. After reading this information I'm sure that you will agree that these fishermen had quite a busy day. However, things in this catching department got turned up even more. Geno hooked, landed, and released a fine Atlantic sailfish. I was truly jealous after getting this fishing report from James. I certainly wish I had been there! Last year about this time James took his father boat offshore without permission. He also landed a sail fish of which he couldn't tell anyone about. However, after a while of keeping it a secret he had to confess so that he could spread the news about his first sailfish landing. Of course after telling his father he was immediately congratulated and then put directly on boat restriction. However, for this particular day arrangements were made on the home front, which resulted in him being able to obtain once again "Serious Loud Bragging Rights!"
Bottom Fishing At the Savannah Snapper Banks
It's hot and the fish should be a little nostalgic of which they are. However, I do have to admit that I have seen some pretty good catches being brought back to the dock. The catches range from good to great. It seems that not all fish are nostalgic, which means slow to bite most of the time during the warmer water temperatures. However, I am finding that the bottom fish don't seems to feed as much as they do in the cooler water conditions. Normally during the cooler season fish feed about every 6 hours. However during this time it seems they that only get real hungry every 12 hours, which is considered their major feeding times. So therefore it's could be the luck of the draw or just fish everyday to get a handle on it.
The bottom line is that large numbers of some of the biggest black fish that I have seen in years are being caught in 100 to 150 feet of water. The black fish ate cut squid and fish. Some of the red snapper caught this past weekend, even when weighted back at the dock 10 hours later, tipped the scales to thirty pounds. The red snapper hit live cigar minnows, Spanish sardines, rock bass, and sand perch. The vermilion snapper have also been on a feeding rage with their appetite being easy to please. We have been catching these fish with just plain squid and cut fish. They aren't feeding everywhere in this fashion. Just in isolated spots, which can vary from day to day. It's a looking game at this time of the year, but at least you are now aware of the possibilities.
Gulf Stream
I don't have a report for this week. However, if you don't go you and as you can see we all won't know!
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
Achieves fishing for the Allusive Sunfish #2
As soon as this story was posted I started getting calls. Apparently I'm not the only one that remembers this fish. Jimmy Cannon of Wilmington Island also remembers fishing for the allusive sunfish. According to his story, much the same as mine, as a same child he too fished with the elders for them. He was small at the time, but remembered a few things in regards to this fish. The best time to target the sunfish is during a slack tide stage. The most active bite occurred during nip tides, (6 ½ to 63/4 feet tides) which means slower current and clearer water. The method in which his family used to catch them was about the same as ours. They also used a beef-up traditional cork rig. However according to Jimmy they used what all fishermen labeled as a "cobia cork" instead or a trout cork. A cobia cork is shorter and much fatter than a standard trout one. I remember when Daddy started using this style cork, but it was later in years. Jimmy is a good bit younger them me. So therefore the allusive sunfish was still around 10 years after the fact. I remember fishing for them in the fifties. After doing the math we can all come to the conclusion that this fish was still around in the sixties. There is one more very interesting bit of information that Jimmy shared with me. His family had two names for the sunfish. The second and most used was "Eddy Fish." The reason was simple this fish's favorite hiding places was behind ranges, rocks, and buoys. I love it when a story gets better! Thanks Jimmy!
Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!
Captain Judy
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CaptainJudy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 5:49 am: | |
Subject: deep sea fishing Georgia
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
September 9, 2002
INSHORE
Lots of trout, Spottail bass, and flounder action should be taking place in most of your favorite fishing spots. Live shrimp is the right bait to use and it seems to be very plentiful. I visited the Back River at Tybee the other night and I could not believe all of the activity on the surface. Shrimp and large mullet were jumping as we made our way through the small creeks. It was unbelievable to see that much surface action in one area. At any rate, if you are looking to catch your own bait grab a cast net and give it a try.
I always suggest using the traditional float rigs with live shrimp. There is a reason; I love to watch the sinking of the cork. For those of you who want a change try using live shrimp on the bottom with only a small amount of weight. This rig has been working quite well. Don’t forget to let the fish take the bait and start to move with it before you set the hook. The fish don’t seem to hit as aggressive on the bottom as they do closer to the surface.
I have had several reports of school blues, Spanish mackerel, and Ladyfish being seen schooling near the offshore waters of barrier island areas. These fish have teamed up together to make quite a fishing/eating machine. Not only are they sticking together, but they are also taking almost anything that you throw at them. Please remember if you aren’t going to fry, broil, boil, or just plain eat them release them!
HIGH WINDS AND A RAINY DAY OF FISHING
Bryan Atkins is really trooper when it comes to fishing in high winds and choppy waters. He and his group didn’t let the high winds and scattered rains stop his labor day fishing bonanza. In fact according to his report they had more than enough action to keep them busy. They were using shrimp as bait on the traditional float rig system. This allow them to get many hookups, which resulted in them catching black drum, keeper spottail bass, trout, and flounder. In fact they had so much action that they lost all of their floats, which resulted in them having to go with just with naked hooks and bait. This change didn’t stop the fish from attacking, which was a good thing. As you tell from this report that bad weather conditions didn’t stop the fish or Bryan from their common goal, which was eating for the fish and catching for the fishermen!
OFFSHORE
I love this time of year due to the fact that everything that has ocean ties is constantly changing. The water temperature will start to fall a little at first and then quite a bit. This will prompt the fish to start migrating. Some will move east to west, while others are going north to south. The good news for us is that we seem to be in the middle of the entire movement. All we have to do is look for the signs and wait for the changes to take place. For instance, the yellow butterflies migrate through this area about the same time that the king mackerel start to show up. As I have been reporting, the yellow butterflies are here. So therefore according to what I have being seeing as a sign means that the forerunner kings of our fall migration are starting to arrive. Another sign to look for is the surface schooling cow nose rays. They also migrate through this area at about the same time, but once you see them skimming the surface the kings should already be here as well as the bait that brings them. We also have a change in the birds that we are so use to seeing in the summer months. The large fall/winter birds arrive. We get to look at the gannets, loons, and Cormorants. These particular birds seem to prefer cooler water and also the bait that is brought by it.
The stage should be set for the arrival of the king mackerel at the Savannah snapper banks and the artificial reefs that are located in 50 feet of water. The good news is that once the mackerel get here they usually stay until the first week of December. Not only will there be top water fishing there will be plenty of bottom fish in both areas. All types of bottom fish from red snapper to black sea bass will move in to the live bottom and artificial reef areas.
Here are a few suggestions for those who haven’t been out fishing for a while. All artificial reefs should have plenty of action. You should take along both bottom and top water tackle. With the water temperature dropping the feeding habits of both top and bottom fish has been changed. The bottom fish that stay in this area year around should be have started biting. In other words they are moving and once again feeding. They are coming out of their hibernation time. The top water fish are starting to have to work, because the bait migrating process has begun. For bait I suggest taking along squid and if you can find them fresh cigar minnows. You might be able to catch your own, which will even be better.
The Savannah Snapper Banks is another place that will be “RED Hot!” The bottom fish for the big boys will be on wide open. In fact all fish big and small will be moving around on the live bottom areas. Some will be getting ready to move while others will just be moving about in search of food. Once again always take squid to get you started with the bottom fish. However, if you wan the bigger fish you are going to have to bring on the live bait to get their attention.
GULF STREAM
Our blue water fishing is going to pick up as the water temperature drops, which once again gives us that arena that we all look forward to fishing in. Now all is left for you to do is to go and give it a try! Please by all means give me a report!
“Little Miss Judy’s Believe It Or Not!”
If you have been reading my stories that I have been writing about my father then you already know that he was a colorful coastal character. He did things his way and most of the time he had to invent from the start a way to fix something. Take for instance the car. When it came along, everything about the car was new. In fact just trying to fix it was a quest. There weren’t any manuals for basic “trouble shooting” as we know it now. So everything that he did when it came to repairing most of the mechanical designs was all new and made up by him and a few others. I know that during the early times he came up with quite a few ways to make adjustments and repairs easy, but I would like to share this one thing that he was still doing when I came along in the fifties.
He would take a standard or a Phillips screwdriver and cut the shaft in half. In other words part of the shaft would still be in the handle. He then would weld a longer piece of round metal in the middle making the screwdrivers whatever length he needed. In fact some of his screwdrivers were customized to lengths of over 3 feet. I didn’t think much about these tools. I figured sent he was a pretty large man he couldn’t fit in most places. So he just navigated the screwdriver thorough the engine openings to the hose clamp or whatever he needed to tighten. He did in fact do just that. I have seen him do it a hundred times, but these tools were designed for a more important use. He would hold the end of the screwdrivers on an area of the engine, while it was running, and then hold his ear to the handle. According to him he was listening to the engine. He could in fact determine the exact location of a burned bearing or exactly which value was skipping. This was daddy’s technology at it’s finest!
Here’s My Line Now Bite My Hook!
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 9:17 pm: | |
Subject: Georgia offshore fishing
“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”
Captain Judy Helmey
POB 30771
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 879 4921
912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
September 2, 2002
INSHORE
Everyone is still waiting for the Spottail bass and trout to grow that extra inch. Hopefully, within this month more legal than illegal will be caught. Then we can talk about the big ones that got away and not the ones that we had to release. I think we all have had enough practice with catching and releasing. Any of your favorite spots should have trout and bass in them. Use live shrimp on the traditional float rig or put the shrimp on the bottom with a split shot. If live bait isn’t your choice, give jigging, casting and trolling screw tails a try. Use light colored screw tails in the morning and darker colored ones in the evening.
Here are a few pointers for that direct catch. When using your traditional float rigs as gear don’t forget that Spottail bass are known for taking a float for a drag. This simply means that they take the shrimp in their mouth, but don’t exactly start to swallow right away. So therefore give them a chance to drag, eat, and then shallow the bait. Just keep an eye on your cork as it is being pulled, once it starts to jiggle a bit, then it’s time to set that hook. Spottail bass have also been known to hit dead shrimp on the bottom. A small weight should keep your bait offering on the bottom. It’s also time to start looking for those large whiting, croaker, flounder, and summer trout that can usually be found feeding the sound at this time. These fish will also gladly hit a dead shrimp on the bottom. Please remember to release any fish that are too small to keep unharmed. This will ensure everyone of a better and bigger catch next time!
OFFSHORE
Top water fishing for king or Spanish mackerel has been up and down for the last few months. However with our fall fishing season just beginning these fish should change up their current status of not being available to available. The Spanish mackerel bite should only get better as we get into this fall season. In fact this is the time of the year when the schools of Spanish form mostly on the surface, which is perfect timing for those of you who want to cast directly into a school of fish. Your gear could be anything from an open face-spinning reel to a fly rod. This means that you can use your favorite bait such as the famous “Clark” spoon or that favorite fly that you just brought or made yourself. I have also been seeing lots of little tunny in this area schooling on the surface. This is another fish that pulls much more than its weight. For those of you who just want to troll a few lines out the stern, put your lines out with a 11/2 ounce trout sinker type weight with a Clark spoon about 10 feet in tow. Look for the fish popping on the surface and pull your lines only directly thorough or over the outskirts of the school. This will give you the higher percentage for a hookup. Try not to pull directly thorough the school with your boat. This action might cause the school to scatter or send them to a deep holding pattern.
At this time of the year the king mackerel can be found from near shore around the shipping channels to offshore near the edge of the Gulf Stream. I know that this sounds like “finding a fish in a big ocean,” but actually its not. When the kings are spread out it gives all fishermen/boat owners a chance for the big bite. Your best bet for bait is going to depend on where you are fishing. Try this rule of thumb. For those of you who fish in 50 feet or less you should concentrate on using live bait such as menhaden (porgies) or mullet. The lighter rigs that your use, the better your chances. All depths beyond the 50 feet will need to add rigged ballyhoo and artificial baits to your tackle list. Your method can be anything from slow troll, anchoring while live limning, fast troll with artificial bait such as 31/2 drone spoons, or drifting with live bait. As you can see from this information you have lots of options!
The fall bottom-fishing season is now officially in full swing. The artificial reefs have already taken on the fall change. During the summer months trolling is the only dependable type of fishing in these areas. With fall in the air, it’s nice to be able to bottom fish when the surface bite slacks off. We can now change up when one or the other type of fishing doesn’t work. The great thing about this change is that the top fish bite better when the tide is running and the bottom fish prefer to feed when the tide is slack. Your bait choice for certain areas is going to be important. For instance, when fishing the artificial reefs, squid is going to be your best all around universal bait to use. However, a fresh cigar minnow, Spanish sardine, or greenie will make a hit with any of the larger black fish, red snapper, and grouper that might have migrated in these areas.
We are still catching large snapper and grouper on ledges that are located in less than 100 feet. I have been using live fish, cigar minnows, cut fish, and squid for bait. Live bait is your best bet, but don’t rule out dead especially if that’s all you have. I prefer to use live bait such as rock bass, sand perch, vermilion, and sand perch. However, the size is important when using any of these particular fish. For instance, when targeting large red snapper please remember that they have a small mouth for their size. So therefore sand perch and rock bass are usually the preferred bait for this fish. They can easily take this bait without a lot of trouble. For the large grouper you can go with more beefy bait, such as the ruby red lips and large rock bass, their bite range is a lot bigger. Bait selection is always crucial when targeting large bottom fish. As with anything preparation is essential when trying to target a big fish. These fish didn’t get this big being stupid.
GULF STREAM
It soon will be rebound time for the blue water. The surface bite has been slow to none. This will all soon change as the water temperature starts to fall, which in turn makes the stream once again the warm water basin that holds the dolphin, tuna, and Wahoo love to visit. It’s time to get those big rods ready once again. For your temperature charts, pull up www.sstcharts.com. This web site will give you all of the surface temperature information you need to round up the big ones up.
‘Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not!”
My father’s had his own theory, when it came to the fish’s migration. According to my father some fish follow the bait so that they can eat it, which made a lot of sense to me. In some cases fish follow the path of the bait. He also told me that some species of fish move from one area to another because it has always been their way. In other words, it’s in their blood to migrate. Then there are those fish that move to one area for a while and then back to the area that they originated. So therefore according to him fish move for different reasons. Here’s my Father’s theory on what would happen if fish only went one way. Once they hit land they wouldn’t know to turn around, they would just develop legs and start walking.
Here’s My Line Now Bite My Hook
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2002 - 8:41 am: | |
Subject: 1-21-02 Georgia Offshore Report
"KICKING FISH TAIL SINCE 1956"
Miss Judy Charters
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
www.missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
January 21, 2002
INSHORE
Captain Brian Woelber who runs our inshore boat the Miss Judy Four has been having some bonus days while practice fishing for striped bass. Not only has he been catching these fish he has been studying their feeding habits. He had been fishing mostly in the Savannah River areas that have a rocky bottom or structure. Captain Brian has been using live shrimp, artificial lures, and finger mullet for bait. All of these baits will work when it comes to getting the stripe bass to take your hook. However he has come up with a way of deciding which bait will work best and when. According to Captain Brian when the water is muddy your best bet is to go with the artificial or mullet. When the water is clear all baits should work, but to know exactly which one to use consider Captain Brian suggestion. You must watch the shallow near the bank areas to look for any bait that may be popping the surface. If you see fish feeding on the surface, but don't see any bait then your artificial or mullet should work. If you see shrimp popping the surface this is your sign to use exactly that bait, which is live shrimp or some type of lure that imitates this bait.
The good thing about inshore fishing at this time of the year is that we all know that it's going to get better everyday. In fact bite patterns will pick up as the weeks pass. Most fish such as trout are deep and hibernating waiting for any up swing in the temperature change. When this happens all will start to move about looking for something to eat. As we all know there won't be any bait to amount to anything in the creeks or rivers so therefore artificial baits will be the ticket to use. However if you know at this time where there is availability of live bait you could definitely find yourself cornering the bite pattern market.
OFFSHORE
With cooler water temperatures the bottom fishing at the artificial reefs located in less than 50 feet are not holding as many black sea bass as they were. This is due to the fact that when the water temperature dropped the bunk of the black fish moved out to al litter deeper water. There are still plenty of fish to be had, but there just aren't as stacked up as they were prior to the temperature change. So therefore fishing in the shallows area reef means there will be a lot of moving and searching for fish in your future. I did managed to catch quite few black sea bass on my last trip, but it took a lot of moving and looking to do so. Squid and cut fish as usual are the best baits to use.
For those who are targeting the sheepshead these shallow water reefs are the place to look. This fishery loves this type of weather and the reefs located in this depth are the places to look. The best place to look is on the spots that have a little structure. The sheepshead love to feed up off the bottom on anything that provides a place for barnacles, oyster, or any other shelled covered marine life. Your best bait for this fish is the fiddler crab. So start digging because these crabs are also holding in a deep pattern.
The artificial reefs that are in deeper water are holding large amounts of large black sea bass, triggerfish, and blue fish. Not only will you find the fish I have mentioned you might even find yourself catching your first red snapper or grouper of the year. All the fish will hit just about anything you throw at them from squid to cut fish. If you happen to catch a few smaller fish try using them as live bait. You just might find a large bottom fish that finds it attractive enough to eat.
The Savannah Snapper Bank is once again playing host to an array of bottom fish. In fact this area has been in the spotlight for many types of bottom fish for quite a while. The past week proved that statement. I had quite a few calls from local fishermen who just went because it was a pretty day and they needed a day on the water. They came home with records catches of red snapper, vermilion snapper, large blacks sea bass, triggerfish, white bone porgy, and some fishermen even had a few nice grouper. All of these fish didn't mind hitting just plain old squid. This just goes to show you when there are lots of fish in one spot jealousy will take over making them hit anything. So now is the time to make that practice run to the banks. Not only will you catch some fish you might also get some of those winter kinks out of your boat.
GULF STREAM
Haven't been in a while. So would someone call me if you make the run!
"Little Miss Judy's Believe it or Not"
As I have mentioned in earlier stories that my father was a whiz when it came not only to repairing a car engine, but also making them ride better. In fact my father told me that a representative of who was sent from "General Motors" interviewed him on several occasions. According to my father the early cars weren't anymore than what he called "Timber Carts" with engines. This meant they wouldn't have rode any different if you had hooked them up to a team of mules. The only actual difference was if the engine would run it wouldn't get as tired as the mules. As he dismantled every car that his family brought he studied every part so as to decide how to make the ride better. He had some great ideas. In fact most of them were off the wall ideas or should I say "off the head and below the knee ideas" that actually worked!
Upon leaving the family farm his mother gave him $25.00, which basically according to her was supposed to hold him until he could land a job. My father had a big appetite so his funds were going fast. According to daddy it was hard getting a job as a mechanic with no said experience. Apparently taking the family car apart and putting it back together properly a hundred times didn't count. So he made a decision to pick the best of all of the mechanic shops in town and make them an offer that they couldn't refuse. He offered to work for a week free without pay. Now if he performed his job correctly his weekly pay would be up for discussion. The owner of the shop smiled, because he knew that he had a boy fresh off the farm that didn't have a clue. So he agreed to take advantage of daddy's offer. The first week went well with the owner being quite happy with his work. After a few more weeks the owner and Daddy came to an agreement about his draw not a weekly pay. Daddy always made unusual requests for materials that he needed to repair the automobiles. One day he asked the errand boy to go and get him some felt hats. Upon clearing it with the boss he filled the request. He went to the hat shop and purchased the hats. Daddy thanked him and continue working. The next request was for shoe leather. Once again the errand boy got permission to follow suit. He delivered daddy order. Daddy once again thanked him going directly back to work. Daddy had the garage owner and the errand boy scratching their heads for sure, but with the customers so happy who cared. In fact one customer came in after trying out their car and was so satisfied that they wanted to tip the repairman.
Now according to his customers after Daddy's adjustments they were smooth riding machines. My father's secret was just about out of the bag. So he exclaimed to the owner, " I made the shocks better with the felt from the hats and the leather from the shoes." At that moment the owner knew what was coming next now that daddy was an experience mechanic. It became known as "Helmey's Garage!" The rest is history. My father worked for the shop owner until he saved enough money to start his own shop, which wasn't very long.
Sea You Later, Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating:
Votes: 5 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 14, 2002 - 4:23 pm: | |
Subject: Georgia Offshore
"KICKING FISH TAIL SINCE 1956"
Miss Judy Charters
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
www.missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
January 14, 2002
INSHORE
The trout bite in our area has been a little slow, but now that cooler temperatures have been added to the mix, it's almost nonexistence. Keep trying those deep holes, the fish should be there and they are most likely are hungry. Anything from grubs, screws tail, or dead shrimp will work. If you get a nice weather day give fishing/boat riding a try. Catching might not be included, but you can have a lot of fun practicing.
Now that you know where they aren't biting here's a good report on where they are hook interested. Joe and Cristie Toth have been having a lot of good luck fishing in the Fort McAllister area. I talked with Joe and he told me that he and his wife, Cristie have been catching trout in the 22-inch range with artificial bait. According to Joe he found that the trout in this area prefer the bottom of the water column, which you know what that means. You will need to keep your bait offering deep to get in the strike zone. His favorite spots have been those that are located in the edge of channels, which are found in brackish water. Not only has the trout bite been on, he had also been catching a few striped bass. However according to Joe, the striped bass bite has slowed down in his area and it isn't as good as it was last month, but he still is catching a few. His secret bait for both the trout and striped bass is the yellow colored assassin bait called the "Space Guppy." We have used this bait and others of the same color and shape before up in the Savannah River and it has proven to be very effective.
The striped bass are here and they love these cool weather conditions. These very active surface feeding fish are also known by a second name, which is a rockfish. The Savannah River and Ogeechee River areas are the places to look. Start getting your tackle in order and sharpen those hooks. Pull out your Cisco kids, rapala lures, and rebels on stand by. Drag, pitch, and crank any of these lures fast, this fish loves to crash fast moving surface baits. For those we prefer to use live bait this fish will eat it up. The best bait is live shrimp or live finger mullet. When you find you private stock of live bait by all means you better keep it to yourself. This is due to the fact that live bait is hard to come by even if you have money to pay for it. So therefore casting might be your only option, but don't worry live bait season is slowly approaching.
OFFSHORE
It's that time of the year once again when I start wondering when I am going to be able to get back to my home away from home, which is the ocean. I have had a few months off and I guess you could say, "It's time for me to return, my scales are drying out." I have been out on a few fishing/searching missions and they have worked out quite well. It's still not like being out there on a daily basis.
I have a few fool proof fishing plans, especially if I get a prefect weather day. You know where the seas are extremely calm and the weather forecast doesn't change for the next 24 hours. I would definitely be headed to the Gulf Stream. It's a long ride, but it would be worth it. If my plans were to catch lots of large bottom fish, such as triggerfish, vermilion, red snapper, grouper, or tilefish. I would head for 150 to 200 feet of water. To my list of things I would add any electric reels that I might have. For bait I would take squid and some of those leftover cigar minnows from my 2001fishing season. Most all of the bottom fish would love to take this bait off of my hands. This could be a rod-bending situation for sure. However, if I just wanted to troll for potluck, which also could be very interesting. Only make this decision to troll if you don't mine going home with an empty cooler. I would pull the strangest lures that I could find rigged up with the biggest ballyhoo that I had in my freezer. You could catch anything from any type of tuna, Wahoo, dolphin, mako shark, or heck even a billfish. There have been reports of blue fin tuna in our area. Don't laugh; our dreams are only a few waves away from possibly being real.
If you aren't looking for a long boat ride, but instead a short ride to rod bending experience, I have the answer for that one too. The artificial reefs are holding lots of fish. Load up the family, secure some squid, and throw the light tackle on onboard. Most all of the artificial reefs that are located in less than 55 feet of water are holding lots of Black Sea bass. These fish can't resist the taste or smell of squid. Locate the school, drop down into them, and get ready for action. For those who want to use artificial bait, the fish have been wearing out an old style Hopkins lure. It has been working great for me. The larger bass love to chase and attack it. Just keep the lure moving. The fish tend to hit it repeatedly or at least until you set that hook properly.
The Savannah Reef is holding lot of sheepshead. This is spot that can give you lots of action, especially if you carry along the right bait. The sheepsheads are known for taking your bait before the nibble takes place, and believe me, that is fast. The right bait to take is of course, the fiddler crab. You can find them burrow up in sandy and muddy marsh areas. However, with the ground temperature low, they are going to be deep. The act of digging could prove to be sort-of-like work. There are alliterative baits to use. I have used calms, oysters, small peeled shrimp, and barnacles. I look at the bait situation like this, the sheepshead already know that fiddlers aren't going to show up.
Here's one last comment from the fish gallery. You don't have go deep or even close offshore to file my foolproof fish plan. You can catch sheepshead with those baits that I mentioned around anything that possibly could provide a prefect home for barnacles or oysters. I give you a few examples, docks, pilings, bridge foundations, and jetties. Who needs a boat?
"Little Miss Judy's Believe it or not!"
Over the years I have always told the story about my father and Big Al Capone. For those who don't know about big Al during his gangster days he was considered the worst of his time. Yes, according to my father's legend, he worked for big Al during the early 30's. I would like to share with you how daddy came to meet Big Al Capone.
According to daddy story this is how it went. My father's automobile repair shop, Helmey's Garage was located next to Bradley's Lock and Key. They were located on State Street, which is a street in our historical downtown Savannah Georgia. My father was working late one night when a couple of guys dressed in old overalls walked into his shop asking for a quick repair job. Upon accessing the damages and costs to fix this brand new ford truck daddy suggested that they take the new truck to the Ford Dealership the next morning. The new truck was apparently still under warranty and the repairs would be paid by the dealership without any problem. The owner asked if daddy could fix it and he replied yes, but it's an 8 hours job. My father then told the owner that not only was it is it a lengthy repair it's also going to be very expensive. After hearing what daddy had said he commonly asked my father to fix the truck and then deliver it to the Desoto Hotel, which daddy agreed to do. The men in overalls paid Daddy with hundred dollar bills and then asked if there was a place where they might change their clothes. Daddy pointed the way to the restroom, which was outside. Both men went on their way to change their clothes. Before leaving one of men walked back into Daddy's garage to get something out of his truck. Daddy noticed that the men had changed from overalls to tuxedos. To top it off they had on shinny black paten leather shoes.
After a couple of hours daddy went out to the garage to check on his mechanic's progress. Upon reaching the truck he realized it was unusually quite. The closer he got to the car he heard snoring. His mechanic seemed to be asleep, but in fact he was passed out. The smell of liquor was very strong. Daddy scratched his head for the second time that day. He was wondering where the liquor had come from. He never allowed his workers to drink on the job. He started looking at this truck that was packed full of all types of vegetables. Then he started thinking about the repairs he was doing to the new truck. He was making repairs to the transmission and rear end of a brand new truck, which could happen at anytime. New cars do break all the time. However then he noticed the tires they look either very low in air or heavily over loaded. Then a light went off in his head which got brighter the more he looked at the new truck. He walked over and began removing some of the not so heavy vegetables. He found the real cargo that was hidden underneath all of the vegetable baskets. At first my father nearly panicked, but after a few minutes he knew what he had to do. He would have to stay up all night, fix this truck, and then deliver it to the hotel as requested by the owner. He did just that.
When he arrived at the Desoto Hotel, which was one of his own stomping grounds, he looked for the gentlemen. Upon finding one of them he held out his hand hoping to deliver the truck keys, but instead a handshake took place. He asked my father if he would like to handle some car business for him. My father decided at that moment he would so the deal was made. At that time the gentlemen introduced himself as Al Capone. Daddy supposedly worked on Big Al trucks for a period of about seven years. At least that's what dear old dad told me? The rest is a fine part of my family history!
Sea you later, Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 16, 2001 - 11:20 pm: | |
Subject: 11/16/01 Georgia Report
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
November 16, 2001
Sorry about the long Captain Judy's Believe it or not but I got started and couldn't stop!
INSHORE
If you have tried inshore fishing in our area you probably already know about the high northeast winds, extremely high tides and the muddy water. However for those who haven't you certainly haven't missed anything in the way of fishing. I won't say that these conditions have completely shut the bite off, but I might say "close." There were a few trout, Spottail bass, flounder, and striped bass caught the pass week. These fish were the hungry ones while the others stayed hibernated in their special areas. As we all know next week is another week and the windy conditions should have moved on.
OFFSHORE
I haven't been in ocean for over 6 days due to the fact that the Northeast wind has really been blowing offshore. However, a lot of the people that I fish with also surf so I guess you could say that the have had a bonus week. I have been in my office writing the fishing report on what should be biting when I return to the ocean. At any rate, the fishing has been very good offshore. Even though we have had one low pressure after another. The weather in between the fronts has been great. So I guess I will write about what I have been doing while waiting for the wind to stop blowing. I have been projecting my self to the other side of the front, which is by the way the aftermath of the front. This is when the wind calms down and the sea conditions are great. As you all know the water temperature is dropping which in turn makes fish move. While we are sitting on shore the fish are relocating to their new temporary homes. Now here's where I come in. I know where they are because I have records of their migration movements for over well let's say, "many more than 20 years."
Take for instance the Black Sea bass. As all of us fishermen know in the cooler months these fish migrate to the shallower water and usually end up holding at the artificial reefs. This is known by many fishermen, but there are those of you who are just starting out. Here are a few pointers to help the new comers get a rod bender.
Most all of the artificial reefs off of Georgia's coast that are located in less than 50 feet of water are holding an array of bottom fish. At this time of the year you can catch black sea bass, flounder, grouper, red snapper, black drum, spotted sea trout, ocean sheepshead, sheepshead, pig fish, grunts, trigger fish and blue fish. The good part about this time of the year is that all of those fish that I have listed are trying to eat at the same time on the same bait. This is due to the fact that they are all hungry and there is a lot of fish feeding. So therefore first come first serve. Hopefully your hook will be the first to arrive and be received by biggest of all of the fish listed. All of these fish will hit squid while others prefer the fiddler crab. However, don't worry once you get them eating they will take almost any bait that you throw at them.
When selecting a spot to fish pick the reef that is closest to you. Let's talk about the KTK Artificial Reef, which is located east of Blackbeard Island. This reef is full of fishing possibilities. It's made of mostly low relief bottom structure making it a great place for all of the migrating fish listed above. If you prefer to fish further north, the CAT, DUA, SAV, and KC artificial reefs are great areas to fish. All of these spots also have great bottom to support these migrating fish. If you are south of the KTK reef then try the ALT, F, A, and KBY artificial reefs. All information on reefs listed can be obtained free from Georgia DNR. Once receiving you package on the reefs spend a little time studying each reefs and decide which one is prefect for you.
To best locate the fish that I have listed you will need to pick the reef that has the best low relief program. All reefs that have locations that are made of concrete rubble, pallet balls, wharf rubble, or concrete boxes/pipes are the places that these fish will hold up to fed. Upon looking at the description of the reefs you will find coordinates listed. For those who aren't real familiar with GPS the description also gives directions and distance from the buoy. There is a yellow buoy that is place by the DNR to mark the area of each artificial reef. They make great reference points, which is another aid to helping you find these locations on each reef. When I first started fishing these small spots I made myself a personal throw buoy with a rope and weight connected. I put about 65 feet of line and a 4-pound weight on a quart Clorox jug. I wrapped the line around the jug and when I throw it on the spot it made a great reference point. This was rather I hit the exact spot of not. It gave me something that was stable to work with. At any rate, if I can learn you can learn how to catch a fish when you want too!
I have been reporting that the king mackerel are here, but only in 100 to 115 feet of water. We normally would be in our winter run of mackerel that brings these fish into about 60 feet of water. However the artificial reefs that are located in this depth have not seen many arrivals, but here's a news flash. Fred Bergen reported that his group while fishing off of Charleston in only 60 feet of water caught 15 kings all 30 to 35 pounds. According to Fred the bite started about 9:00AM and at 11:00AM they had their limit. However the bite never let up and they left the fish biting as they moved on to bottom fishing. These fish were caught on rigged ballyhoo and drone spoons. All fish were caught trolling at the normal speed of 4 to 6 knots. I would like to congratulate them on fine day! I know they must have had a great time and I know am jealous.
ARTIFICIAL REEFS
For those who are tired of reading about this and that here's the real deal! The artificial reefs are holding large black sea bass, blue fish, flounder, pig fish, ocean sheepshead, sheepshead, trout, grouper, and occasional red snapper. Please don't keep these fish if they are not of legal size and release back alive when possible. I have been catching all of the above on just plain old squid…
SAVANNAH SNAPPER BANKS
The Savannah Snapper Banks is holding it own. The red snapper season looks good. We have been catching a lot of 24 inches and over snapper. Once these fish start schooling over a ledge it's easy to catch them with just squid or cut fish. The other bottom fish are there too. The trigger fish, porgy, large male black fish, and vermilion are still hanging on the hard bottom ledges. Don't forget about the king mackerel and dolphin, because they are also in the area feeding on the small fish schooling under the Sargasso weed. So keep a flat line out while bottom fishing. I have been using a rigged ballyhoo dressed up with my favorite color skirt. I have been getting hookups while just drifting and when moving the boat back up to the ledge. Remember the fishing rule, without a line in the water you can't catch a fish. This is unless the fish just decides to jump into the boat! Well that's another story!
Captain Judy's Believe It or Not!
WOODEN MEMORIES
I guess it's true that when you get older, you remember the past a lot better than the present. I am one who can raise their hand on that one. I often think about the things that happened on my boat during the middle sixties. Boy have we come a long way. Not just in navigational technology, but also in boat manufacturing.
When I was in my early teens I had a wooden 30' boat. I can't remember the make. I think it was a custom built boat that was put together by a frustrated want-a-be boat builder. At any rate, I am still here, so it didn't come apart while I was offshore. The things I remember the most are instilled in my mind as if I just walked off this boat. It was long and had a very narrow beam. In fact, in a following sea you really had to be careful and not let this boat get broad side to the wave. That wasn't easy when all I had was a simple slant head six as power. Don't get me wrong, it cruised along at about 11 knots, but that was pretty much full throttle. Which meant having to get control of the boat was more of a leaning situation, than a power push. You had to be there when I instructed my group to move quickly from one side to another. They had to do all of this without falling out of the boat. You know, I never really though of that happening at all. No one ever fell over the side. I only had to resort to those customers moving tactics when it was real rough. And you must remember, back in those days, fishing was expensive, intriguing, and a dangerous past time. It cost a fishermen almost $6.00 per person to get the chance to be either throw over the gunwale on his ride out or back from the fishing spot.
My father purchased this boat from a colonel in the army that was being relocated to an inshore destination. I will never forget the colonel's wife she was gorgeous. She looked like a very young Sophia Loren. If I had to guess, my father just wanted to purchase this boat so that he could talk to her. In this case, talk was not cheap. The boat came as is and with an engine that needed replacing. This was not news to us, because my father already knew the engine was bad and had gotten quite a bit off of the asking price.
After purchasing the boat, my father arranged to have another engine delivered to the house. It was and it came complete with an exhaust stack that was 6 feet tall. You would have to know my father to understand this one. He loved to go shopping in weird and unusual places. He brought my new/used engine from a surplus guy who had six engines that were originally installed in amphibious vehicles that the army has used. He brought two, just in case he needed both to make one work. He never told me until the last minute that he was going to remove the exhaust stack. I thought all along that Daddy was going to have to cut a hole through the top of my cabin.
After removing all unnecessary parts, we put the new/used engine into my wooden boat. With just a few minor changes, it cranked, smoked, and sputtered as most gas engines do. Daddy pointed out a few direct changes that he had. He always drilled a hole in the top of all of our raw water intake pumps. This was the pump that supplied the seawater to the engine that kept it cooled. He them screwed a small cup and cap in the drilled hole. He filled the cap with water pump grease. This was my father's theory for this change, as the saltwater rushed through the pump, so would the heavy grease that was packed in the cup, lubricating the entire housing. At the time it didn't make any sense to me. However, now it's a different story, less friction means less wear. Back in those days water pump grease was much more accessible than a new saltwater pump.
I don't know where the name slant head six came from, because it wasn't slanted to me. It was flat on the head, which mean any water falling on the engine stayed and made its way to the spark plug holes. If the engine were running it would spit a little, depending on how much water and how many plugs holes were covered. If the engine was sitting, the water had time to start rusting in front of your very eyes. Either situation wasn't good, but I had to deal with both of them. The engine cover was split down the middle. It was held together by a long piano hinge. This hinge didn't stop any water at any time, but it did stop the floor from caving in on the engine. At least it was good for something. It certainly wasn't designed to shelter the water from getting on top of the engine.
After getting the mechanical end of the boat up to speed it was time to look at any other problems that we might have to deal with. Keep in mind that by this time I had already been dealing with wooden boats and my father for quite a while. And believe me, there is always a problem when it comes to dealing with these two. This particular boat hadn't been out of the water too long, so therefore it didn't almost sink immediately as soon as we re-launched it. The planks on a wooden boat start the shrinking process when they are removed from the water. So therefore, if you fill the boat with water while it is on the hill, your chances will be better that it won't sink quite right away. You still have to baby sit the boat until the plank seams are pushed back together. As you can see there are a lot of important things that you must remember about wooden boats. Especially, if you want to keep them floating.
As you have probably figured out, we got the boat in tip top condition and I started taking customers out fishing. The problems that I experienced then, such as taking on water, at the time seemed so normal. However, let me assure you that if I found my self in that situation now, I wouldn't be so cool as I was back in the good old days. I have to admit that back in days of wooden boats simply hitting a wave wrong could results in cracking any rib situated close to the bow area. This occurrence would usually lead to water running into the boat, which means in my book today that, "WE ARE SINKING!" How plain and simple can you get? I'm sorry, but that's not how it worked back then. You just dealt with it. I always carried certain so-called repair equipment on the boat to take care of this problem. In my repair kit was cotton, ice pick, and assorted sizes of brass screws. I was taught a long time ago how to put this special selection of tools to work. The cotton was to be packed by the ice pick into the hole. However, if the hole was to big to plug with the gobs of cotton then you started using the screws. This all sounds very simple and it was. I did this without even once thinking of what would happen if the boat were to sink. Boy, how things have changed.
Happy Holiday Fishing,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 5:40 pm: | |
Subject: 11/09/01
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"KICKING FISH TAIL SINCE 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
November 9, 2001
INSHORE
I have heard this remark from all of my inshore fishing sources. It's live bait kind of a year. Live shrimp has controlled the trout and Spottail bass bite for most of this fall season. For those of you who have caught yours on artificial consider yourself "GOOD" not lucky! So for those of you who just want to catch a fish get out those traditional float rigs out and let them take your live shrimp for a glide. You gotta love the sinking of that cork!
For those of you who are interested in the sheepshead bite your time has arrived and it's only going to get better. All you need to get their attention is to bring along the hard to get fiddler crab as bait. There are a few other baits that will work. Try barnacles, oysters, small shrimp, or crickets a try. If you plan on using crickets don't worry you don't have to tell anyone! Keep it to yourself!
OFFSHORE
Our artificial reefs are holding their usual bottom-fishing array for this time of the year. The bite has been good and steady even though the weather fronts haven't stopped coming. I have been using squid and cut fish for bait and the Black Sea bass are not turning me down. We are also catching a few triggerfish, pig fish, blue fish, flounder, and grouper. You must remember to always be prepared for that big bottom bite to take place in these areas at this time of the year. The large fish such as the grouper and flounder are migrating to unknown destinations at this time. Their migration pattern seems to take them from one reef to another as they make their way. One day at the L-Buoy we couldn't catch anything but gag grouper. They ranged from 12 to 32 inches. The next time I visited this area they had moved on, but as we all fishermen know a few will and have stayed behind. These fish will become this year's resident fish.
Here's my rule of thumb when trying to decide if you have caught resident of non-resident fish. It's very simple. A non-resident fish will be lighter in color while a resident fish will be darker. A newly resident fish will be a little darker. These are hard to tell unless you catch more than one. I always like to examine my fish closely so that I can ascertain which lodging stage that I caught them in.
The winter run of the southern king mackerel may or may not have taken place in our area. From all of the information that I have gathered talking to fishermen north, here, to south of us I have pretty much come to a few conclusions. As I have been reporting the kings have arrived in our area at the Savannah Snapper Banks. They are holding in around 100 feet of water. The best way to catch them is to put your bait down deep. Now with all the information that I have received from north of us the kings were late in their arrival. This would only make me believe that the kings would be arriving a little later to our area. However, our time is running out and the water temperature is dropping. So therefore the kings that are holding in 100feet of water might be all that we get. However, once again, we still have time for the kings to move in to the shallower water before they leave our area completely. All signs that would make me think that the kings are still coming to the shallow water areas are still showing up. For instance the large school of cow nose rays have started passing though. They are making their track to the south. This always happens right before the arrival of the king mackerel. The gannet have arrived in full force. These are large seabirds that make this area a temporary home during our cooler months, because of the enormous bait migration that we have at this time of the year. The migration of the yellow butterflies has taken place and now has mostly moved on. All things are normal except for the fact that the kings haven't arrived in the shallow reef areas to take advantage of the large bait build up. Everything is in place, but the kings don't seem to care where their dinner is served.
GULF STREAM
I heard this on the radio, while I was fishing the Savannah Snapper banks. It was a conversation that two fishermen had about their day at the blue water. It's not good! There were plenty of perfect temperature changes and weed lines. However, the bite wasn't that good due to the fact there wasn't any fish in the breaks or the rips. They caught a few dolphin fish, but I didn't get the size of the fish or the depth that they were caught in. I would still go if I got the chance. That's why they call it "FISHING!"
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Freshwater drum, also known a sheepshead is said to have mystical powers. This fish has a large pearl like bone, which bears an "L" groove. This bone has commonly been called the "Lucky Bone" and have a long history of superstitious folklore connected with them. According to a native that I took fishing that explained to me what the bones were actually used for. The markings actually sent a message. The outcome of the message depends on the reader or what I call the bone holder, which can be interpreted in different ways. The Indians used the bones as wampum, for ceremonial purposes, and as neck charms to prevent various sicknesses.
Once again, please don't try to remove the mystical ear bones from your pet gold fish, there aren't any.
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy Helmey
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 2:13 pm: | |
Subject: Savannah Georgia Offshore Report
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
MISS JUDY CHARTERS
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
November 5, 2001
INSHORE
If you love inshore fishing, now is the time to wet a hook. As with last years fishing extravaganza this looks like it going to be another bonus season. With plenty of live bait available and easy to obtain, your first stage of getting a rod bender is out of the way. Whether you are a live bait fisher or an artificial lure fisherman, your chances at this time are great for a hookup. I prefer using live bait with the traditional float rig. I love watching the sinking of the cork. But there are lots of you fishermen out there who love to jig, pitch, or troll those newly developed lures and plastics. From the reports that I have been getting almost all types of fishing techniques are working. You know how all of this works, what's new today, could eventually become traditional tomorrow. Here's another old saying, "It all depends on who's holding the rod, not what's biting it. Here are some pointers that might help you in your fishing endeavors:
Traditional float rig with live shrimp adjusted to the depth of holding fish.
Grubs and screw tails pitched or trolled after the bite is on.
Use live shrimp or mud minnows on the bottom with just a split shot as weight or remove weight.
Use Fresh dead shrimp or small fillet mullet either on bottom or suspended.
Try Fiddlers around pilings for sheepshead.
As always, please let me know how you did!
OFFSHORE
I love this time of the year, your offshore fishing choices are many and close. For instance, take the kids for a fun day of fishing at one of the local artificial reefs. There is plenty of Black Sea bass, pig fish, sheepshead, bank sea bass, Atlantic flounder, and black drum. You can catch all of these fish with the exception of the sheepshead with just a small piece of cut squid. A sheepshead will hit squid on occasion, but they prefer the hard to get fiddler crab the best. The short boat ride that it takes to get to the KC Buoy, CCA Buoy, Savannah Reef, or DUA Buoy can turn out to be more than worth it. These artificial reefs can hold gag grouper at this time of the year, which adds another normal deep-water fish to the closer in mix. These big grouper are migrating at this time of the year and are known to stop in these areas to catch a quick meal before they move on. There is another fish that has shown up at some of the artificial reefs and that's the lane snapper. This snapper isn't caught in this area on a normal basis. There aren't as big as the genuine red snapper, but still are a lots of fun to catch. They look very similar to a genuine, but carry a little yellow color around their fins and body area. They will hit cut squid and small live minnows. I have only found them on the high relief spot at the artificial reefs. They seem to be schooling in pods over these areas. You only have one shot at a bite once you drop into the school. So therefore be ready! They are fast bait stealers!
If you prefer top to bottoming fishing you are in luck because this type of fishing is also available at this time of the year. The winter run of the famous king mackerel has started and should last until the middle of December. There are several methods in which you can use to get these rod benders on. You can fast-troll, slow-troll, or live-line. All methods are very effective. It just depends on which method you want to use. Fast trolling is very easy and not so involved. Pull your 3 ½ drone spoons deep and fast (about 6 knots) 30 feet behind #3 planers. For your surface lures, pull rigged ballyhoo or cigar minnows. I have been using a 6/0 three hook rig, placing the first hook section through the lips. This hook scheme works, but adding double singers (2/0 extra strong tremble, use light wire) to the top eye of the three hooks, increases your chances for a hookup. If you decide to slow-troll, your chances have already increased with this decision. You will need to catch some of the surface baits that are hanging around the buoys. However, don't rule out dropping your bait rig in a school of bait that is holding is a rip. After securing bait, rig it up with your tremble hooks/light wire, so that it can be pulled slowly and naturally. This is very effective way to catch a fish. Now comes the best way to get the chance to catch the biggest king mackerel. Those that fish know that live lining is the way to go, it's happens to be my favorite. It's very simple, use live bait, tremble hooks, and light line. I have started using 20lb test mono line. It has been working much better than 25 or 30 pound test. King mackerel love to round their bait up, which puts it in a holding pattern. This occurrence could take place anywhere that you find surface bait. Once you get in 50 feet of water, look for the birds to help you find the surface bait. Where there is bait, there often is the larger fish. With everything migrating at this time of the year, you could catch anything from a king mackerel to a yellow fin tuna.
If your looking to get action on the bottom in 100 feet of water, go east to southeast and find the live bottom areas of the Savannah Snapper Banks. The red snapper and grouper are being caught on the ledges in this area. Your best bait could be anything from squid, cut fish to live bait. I have been using a double 6/0-hook bottom rig. Just load the hooks up with bait of your choice. They don't seem to care at this time of the year.
GULF STREAM
As far as I am concerned all of the fish that are traveling in the blue waters of the Gulf Stream have and are very safe. At least from us fishermen. The easterly winds haven't let up which has made any attempt to get out there
null and void. I guess I could say that we all "NEED A BIGGER BOAT!"
"LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT'"
Here's one of my stories that you must read. I don't even believe it my self. Not only was my father quite a fisherman in the daytime he was also an avid night person. In fact I spent many great times with him on his night time rendezvous. These outing were great especially for a child who was only about 8 years old. Every outing turned into an adventure. For instance the times that we spent at the lounge located in the Manger Hotel. If you are a long time local you must remember this bar in the hotel it was called the "Purple Tree Lounge." It was so neat, especially to an eight-year-old. When they brought Daddy and I our beverages both drinks had a purple tree stir stick in it. These were the good times before business owners were scared of people poking their eyes out with sharp objects. This stir stick was neat. Daddy would always give me his. I would stick my cherries on the limbs of the trees. It sounds like this story is about purple tree stir sticks, but it's not. It about the fish tank that was in the "Purple Tree Lounge." Their large aquarium had lots of small to large gold fish swimming around in it. As I watched the fish swim I noticed something different about them. You could see their insides functioning as the fish moved about. It was even weirder when they turned the lights down. The fish became illuminated with their bodies becoming lighter than their insides. You really could see everything that was going on inside their little bodies. I watched the food go in and the food go out. Now that I think about it I had no idea what daddy was doing all of this time! All I could figure was that he was missing a great fish show that was so very interesting!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 2:46 pm: | |
Subject: Kingson the Move
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
MISS JUDY CHARTERS
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
October 29, 2001
INSHORE
It's inshore big fish time of the year. Get out those top water plugs and get ready to take them for a drag, because it's time to catch the Striped Bass. (Also known as the rock fish) My father's favorites lure for this fish was the famous and still popular Cisco Kid. However, as you all already know, there are many lures on the market that are just as good and basically make the same appearance as the kid does. I am going to stick with the old stuff, it's my nature, it worked then and it's sure to work now. I have gotten several reports on these fish being caught in the Ogeechee River and Savannah River area. They usually hang near the shore where you find a rocky bottom and running current. Don't forget your gnat suit! They are out in full force!
OFFSHORE
(Artificial reefs)
All artificial reefs that are located off the Georgia coast that are located in 60 feet or less of water depth are holding the winter migration of fish. Here's your break down of options. For big Black Sea bass, Triggerfish and Atlantic flounder pick the artificial reefs that have low relief bottom. For instance the KC Buoy, which is an artificial reef that is approximately 5 miles, 90 degrees east of the Wassaw Sea Buoy. The reef has high and low relief as bottom. You're best spots to look for these fish is the spots that have concrete, pallet balls, and the old tires parts. These spots offer great areas for these bottom feeders to hold up until their next move to deeper water. Don't worry you have lots of times before this move takes place. So therefore, please do try and pick a calm day to make your trip.
KING MACKEREL BLUES
I had a very interesting conversation with Captain Tim Wilson of the North Carolina Fishing Center, which is located Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. He shared with me some information about their current fall/winter king mackerel run situation. According to Captain Tim their arrival of fall/winter king mackerel was 3 to 4 weeks late. The new arrivals to North Carolina aren't as plentiful as the migrating group was last year. Let's just hope that the entire migration hasn't arrived as of yet. I believe that these fish that are now in Wrightsville are the same group that should eventually due to cooling water temperatures move our way. However they're supposedly are a few weather conditions that will determine whether these fish track near shore or offshore. Near shore would mean that they would track our way in 50 to 60 feet of water. This track gives us the best winter king mackerel fishery. The not so good situation is if the cooling up north isn't seasonal. In other words, if a large cold front moves and drops the water temperature too drastically then the fish will track to the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream. The down side to this scenario for our mackerel build up off Georgia's coast is that we won't get the full impact of the migration. As far as I am concerned all of the signs are here that would lead me to believe that the kings are making way to our area.
A few snake kings and a couple of nice smokers were caught in the middle ground area of the Savannah snapper banks this past week. However, there weren't any reports of kings being caught at any of the artificial reefs that are located in our area. I guess I should define "snake kings". They aren't real big and run the in the 5 to 12 pound range. However, don't get discouraged we caught quite a few big "smoker kings" last year at this time. The "smokers" run from 20 to 50 pound range. The kings that weight in at the teen pounds are called, "teenagers." The normal winter run does consist more of the smaller (snakes and teenagers) than the large smokers. At this point, I just want to get on with the fall/winter catch. I know any of us fishermen would be happy to catch any of the above size fish. There's a secret to getting the most out of any particular size fish that you are catching. All you have to do is lighten up on the rod and tackle design that you are using and it all comes into prospective.
The above mentioned kings were caught deep into the water column using rigged cigar minnows and ballyhoo. The biggest mackerel were caught on a flat line while the customers were bottom fishing. The smaller snakes were caught while slow trolling deep around the R-6 Naval tower. I must report that the barracuda are still hot and heavy around the towers. So therefore you might not get the entire fish that you hooked up with. So I guess you had better be happy with what you get even if it's only a head. It might be your only proof!
KING MACKEREL UP DATE
(they seem to be getting closer)
I talked to Fred Bergen and he told me that he caught snakes and teenager kings just north of Edisto area last week. Fred caught the kings in about 60 feet of water on rigged ballyhoo. He was using the smaller size ballyhoo for bait. Another good bait to use is a rigged cigar minnow. This bait is plentiful at this time of the year. Most live bottom and artificial areas are holding large schools of these minnows. Get out those gold hook bait rigs. You can catch 6 to 8 minnows at one time. According to Fred the bite was solid and they caught as many as they wanted in a very short time. He added in fact that they left them biting. As we talked we both decided that these fish are part of the migration if kings that are probably heading our way. The king mackerel are getting closer!
SAVANNAH SNAPPER BANKS
The ride is definitely worth it to get to this area. The bottom fishing is great. Lots of catches can be had on just plain old cut squid. However, if you would like to spice you catch up a bit give live bait a try. The big bottom fish are starting to get away from the protection of the ledge a little further each day. The reason being is that the bait fish have moved a bit. So therefore their meals aren't as accessible as they were in the warmer months. Hunting and getting food is a little harder which means your chances for a big hookup on live bait is much better at this time of the year.
LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
I know everyone has heard about the Old World War Two ocean mines. I haven't seen one in person but my father has. He told me about the time he came upon one just floating in the ocean. According to Daddy it was made out of ruff looking iron. Many years of soaking in the salt water and now the salt air was taking a toll on the iron that it was made out of. At any rate daddy described the mine by saying it was covered on the surface with protruding prongs, which had all kinds of things hanging off of them. According to daddy you hit one of those and "BOOM" you are gone! These prongs when hit were supposedly the detonating device or what I called the triggers switches. Daddy told me that it look pretty weird not to mention the fact that it might still be able to blow up something if it was plowed into. I had already started having visions of this scenario.
Daddy said that he examined it, but not too closely. He tried to contact the coast guard, but with no avail. It was either his radio or the coast guard's that wasn't working properly. In the fifties it could have been either. After all Daddy wasn't but about 10-miles offshore, which is almost screaming distance. So he decided that he would just report it when he returned home. On his way home he had started having thoughts about all of the things that might have happened. A ship or even worst another small boat could have run into. He kept trying to make contact as he got closer to the dock and finally he got though. He told the coast guard of his strange finding and I assume that they sent a boat in hot pursuit. The never found the floating mine. The good part of this story is that no one else did either!
Now for the radio and what caused the problem. My father's radio had tubes in it as well as everyone else's at that particular time era. However my father's radio had an added attraction. A dirt dauber liked the radio so much that it made a nice nest right between some of the tubes. I mean the dirt dauber really packed the damp dirt hard between the tubes. When the dirt dried it pushed one of the tubes just enough to break it's contact with the radio's panel. The tube only made a half descend connection when the boat rocked in the tube's favor pushing it back to a contact situation. Thus making daddy able to contact the coast guard at that time. You got to love a boat and all of its possible associates!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 7:44 pm: | |
Subject: Windy Woes
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
MISS JUDY CHARTERS
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
October 15, 2001
My one request for this week is to please have someone turn the wind machine off! For the last few weeks the Northeast winds have dominated our coast with a howling effect. Not only does it make the ocean fishing rough it also effects the bite of inshore species. So as far as I am concerned both inshore and offshore fishermen are siting at the dock. The few that have braved the element of the winds didn't have to bad of a fishing day. All they said they had to do was to fine a place safely and try to get out of the wind. Us ocean fishermen aren't quite that lucky! So read on to find out what should be biting at this time of the year!
INSHORE
As I wrote previously, there were some that did go fishing in the windy conditions. A few of our inshore boats made it to their secret spots and caught a quite a few trout and Spottail bass the past week. Captain Jack McGowan did quite well with the trout on live shrimp using the traditional float rig. His customers were happy and they loved the bumpy boat ride to Captain Jack's secret trout spot. Captain Brian Woelber has a great day on the Spottail bass. He caught all of them on artificial lures. He had wanted to use live shrimp, but gave up on casting the old net and went straight to the fish's mouth. I wanted to tell you what he used, but he was vague on the secret lure that he had made. I will probably find out the true story about the rig and will be able to pass it on to you next week.
I had one unnamed fisherman drop by the dock and he had some of the biggest whiting that I have seen in a long time. He caught them with fresh dead shrimp while using small hooks. According to the unnamed fisherman he caught them in the Cabbage Island area. Inshore fishermen are getting as bad as us offshore fishermen when it comes to that particular location. Inshore fishermen say, over there near the shore or by the oyster rake area. Have you seen all of the oyster rake areas over there? Us offshore fishermen are the worst when it comes to our secret fish locations. Here's one for you, take a 120-degree heading from the sea buoy and look for the color change. I think you get the drift. If we all did that the fish would be safe forever.
OFFSHORE
The fall winter run of the king mackerel has started without us. This is due to the fact that we haven't been able to get offshore because of the high winds. The last time I fished offshore there were reports of king mackerel being caught around the naval towers to the artificial reefs that are located in 50 feet of water. Slow troll, live lining with light tackle, and regular trolling caught some of the king mackerel. So it seems all-fishing methods will work. I like pulling a 3 ½ drone spoon 30-feet behind a #3 Davis planer. This I attach to a rod and reel that has 60 pound test wire line on it. I catch most of my mackerel using this rig. If you happen to have down riggers you can also use the drone spoon down deep. I have another bait that I also use behind the planer and it's a "Judy Jig" with a rigged ballyhoo. The "Judy Jig' is a 21/2 orange lead head that has a chartreuse skirt attached to it. I put three 6/0, 7/0 or 8/0 hooks in line together. It's easy just slightly open the eye and slip the tip of the hook in eye then close. Three in line hooks are the trick to this rig. The first hook goes through the bottom jaw of the ballyhoo with the second hook hitting somewhere near the middle, leaving the third to the rear of the ballyhoo. The reason I listed three different size hooks is that when using different size ballyhoo one set might not be the right size. So be ready to change up.
The bottom fall fishing is great. We have already started catching bottom fish as we always do at this time of the year. The migration of some of the bigger bottom fish is still going on as I am writing this. Large sea bass have already moved into 80 feet of water on the live bottom areas. We caught a few in 35 feet of water last week, but the winter build up of these fish hasn't totally arrived. So for the little time, due to the windy fronts, that I have spent offshore bottom fishing it have been real productive. A few gag grouper started moving into the shallower water during the middle of last month. However the total migration hasn't taken place as of yet. These big grouper love live bait and hit it with much more force than they do in the deeper water. So please keep that in mind when you are trying to catch one of these fish off of artificial reef bottom. They will take you bait offering and quickly retreat back into the safety of the wreck. Your plan should be to tighten you drag a little more, shorten your leader up, and use circle hooks.
GULF STREAM
NO WAY, but there is always next week!
LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
My father's theory for two-tone lures was a simple one. Upon holding a fish he explained his reasons. According to daddy, most all fish have a darker color upper body section and a lighter colored stomach area. I had to agree with the statement because it was true. Now according to Daddy the reason was simple. When a fish looks up to feed he can't see the fish that's above him as well because the lighter bottom blends in with the surface light. The darker color comes into play when a fish is looking down to feed. The fish can't see the fish below him because the top of the fish is dark. This is due to the fact that the fish blends in with the bottom. According to my father's logic fish were just made this way for their own protection. My father's theory was simply to switch the color. Put the light on top and dark on the bottom. This simple reversal can make the difference in a big fish hookup. I know for a fact because I have seen and experienced my father catches. Don't panic when you can't buy these lures. Just take a couple of your old lures, a few different color cans of spray paint, and give it a try. After all that's what fishing is all about.
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 08, 2001 - 10:25 pm: | |
Subject: Fall Fishing
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
October 8, 2001
INSHORE
I can already tell that it's going to be a productive inshore fishing season. This is due to the fact that the proof is already taking place. The trout are hitting live shrimp on the traditional float rigs and you can even switch to artificial once you get them in a feeding frenzy. The Spottail bass are basically legal, which means most caught are over 14 inches. You best bait is still going to be live shrimp. However a combination of artificial screw tail and fresh dead will work. The larger Spottail bass prefer finger mullet to live shrimp. Your main bait of shrimp is plentiful. Bring you cast net and catch your own. For those who don't want to mess with the old cast net most marina and tackle stores have plenty to sell.
OFFSHORE
I love fishing at this time of the year. There is one very good reason why I feel this way and that is because I do usually catch lots of fish. This is due to the fact that the artificial reefs and hard bottom areas are full of bottom fish. Not only do I know when they arrive I know where they are going, which makes my job of making my charters customers happy a lot easier. I might need to add that I have been following fish and their habits for almost forty years.
Here are some of my suggestions for catching not fishing:
All artificial reefs located off of Georgia are holding some type of fish either bottom or top fish. The reefs that are located in less than 50 feet of water that are made up of low relief structure such as concrete, tire sections, low flat barges with some height structure, and pallet balls are your best spots for finding bottom fish. The biggest build up of bottom fish, such as Black Sea bass, blue fish, sheepshead, and trout can be found holding on all of the above. However, look to find sheepshead on the higher structure. All of the above fish, with the exception of the sheepshead will hit squid or shrimp. However, I have caught sheepshead with squid and shrimp on more than one occasion, but they prefer the fiddler crab the best. For artificial reefs and hard bottom areas that are located in 50 and over are also holding lots of bottom fish, but you can add king mackerel to the mix. (see below where you can find the king mackerel) You can catch the bottom fish with just plain old squid or you can target larger fish using live bait. The live bait will get the attention of the larger bottom fish and this is a proven fact. The down side to targeting only big fish is that you won't catch as many as you do the smaller ones. That's a decision that you have to make. At this time of the year this is all possible for anyone that puts a loaded hook in the water. Go get them!
Top water-fishing season for Spanish mackerel is not over. In fact this past week large schools of surface feeding Spanish were seen by the Wassaw Sea buoy and in Tybee Roads areas. Give those Clark spoons and any of your favorite surface pulling plugs out because I can guarantee that they will work on these fish they are real hungry. The fall/winter run of the king mackerel has started. The L-Buoy, J-Buoy, CCA-Buoy, and Gray's Reef are the spots where these fish migrate too during the cooler months. The bait has been here for a couple of weeks. Now that the big fish have arrived and they are ready for action. All I can say is "It's tight lines time again!"
GULF STREAM
Haven't gone in a while the Northeast winds have kept me from going, but I am looking forward to seeing the blue water once again. It's wahoo time for sure! Soon we will know for sure!
Luther who runs the "White Knight" took the ride. However, the catching wasn't very good. He worked the South ledge and had only one knock down. They only saw a few schools of little tunny in that area. They moved back into the R 6 naval tower and caught quite a few king mackerel.
Due to our high and long lasting northeast winds over the past few weeks the Savannah Snapper Banks are covered with patches live Sargasso weeds. This weed is providing a great haven for smaller fish. Where there is bait, you will probably find larger fish. There were a few dolphins and king mackerel caught this past week from under these floating gold mines.
Little Miss Judy's Believe it or Not!
I think I have already established the fact that daddy was a very colorful coastal character. He just saw things his way and he had little regard with the way things were supposed to be. At least when it came to painting his boats, rod/reels, and fishing lures. I remember daddy always having numerous cans of colored spray paint stored up in bow of his boat. He kept these cans up right in a cardboard box. This is what I called his emergency change-o-color lure kit.
The most popular lure from his time was the famous "Cisco Kid." I am not talking about a plastic, molded lure with eyes that shake and rattle. I am talking about a wooden, hand crafted lure with life like eyes. This wooden lure had style and it caught lots of fish, especially big cobia. This was my daddy's favorite fish to catch. When daddy was fighting a cobia, he always had twinkle in his eye. Back in those days the color of the lure was very important, but the tackle store couldn't always get what you wanted. Daddy had a method, when the fished stopped hitting his present color lure he would simply change it, but not like you think. It was very simple, he held the lure up by the line that it was tied to and simply sprayed it the color he though would work the best. The basic colors were red, white, black, sliver, gold, and blue, he also did two tone paint jobs. His explanation for the two tone lures was very simple, on some feeding occasions the fish looks up and on others they choose to look down when scanning for their next meal. After his fast paint job, he would wave the lure a little, and then throw it back into the water. There was a problem with his painting technique, you better not be standing down wind of the paint spray.
Sea You Later
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 11:22 am: | |
Subject: Fall Fishing Has Definitely Started
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
September 17, 2001
INSHORE
Now that the Spottail bass have grown to the legal length, which is 14 inches to keep, it's time to relax a little. A lot of fishermen have been practicing their catch and release methods and as usual for this time of year, it was getting to the best of us. It's time to add catching to the fishing mix. The flounder season is now in full swing. These fish are great rod benders and can get quite large for this time of the year. However, it's hard to target a fish that buries it head into the sand, at least until it's gets hungry. Live shrimp are known to bring them out of their dormant stage, but a live pollywog will make them leap causing an underwater sandstorm.
Our sea trout season is in its first stages with fine catches being reported. However, there isn't a rule of thumb yet for catching these fish. You best bet for success is to start out trolling your favorite lures for this time of the year. This will enable you to cover a lot of area, which means you are bound to find that school that you are looking for. Once locating the "HONEY HOLE" you can switch up and use your traditional float rig with live shrimp. This rig change is especially for those of you who just have to see the "SINKING OF THE CORK!"
Now here's a fishing tale for you. The fisherman that I got this report from asked not to be identified. I will name him Mike. Mike told me that he and his buddy wanted to do a little inshore fishing. So they decided to stop by the local tackle store and purchase some bait. Upon opening the bait they found lots of small local juvenile squid and a few lone shrimp. You know the old saying, "It is what it is." Well, that also goes for bait, especially after you have already left the dock on your fishing expedition. Upon reaching their fish spot, which was around the "Salt Pond Area" they decided to do some bottom fishing for whiting. As you and I know small pieces of shrimp is without a doubt the best bait for whiting. However, you know the saying, "it is what it is." They took their purchased bait and used it whole. To their surprise it worked like a charm on the larger whiting. They caught over 25 king whiting.
Now I had to ask why they didn't want their names mentioned. After all they weren't convicted felons. Their 12-foot boat and the holes that were in it embarrassed them. Heck, it sounded to me like they did fine in their small leaky boat. They both agreed, but according to them the boat had four holes in the bottom and a unique hand pumping system. One would fish while the other would pump. You know the old saying, "it is what it is."
OFFSHORE
This past week has been a little on the bad weather side, but we still have managed to catch enough at least to make the customers happy. It has been a mixed bag fishing affair with this being what I call a "gray area time of the year." Don't panic, this always happens when the water temperature starts dropping, which puts the bait fish once again on the move. If you will recall, this also happens to us in the early spring. This situation puts top water fish spread out to areas that they aren't usually found. The artificial reefs that are located in 40 feet of water are still holding Spanish mackerel, few king mackerel and some real picky eating barracuda. These fish will bite for while and then just stop as if someone flipped an off switch. At least when this happens, due to the fact that the water temperature has dropped, there are a few bottom fish to catch. Unfortunately none of these fish will hold any feeding interest for any length of time. So this should be your new plan for the early fall fishing. Make sure to take both your top water and bottom fishing tackle along, because you are going to be changing those rigs like crazy. Good Luck.
I am expecting the fall arrival of the king mackerel at any time. The yellow butterflies started passing through our area over two weeks ago. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, let me explain. The winter run of the king mackerel and the yellow butterflies just happen to migrate close to the same time of the year. The good news is that the migration of butterflies usually arrives here first, which gives us a heads up for the soon arrival of the king mackerel. That time has come and I am looking. As soon as I know, you will be the first to find out.
The Savannah Snapper Banks has been a great place to visit for most of the fishing year. There seems to be always some sort of bite action going on in 100 feet of water. Now that the water temperature has dropped the bottom action will just be at a higher level. The new fast bite pattern is due to the fact that the tons of bait that have been hanging around the ledges will be thinned out. This is good for you and me, because this means that their picky eating behavior that they have had during the hot months is just about over. Your standard cut squid, frozen cigar minnows, and cut fish will work once again. However, if you can get live bait by all means use it! It will be your ticket to a sure fast "HOOKUP!"
GULF STREAM
The blue water fall season is getting ready to heat up. All we need is for the wind to calm down so that he seas will be less. I can't wait to take my bait for a drag!
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Have you seen the movie St Elmo's Fire? Well, not only have I seen the movie I have lived the fire. Many years ago I had St Elmo's fire take over my boat. It's a scientific situation that happens when the atmospheric pressure and other pressures become the same. It's a bunch of scientific stuff that I really don't understand, but I do understand the concept of having it.
It happened on a day when there wasn't any sunshine making it very cloudy conditions. The winds were at 0 miles per hour, which made the ocean extremely clam. It was beautiful. Actually what I have described is a day that a lot of us fishermen love to have once in a while. However this particular day turned into a nightmare that just happened during the day.
At this time of my fishing career it was normal for us to throw a buoy when we found a lot of fish. This was long before Loran C and GPS. This marker consisted of a 5-gallon bucket with a watertight lid, 150 feet of line, and a window slash weight. Here's how it worked. I would throw my marker out and fish by it all day. I would situate my boat down current of the marker and just drift until the bite stopped. Then I would pull back to the marker using my original compass heading. It was a simple as that. This particular day hadn't been any different. I found the fish, threw the marker, made a real long drift, and finally the bite stopped.
However, I found returning to the marker wasn't possible. I noticed quickly that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. This was even though I was running my exact compass heading. However, as I turned the compass turned until it made me make an entire 360 degrees over and over. As clam as it was it was easy to find my boat trail, which was not in a straight line, but in a figure eight. I stopped the boat and the compass never stopped to slowly turn changing my so-called heading continuously. I told the customers, without looking at them to drop theirs lines. I was puzzled and confused. I kept hearing this popping sound. I turned around and what I saw then was unbelievable. All of the fishermen's hair was standing straight up in the air, every time they raised their rods to set the hook, there would be a popping noise. As I was looking at them, they were looking at me. I am sure my hair was also standing on its ends. Then I noticed all of the metal on the boat had turned smoke blue and it seemed as though it had steam rising from it. This is when I truly realized that I had shown up in the twilight zone.
I had read about this phenomenon, but never expected to experience it, but here I found myself right in the middle of it. I only assumed that the best thing to do was to stop doing anything. Hopefully the force field that had us would soon dissipate. As it did, the metal color changed back to a normal, the popping noise stopped, the compass stopped spinning, and our hair finally fell back to it's normal position.
It was a heck of a fishing day at Miss Judy Charters!
Sea You Soon,
Captain Judy Helmey
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 10:04 pm: | |
Subject: Savannah Snapper Banks
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
September 11, 2001
INSHORE
Lots of trout, Spottail bass, and flounder action should be taking place in most of your favorite fishing spots. Live shrimp is the right bait to use and it seems to be very plentiful. I visited the Back River at Tybee the other night and I could not believe all of the activity on the surface. Shrimp and large mullet were jumping as we made our way through the small creeks. It was unbelievable to see that much surface action in one area. At any rate, if you are looking to catch your own bait grab a cast net and give it a try.
I always suggest using the traditional float rig with the live shrimp and there is a reason for that, I love to watch the sinking of the float. For those of you who want to change try using live shrimp on the bottom with only a small amount of weight. This rig has been working quite well. Don't forget to let the fish take the bait and move it before you set the hook. The fish don't seem to hit as aggressive on the bottom as they do closer to the surface.
I have had several reports of school blues, Spanish mackerel, and Ladyfish being seen schooling near the offshore waters of barrier island areas. These fish have teamed up together to make quite a fishing machine. Not only are they sticking together, but they are also taking almost anything that you throw at them. Brad Durham and his son Blake had a fun day of fishing with light tackle this past weekend. According to Brad all of the above mentioned fish were schooling and feeding all at one time. They were using 8-pound test line and throwing all there special and not so special top water plugs at them. All lures worked as long as they kept them moving. It's funny how things work out. They had decided to go tarpon fishing that morning, but do to the fact there was so much schooling bait to get the tarpon's attention that they decide to go for potluck. So as you can see they ended up with the second choice miniature tarpon, which is the "jumping Ladyfish, chopper blues, and wide open Spanish mackerel!"
OFFSHORE
Now that the surface temperature has dropped a few degrees our bottom fish holding areas will be expanded. Bottom fish have started moving closer inshore to the artificial reefs. This is happening at the slow pace at this time, but this migrating will be in full swing in another 30 days. I am catching mostly female sea bass at the artificial reefs that are located in 40 to 60 feet of water. The large males also known as the "green heads" should start arriving soon. When targeting these fish it's best to use small pieces of bait on double 2/0 hook rigs.
The Savannah Snapper Banks is the place to go if you have red snapper on the mind. We have been targeting the larger fish and it has been quite exciting. I have been using live fish on the bottom for bait. However, these big snapper can be and are picky eaters. I have caught most of the large fish on live bait, but a few have hit just plain squid with cut fish mixed on a hook. I know it sounds crazy for a big fish to be attracted to such small bait, but it is happening. My guess is that at that particular moment when the bait gets close, it becomes an easy quick meal. I normally use cigar minnows at this time of the year, but they don't seem to be working as well for me at this time. However, don't leave home without them, because the snapper usually will hit them faster than they do the unattractive bait mix. Your best bet from looking at a tide standpoint is during the slack stage. The large fish don't usually feed until the tide has stopped moving. They don't intend on using anymore energy than they have to.
I have always mainly been a drifter all of my life. Anchoring is a great way to get your bottom fish, but with the ever-changing currents and wind it's hard to keep your boat situated over that certain special fish ridden spot. If you plan on being a drifter like me, moving a lot is in your future. That is the secret to this type of fishing. I usually only drift a ledge a few times before I move on to the next spot. Your best bet for a big hookup is always going to be the first good drop you get into the fish, because after that the larger fish are going to move back under the protection of the ledge. If you plan on anchoring, you can get ready for a work out, because it is 100 feet deep at the Snapper Banks.
There were several large smokers king caught over the past weekend at Miss Judy Charters. These fish were in the 30 to 40 pound class range. I guess you could call them the "big boys!" These fish were caught on live slow trolled menhaden, vermilion, and cigar minnows. There were several smaller kings thrown into the mix. I assume that this means the fall run of king mackerel is just around the corner, because all of the signs are here. I have already started seeing the yellow butterflies and large schools of rays flipping and hovering at the surface. This only tells me one thing, "The kings are just around the corner or maybe just under the next wave."
GULF STREAM
Get all of your tackle ready, because the blue water fall season has begun! This is going to happen with or without the fish. It's a time thing! At this time last year things had already started happening. So, would someone please go and give me a blue water bite report!
LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
My father was not only a great fisherman he was also an avid bird hunter. In fact during my younger years I would accompany him on most of his bird hunting expeditions. He hunted all types of fowl. The most popular birds were ducks, dove, and quail. These were considered the best birds to shoot, but there were others that weren't often mentioned. The unmentionable birds such as the marsh hen and the crow weren't talked about, but I can guarantee they were still-hunted and shot by the best. After all these words come easy from someone who was actually there to experience all of these bird shooting times.
My father called his birds from his own made up bird language. I'm not kidding, he could make some strange noises. My father could make a siren noise that would cause moving traffic to pull off the road. This allowed us to drive straight through to most of our intended destinations with even applying the brakes. I often called him the "human siren." Now for birdcalls he was also great. He had the duck calls down pat. For instance, a duck flying straight in to the decoy field needed to know that there was plenty of food. So he made that call which translated into this meaning. There was the lonesome duck call and come on back you passed me call. They were all great to a six-year-old. We hunted all types of birds, but I loved marsh hen and crow hunting the best. There weren't any calls for the marsh hens. We just had to take the rowboat and flush them out of the marsh grass. Daddy would shoot them and my job was to dip them up with the net. Now crow hunting daddy style was a little different from all bird hunting. We would hide in the bushes due to the fact that a crow had very keen eyesight. This was according to daddy's crow logic. Once we found our proper spot in the bushes daddy would call the crows with his amazing crow caller. The crows would come, but only two at first. Daddy called these crows the "lookouts." He would always tell me to be quiet and he would continue making weird crow like noises with his blowing piece. According to daddy the noise he was making translated into there is food and plenty of water down here. At least this is what daddy told me. It must have worked, because the whole flock would return and start their landing pattern. This is when daddy started to shoot them. I noticed the strangest thing about these crows the noise from the gun didn't scare them a bit. They just kept coming. Daddy kept shooting until he got his intended kill and then I would pick the birds up. We would clean them and served them to our dinner guests for supper. One thing for sure especially when you ate at our house you never actually knew whether you were being served fish or fowl. My father's homemade catsup gravy could disguise any taste including crow! It was so good! At least to a six-year-old!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2001 - 12:20 pm: | |
Subject: Fall Bite is on in Savannah
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
September 3, 2001
INSHORE
Everyone is still waiting for the Spottail bass and trout to grow that extra inch. Hopefully, within this month more legal than illegal will be caught. Then we can talk about the big ones that got away and not the ones that we had to release. I think we all have had enough practice with catching and releasing. Any of your favorite spots should have trout and bass in them. Use live shrimp on the traditional float rig or put the shrimp on the bottom with a split shot. If live bait isn't your choice, give jigging, casting and trolling screw tails a try. Use light colored screw tails in the morning and darker colored ones in the evening.
Here are a few pointers for that direct catch. When using your traditional float rigs as gear don't forget that Spottail bass are known for taking a float for a drag. This simply means that they take the shrimp in their mouth, but don't exactly start to swallow right away. So therefore give them a chance to drag, eat, and then shallow the bait. Just keep an eye on your cork as it is being pulled, once it starts to jiggle a bit means it is that time to set that hook. Spottail bass have also been known the hit dead shrimp on the bottom. A small weight should keep your bait offering on the bottom. It's also time to start looking for those large whiting, croaker, flounder, and summer trout that can usually be found feeding the sound at this time. These fish will also gladly hit a dead shrimp on the bottom. Please remember to release any fish that are too small to keep unharmed. This will ensure everyone of a better and bigger catch next time!
OFFSHORE
With the dropping of the surface temperature top fish are going to be moving in search of the bait pods. My guess is that the pods are going to stay a little deep until the surface temperature levels out. With the bait undecided on their location, the mackerel will become a "little fickle." Don't worry, this won't last long. Look for the schools of fish on your finder and troll in that general area. The Spanish will definitely stay with the bait no matter what level that they pick to hang. Upon locating the bait pods troll deep and fast either directly over or around the area. I have been using #3 planers with 20 feet of 20-pound test with a small Clark spoon in tow.
The kings however, will take advantage of this situation and hold the bait at bay by hanging on the outskirts of the school. This is a perfect situation for you to fast or slow troll around the bait pods. The large fish will only penetrate the school of bait when they want a snack. This is what we call a "bait roundup." The kings will often push the bait to the surface and hold the entire school in a tight circle. Don't troll through the round up only pull around it.
The fall bottom-fishing season is now officially in full swing. The artificial reefs have already taken on the fall change. During the summer months trolling is the only dependable type of fishing in these areas. With fall in the air, it's nice to be able to bottom fish when the surface bite slacks off. We can now change up when one or the other type of fishing doesn't work. The great thing about this change is that the top fish bite better when the tide is running and the bottom fish prefer to feed when the tide is slack. Your bait choice for certain areas is going to be important. For instance, when fishing the artificial reefs, squid is going to be your best bet and your all around universal bait. However, cigar minnows will make a hit with any of the larger black fish and grouper that might have migrated in these areas.
The snapper bank is another area that will take on a big change now that the surface temperature has started its drop. We have already started catching large snapper and grouper on ledges that are located in less than 100 feet. I have been using cigar minnows, cut fish, and squid for bait. Live bait is your best bet, but don't rule out dead especially if that's all you have. I prefer to use live bait such as rock bass, sand perch, vermilion, and sand perch. However, the size important when picking any of these particular fish. For instance, when targeting large red snapper please remember that they have a small mouth for their size. So sand perch and rock bass are usually the preferred bait for this fish. They can easily take this bait without a lot of trouble. For the large grouper you can go with more beefy bait, their bite range is a lot bigger. Bait selection is always crucial when targeting large bottom fish
GULF STREAM
It soon will be rebound time for the blue water. The surface bite has been slow to none. This will all soon change as the water temperature starts to fall, which in turn makes the stream once again the warm water basin that holds the dolphin, tuna, and wahoo love to visit. It's time to get those big rods ready once again. For your temperature charts, pull up www.sstcharts.com. This web site will give you all of the surface temperature information you need to round up the big ones up.
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
`In the middle sixties I spent a lot to time fishing around a tower, which wasn't very far offshore. The tower's name was the "Texas Tower." It was located at the end of the Tybee Roads shipping channel. A lot of charter and recreational boats used this tower. It always held lots of top and bottom fish. Not only was it a fish haven it was also used as a navigational aid. I can always remember this tower either being on my right or left when I was headed out fishing. On this particular day, at the age of 14, I decided to take my charter group to the tower to do a Spanish mackerel trolling trip. When I arrived at the tower there was an 18-foot outboard already tied to the tower. This meant I only had three sides to works with, which wasn't such a problem in the sixties. There were lots of fish to be had. So, around and around the tower we went. Every time we circled we would give a wave to the lone fishermen who wore a large straw hat. He always waved back with a smile. Upon our third or fourth time around the tower I notice that the lone fisherman had hooked up. His rod was bend over almost into the water and he was struggling. We now had something other than the tower to watch. After all my fishing techniques weren't working. After about 30 minutes or so the lone fisherman got his fish to the boat. I noticed that he didn't have a gaff much less a net. Upon getting the fish to the boat he apparently had a little wave action help and he somehow lifted the big fish into the boat What happened after that was well worth watching. The large fish was a cobia that must have been over fifty pounds. At any rate, the first thing to fly out of his boat was a cooler lid, then a boat cushion. As the lone fisherman retreated to a safer area, which was the top of his outboard, his hat blew off into the water. There he sat, in the sun while the large cobia took his boat apart. Somehow the large fish managed to get out of the boat. We picked up all of the things that were floating around the lone fisherman's boat including his large wet straw hat. As I approached the small boat, the lone fisherman, whom looked a little haggard said, "that fish was probably to tough to eat anyhow!" I had to agree, especially at this point of the fishing game!
Sea You Soon, Captain Judy
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Capt. Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 11:50 am: | |
Subject: Savannah Offshore
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
www.missjudycharters.com
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX
August 27, 2001
INSHORE
With the heat the inshore fishing has been a little slow, but according to my records from last year this is normal. So therefore as soon as the water temperature starts to drop, the fish will start to bite. I have had several reports of large Spottail bass being caught in the sounds and off of the beach. You best bait is going to be finger mullet, cut mullet fillet, or just dead shrimp. The shark bite has been incredible in the sound areas. Your best bet for getting these fish to bite is to use fresh fish for bait. The fresher the better. It's apparent that a shark can smell out a fresh dead fish better than a long time dead one. There is a rule of thumb when it comes to shark fishing. Big bait usually attracts the larger shark. So you decide how long you want to play your catch!
The tarpon are on wide open in Wassaw Sound. They have been ripping through the schools of menhaden on the incoming tide. It's quite a site to see.
OFFSHORE
One of my favorite sayings is "Try stepping outside of the box", which means in my case it's time to make a bait presentation change. Our offshore artificial and hard bottom areas are full of bait at this time of the year, which means too much food for the big bottom feeders to choose from. We have been using our standard two-hook rig, which has either 2/0 hooks or 4/0 hooks. We generally load the hooks up with squid and cut fish. Our rigs have been working fine, but we have been catching a lot of small bottom fish. The smaller fish are the less experience feeders, so they jump first at anything that pops up. This doesn't give the larger fish a chance to even get a look at the bait, much less sample a taste. Our bottom areas are certainly a target rich environment with first come, first bite situation. Believe me a smart large fish takes its time getting to the hook. This is where my step outside of the box routine needs to be put into to effect, which is to use live bait on the bottom only. I changed all of my bottom rigs to a single 7/0 or 6/0 hooks. These hooks are strong enough to handle most all sizes of bottom fish as long as the drag is set properly. There is plenty of live bait at the artificial reefs that we pass on the way to the Savannah Snapper Banks. However, I have found large schools of bait pods in about 45 feet of water schooling in the rips that are formed by the current changes. The sea birds are the best helpers to aid you in spotting these fish populated areas. Look for the birds hovering and diving over these areas. Get your bait rigs out with the small gold hooks and fill your live well up. These rips are holding cigar minnows, menhaden, Atlantic moonfish, juvenile scup, and Spanish minnows. I usually try to catch at least 200 of these fish before I make my way to 100 feet of water. Most of these fish that I have mentioned with the exception of the scup don't have air bladders. This is good because they can survive a drop to 110 feet of water without experiencing the fish bends. Believe the livelier the bait, the better.
Once you have the right bait the rest is simple. Go to your favorite ledge, hook up a live one, and drop it down. You should be ready for direct action, because the larger bottom fish are going to act fast. Be ready to set the hook. You might have to experiment on hook location a few times to get the right location down. Start with the hook placed through the lips of the baitfish. If you continue to lose bait quickly, try moving the hook behind the dorsal fin. This location will give you a 50/50 shot at a hookup. The fish will either take the bait from the head or the tail; which gives you the extra seconds needed to warn you that it's time to set the hook. This is a two part fishing day. Make sure you plan on having as much fun catching the bait as you do the fish, because any way you look at it, it's fishing!
There are lots of king mackerel holding from Savannah River to the artificial reefs, and the naval towers. However, these have also been on the picky feeding side. A couple of days in a row last week they would only hit rigged ballyhoo and drone spoons, then their appetite changed to live bait only. Who knows what they might want next week? If you plan on targeting these fish take your artificial, natural, and live bait along. One of these is bound to work sometime during their daily feeding frenzy!
GULF STREAM
No news is good news especially when it comes to top water fishing. There is a great big bottom bite at this time of the year. You will need to stop off at the Savannah Snapper banks and pick up some live bait. I am not talking about cigar minnows or Spanish sardines. The best bait for these big bottom dwellers is rock bass, sand perch or ruby red lips. These baits attract the larger grouper and snapper. The best depth is 150 to 200 feet. You might want to take along your electric reels!
LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
As you all already know my father was an avid fisherman. He loved it, lived it, and caught it all, especially when he wanted too! He loved cobia fishing. It was his passion. This was due to the fact that this fish didn't always readily take the hook. You had to have a lot of different moves up your sleeve to get a hook up. Now as all of us fishermen know sometimes no matter what you do the fish just will not bite. Well, my father got sick of this routine. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. Some of my father's old fishing buddies got together and came up with a serious plan. Among his fishing buddies were Uncle Arthur Lee and George Gorman, all of whom lived close by. You aren't going to believe this one!
They all agreed that getting the cobia to the boat wasn't usually a problem. This is due to the fact that they are very curious fish, but when they aren't hungry you are out of luck. I have watched them on more that one occasion swim in a circular motion around and around my boat. Only stopping to look at what I might have thrown in their direction. My father had to come up with an idea that would work when these fish wanted to play cowboys and Indians. The plan was simple; first he would need someone that could shoot a bow and arrow. This would fall into the hands of George, which by the way was pretty good with a bow. Now he would need a two-part arrow that you could attach a line to. He called it a "break away arrow." My Uncle Arthur Lee could design and build anything so this was his job. My uncle took the standard arrow design, which was a wooden stick with a sharp tip attached and went from there. Daddy wanted the stick part to break away a soon as it hit the fish. He also requested the arrowhead to stay anchored. This was a simple request for my uncle he simply made this by welding points and parts together. He made an arrowhead that would self-anchor and it also had an eye to attach the line to. All of Daddy's requests had been fulfilled!
The line that we used during the fifties was mostly a nylon type that was very strong and light. It was sort of like spider wire, but not as streamline. He had already picked that special rod and reel that he was going to used. I remember it being big, at least to me. It was a 6/0 reel that was on a wooden butt rod and it had lots of nylon line on it.
The three of them and of course me was off on a fishing adventure. It was evident this was happening by the look in my father's eyes. We had live bait, which consisted of live prawn shrimp. At that time this was the bait of choice for cobia. My father always took along his artificial lures as a back up. The lure that he used was the famous "Cisco Kid." (That's another story in itself.) This being our special trip we brought along the bow and arrow just in case those rascals decided not to bite.
Shortly after we arrived it happened. We found the fish, brought them to the boat, and they started their circular no bite routine. The fishermen quickly tied the line from the rod/reel to the special arrowhead. Mr. Gorman grabbed his bow and went into to action. This fish circled and he took aim and let it rip! The arrowhead went through the fish's head and the stick part of the arrow broke away. I was standing by the gunwale and saw the whole thing. I couldn't believe my six-year-old eyes. As the fish started running and right before the line tighten the wind somehow blew the nylon line around by neck. Everyone froze while I was still watching the fish. You know it's funny how things happen. Without any tension the line broke before it tighten. Everyone seemed to be so relieved that the line had broken, but I couldn't understand why!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy |
Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 12, 2001 - 4:57 pm: | |
Subject: Georgia Offshore
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
August 13, 2001
INSHORE
It has been very hot, but the heat has not stopped the die-hard inshore fishermen. With only a minor addition, such as a large beach umbrella you can fish in the shade with ease. Large trout are being caught on live shrimp with the traditional float rig. Trolling is another option that you have at this time. This method helps you cover a lot of area and also helps to keep the breeze up. It's best to keep a record of where you are getting hits and the tide stage. This will enable you to fish these spots sufficiently at a later time.
I have been seeing a lot of tarpon rolling on the beachfront by Warsaw Sound. I have received several reports of Grey hounding tarpon in the Back River at Tybee and around Ossabaw Sound areas. Your best bait to use is menhaden (porgies) or mullet, the livelier the better. Please use barb less hooks. These fish are so beautiful to watch, catching them is a luxury, please release unharmed.
Ladyfish usually show up around the docks at this time of the year. These silver colored fish act and look like a miniature tarpon. Ladyfish and tarpon are known for their aerobatics show that they put on while trying to throw the hook. However, their feeding habits are less demanding than a tarpon. All you need is a little shrimp and a small, but strong hook. As with the tarpon, this is another fish that hasn't any food value. Please release unharmed.
OFFSHORE
This is a great time of the year to practice all of your fishing techniques. The heat has a tendency to make the fish bite a little slow and erratic. This of course means that you might have to throw everything you have at them to get a little action.
For instance, the Spanish mackerel normally is straightforward when it comes to hitting a lure. They are either feeding on the surface or down deep. This situation is easy to address. Clark spoon with a small one-ounce weight or planers with spoon in tow. However, when the fish start slapping at the spoon at all depths this is when your headache begins. This is the time to start pulling out all those lures that you though would never work. Anything to get them to hit the bait head on. It's almost impossible to get a mackerel to the boat when it's hooked in the head, mid-ship, or tail. Don't forget your net.
The king mackerel can be found almost everywhere, but it's hard to depend on the same location and bite from day to day. The bulk of the snakes have been holding steady in about 100 feet on the live bottom areas and around the naval towers. The smoker kings could be found either real deep in 120 feet plus or in shallower water located in the Savannah River and Port Royal Sound areas. The are some kings starting to show up at the artificial reefs, especially the ones that are located in the southern portion. King mackerel of all sizes are being caught at the J Buoy, ledges east of the J, and Gray's Reefs. Live lining or slow troll with live bait is the way to catch the big ones, however the action can be slow. Trolling fast with spoons usually gets you lots of hits and smaller fish. Each method is known to catch either size, depending on the fish's discretion. There is plenty of bait holding at these places, so this could be the early beginning of a great fall mackerel run. I can only wish and hope for a carbon copy of last year's king fish extravaganza.
The bottom fish are acting like all of their relatives. You have to be what I call "bait Flexible." They will take your first bait offering and then they seem to become null and void. Believe me these fish can hurt your feelings and there is only one way to over come it, move on to the next spot. Here are a few examples of bait changes, cut squid with fish, cigar minnows, fillet fish, small fish head, fish tail, screw tail added to bait, or just plain dead shrimp. One of these combinations is bound to work. This ridiculous bait list should take in all of the bait jabbers and suckers. For the larger fish, use lively and colorful live bait. Hook placement could be important, you can either hook your bait in the lips, tail, or over the dorsal fin. Make sure you let the fish take the entire fish in its mouth before you set the hook.
GULF STREAM
The fishing has been hot and cold, which is pretty normal for blue water fishing at this time of the year. However, I still wouldn't rule out a chance to make that ride. It might turn out to be worth it. With all depth water bite patterns being so unpredictable all you need to add to the mix is flexibility. Any bait at anytime might work at this time of the year.
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
I am always writing about the fish that we catch that are good to eat. I would like to tell you about one fish that we catch, but almost never eat.
The ugliest of them all is the poor misunderstood toadfish. I know its mother had to love it, but I am almost sure that as far as it goes. One of my customers had another name for this fish "The maw-in-law-fish." He told me why. I don't need to pass on his reasons. I am sure you can figure it out on your own. The fish comes in the shape of a club with two dark semi-protruding eyes and a large big lipped mouth. The toad is equipped with a set of jaws that can put a hurting on any of your fingers. In fact, those jaws are so strong that they can open oysters with them at anytime that they desire that particular shellfish taste. So beware, they do and will bite. They usually warn you with a croaking or grunting sound right before they bite. In fact, they also use these sounds to communicate with each other. At least that's what I think. They seem to talk the most at night. I frequently hear them conversing under my floating dock. I haven't figured out what they are saying, but as soon as I do you will be the first to know.
Here's one for you, the male toad fish is responsible for taking care of the eggs. He assumes responsibility as soon as the female passes them. The females usually deposit the eggs in a spot where they can't be disturbed by currents. The eggs have been found in empty cans and old shoes. The male's job is to guard the spot until they go into the hatch mode, which can be as long as 3 weeks. While the males are watching the eggs they don't eat or leave the area. They are very aggressive during this time.
The toad that we catch in the creeks and rivers are dark green in color. They aren't real large, but can still hurt you with their bite. However, the toads that we catch offshore are a lot larger than the ones inshore. I have caught
a few that were well over 4 pounds. You should see the set of teeth on these babies. The offshore toadfish's color is bright rust.
My father was known for his unusual supper surprises. It was not beyond him to skin, fry, and served toadfish to his company for supper. You have to understand my father not only did he serve toadfish at one time or the other he also grilled crow on more than a few occasions, but that's another story. Don't kill these fish. Please find a way to safely release them unharmed without hurting yourself.
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
|
Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2001 - 9:23 pm: | |
Subject: Georgia Offshore
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
ww.missjudycharters.com
July 30, 2001
The fishing has been a little strange this past week. We have had lots of rain, extremely high tides, lots of marsh grass everywhere, water is muddy, high winds, which has caused the fish bite inshore and offshore to be a little off. However, with all this behind us our summer fishing routine should continue without anymore delays!
INSHORE
The fish bite should continue to be long and hard, especially when it comes to the trout and bass species. There have been record amounts of these fish being caught in the creeks, rivers, and sounds in our area. Live shrimp seems to be the bait to get them started and finishing up is easy with grubs, screw tail, or assassins. The float rig called Cagan Popper is making the noise that is prompting fish to take the bait, regardless of whether they are hungry or not. I have been using chartreuse colored ones for a number of surface feeding fish. Just attached the popper to your snap swivel and put your favorite artificial lure in tow. Keep the float moving, popping, and the fish will charge the float. Hopefully, they will get the hook, not your float.
The tarpon fishing season is at its peek. I am basically what you would call a "Tarpon Watcher." At least that is what I do best in my 31-foot boat. I am still seeing large schools of these fish feeding from Cabbage Island, along red marker 16 in Warsaw Sound, and all the way out to the Warsaw Sea buoy. To the south of our area, large schools of these fish have been spotted feeding near the sounds and inlets. You best bait to use in live menhaden, mullet, or mackerel. These fish are big, with most being over 100 pounds. Beef up your tackle and get ready for the pull of a lifetime. Please carefully release all of these fish!!
OFFSHORE
I have been writing a lot about Spanish mackerel, because it's the best time to target these fish, which are so fun to catch. They have been following their usual daily feeding routine for this time of the year. When the tide is slack, the schools push the bait pods to the surface. This is you best catching situation. The rule of thumb with mackerel is that if you can see them you can catch them. However, when they are holding deep, you have to fish deep to get them. With the tide being so strong this past week, the mackerel have been holding close to the bottom. I have been using a #3 planer with a medium clark spoon 15 feet in tow. It's not as much fun as light tackle fishing, but a fish is a fish and you will catch one using this method.
King mackerel can be found from 30 to 150 feet of water. Since this covers a large area let me give you some hints. Tybee Roads and the rip that hangs one mile off of the Warsaw Sea Buoy is holding large king mackerel, better known as smokers. Use menhaden or mullet for bait. Slow troll is your best bet. The artifical reefs, L Buoy, J Buoy, CCA, and L Buoy are holding lots of surface bait, which in turn brings in the mackerel. However, barracuda have been thrown into the mix. Stay away from the wrecks and concentrate on the outer areas. King mackerel will feed on the bait that is hanging around the edges of the Wrecks. Barracuda feed and lay near the surface just down current from the wrecks. I have been pulling #3 planers with drone spoons on a 30 feet leader. Your trolling speed should be about 6 knots. Pull ridged ballyhoo in your outriggers, but don't troll them to far back. This fish want action. I have been pulling aliens ridged with ballyhoo and this bait has proven itself more than once. The king mackerel that are located at these areas run from 7 to 40 pounds. Trolling with planers and ridged ballyhoo usually attracts the smaller kings with an occasional smoker hookup. You can expect to catch large kings when use live bait, either by drifting or slow troll.
The bottom has been a little mixed up this past week. With the strong currents that we have been experiencing, I have been fishing completely by the tide method. Fish one hour before to one hour after the tide change. This is the time when the current is at its least. This is the best tide to use live bait for red snapper and grouper. The other bottom fish will also take advantage of the slack tide. Give squid and cut fish a try.
GULF STREAM
I know I have told you that the light switch has turned off in the blue water, at least as far as top water fishing goes. However, from the reports I have been getting and from my fishing experiences, please do go and give it a try!! It's not spring fishing, but wahoo, school dolphin, yellow fin tuna, marlin, and sailfish can be caught at this time of the year. It's not a consistence bite, but it's possible. Here's a great tip; you are going to have to add stringers to your rigs. The fish aren't taking the bait in their normal mode and feeding it back doesn't seem to help. You have to have a rig that counts on that first initial hit.
LITTLE CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Fishing for tripletail in the sixties was always a unique experience. Especially when Daddy was in charge. Not only was the fishing exciting, but also the stories that came along with the fishing day. These fish that daddy caught were so big that they wouldn't fit into out dip net. So daddy had to gaff them with his homemade wooden handle gaff. The three tail sections on these tripletails were as big as a regular size paper plate. He used a simple beefed up traditional float rig to catch them. For bait he used live prawn shrimp, which we would catch our selves. We made a short stop at one of Daddy's favorite shrimp holes and catch all we needed with only a few casts of the net. It was a simple thing in the good old days to catch bait in a short period of time. My father's secret triple tail hole was a little inshore of Bloody Point. There was a broken off range marker that he used as a reference. We also fished around the piling for the triple tail. They were either sunning by the pilings or in the deep hole. My father knew for sure when and why the fish were there. I just knew it was fun to watch and listen to the stories that he would tell. "Bloody Point" is beach located on Daufuskie Island. The island at this time wasn't developed. Daddy told me the most interesting story about how "Bloody Point" got its name. According to Daddy's folklore during the settlement of Savannah ships made their way up the Savannah River. Upon reaching the mouth of the Big Savannah River any undesirable occupants were tossed overboard. The types of people throw out were the sick, weak, or maimed. I might add they weren't murdered, there were just tossed overboard to fin for themselves. As Daddy's legend has it those that were strong enough to stay a float with the current usually landed on the beach. However, there were those that were attacked by large sharks on there drift to the beach. Those that were attacked usually did float to the beach either partially or the parts causing the point to be covered in blood. Now you know the rest of the story. No I didn't have nightmares as a small child.
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2001 - 1:35 pm: | |
Subject: Savannah Georgia Offshore Fishing
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
July 16, 2001
INSHORE
It's that time of the year when the Spottail bass are just about everywhere that you throw your hook. However, you will need to put them in your fish stretcher to be able to keep them. Most of the Spottail bass are all running are about 11 to 12 inches in length. As we all know they have to be 14 inches (tail length) to keep them. Large Spottail bass are still being caught in the surf at Savannah Beach. They are hitting cut mullet and the bass seem to prefer that bait to shrimp. The smaller fish that are being caught in the creeks and rivers are hitting mostly live shrimp. You can catch and practice on these fish while you are fishing for the trout. They all are mixed and feeding together. By the way, I was just kidding about the fish stretcher. Some secrets just shouldn't be talked about.
Another inshore fish to target at this time of the year is the great flat flounder. These fish are known for burying themselves in the sand so well that they are unnoticeable not only to you, but any unsuspecting small fish that might unfortunately swim by. Don't associate these fish with the group of fish that isn't likely to move quickly. This fish is known to see like a rabbit, to be sneaky like a fox, and strike like a cobra. Live bait such as mud/small minnows or live shrimp will work for these fish. The livelier the bait the better. As with any fish, bait presentation is of the most importance. Use a rig that will put and keep your bait near the bottom, but will also allow it to swim seemly freely. A flounder can't resist this sort of fleeing situation.
Here a little need to know information about flounder habits. They always seem to lie on the bottom facing the current. This situation makes it easier for them breathe and it's usually where their potential meals come from. So therefore your fishing strategy should be to anchor so that you can cast your bait so that the current can deliver it directly to the fish. You should already know which way the fish is looking for it intended meal to be delivered. They like to move around on the slack tide. This is due to the fact it's hard to get enough oxygen while still or dug into the sand. This is not necessarily the best time to fish for them. They have more on their mind than eating. Incoming tide is the best time because the water is usually a little clearer. The ideal moving water is about 1 to 2 knots. Let me know how this works and by all means send me some pictures.
OFFSHORE
I have been doing a little Spanish mackerel fishing this past week and have come to a few conclusions. For one, you don't have to go far to catch these fish. I started trolling at red marker #16 in Warsaw sound and also started catching these fish as I headed to green buoy #13. I had been seeing them jump occasionally as I was heading home in the afternoon. So I though I would give it a try and it worked. Now don't get me wrong, in the sound, you can't get a lot of fish out of the same school. However, you can get a few mackerel out of each school, which leads me to my next conclusion. The schools were holding in the same spot. I found three bait pods in a holding pattern. I visited each pod making only one pass over the school, catching my fish and moving on to the next group. It's scientific, don't you know. Give it a try, you don't need a big boat to target these fish.
King mackerel fishing is hot and cold. One day you will catch lots of snakes and the next day you will get in the smokers. Both sizes of fish are usually caught on the same bait, at the same time. I have been catching my fish trolling with drone spoons deep and ridged ballyhoo on the surface. My trolling speed is around 6 to 7 knots, depending on the sea conditions. Other Captains have been catching their fish with down riggers and live bait. This being the slow-troll effect, which is executed by bumping the boat in and out of, gear just enough to keep your lines from crossing. This works very well and you never know for sure what fish you might catch. There were a few large red snapper caught last week doing this type of fishing.
The best bait to use for slow troll is menhaden (porgies) ribbon fish, or greenies. You can catch most of this bait around the buoys located at the artificial reefs. These fish don't have air bladders and last longer at most depths.
The red snapper and grouper fishing have maintained about the same crazy feeding habits, on the bite and off. As long as you keep providing these fish with live bait they will eventually give in and take the whole fish. I have found that if you keep moving from ledge to ledge you have a better chance of catching the big one. You can fish the same three ledges, but you must rotate so that you don't scare the fish back into their safety zone.
GULF STREAM
Now that the blue season is basically over you don't have to worry about making that long boat ride. However, for those of you who have to go listen to this. Captain Mike Carbo (Natalie Jean) caught wahoo, dolphin, and large king mackerel last week in this not blue water season. I might add that the fish weren't small. It was hard picking up the wahoo, which weighted in at over 65 pounds. All of these fish were caught to the north of Savannah and in the Deli Ledge area. He didn't have a lot of barracuda hits, which is very unusual at this time of the year. So therefore, blue water fishing has only slowed down for some! Let's drag those lines!
LITTLE CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
July 16, 2001
There has been a lot of talk about sharks lately. So here is a good shark story that my daddy use to tell all of our customers that supposedly happened during the middle fifties. Here's how it was told to me. A large boat such as one that I have listed below was fishing the warm waters of the Gulf Stream for a large fish such as a marlin or big tuna. A rather large fish did hit one of their lines and a lengthy fight took place. As soon as they realized it was a mako shark they all knew that they had a fight on their hands. Well, they decided that they wanted to try and land this 500-pound plus fish. So they came up with a foolproof plan. The boat was equipped with a gin pole, which basically is a hoist type rig, which had a flying gaff attached. The plan seemed simple. They were going to get the big shark next to the boat, set the gaff, and hoist it up on the gin pole. Sounds good but as usual best-laid plans don't always work. They managed to get the shark next to the boat, the gaffer set the gaff, and the designated others were ready to act out their part. They were all ready for their job. Well, here's what happened as soon as the gaff was set. They started hoisting the shark up, it started going crazy. The Shark got off the gaff, but didn't fall back into the water, but rather into the cockpit of the boat. This is a bad thing. As I mentioned this was a big shark, very strong, and not even ready to die. So therefore it started thrashing back and forth destroying everything in its path. The fighting chair, which was previously attached, became a free moving object. Any thing that wasn't attached was flying and the things that were didn't last long before they also became moving objects. Finally the big shark, but only after what seemed to be many long minutes came to rest or so they though. All of the fishermen jumped out of the safety of the cabin. They tied a rope around the shark's tail and pulled this magnificent fish up with the gin pole. When they got the sharks tail to the top of the pole, it's large head still laid partially on the gunnel.
They were all very tried from all of the excitement. Just as everyone started to relax the shark came too once again. He started jerking back and forth trying to get off of the pole. Finally realizing that it was over the shark opened its mouth and bit down on the gunnel of this large expensive boat, which is where he died still holding on. When the fishermen arrived home it took crowbars and hammers to get that shark embedded teeth off of the gunnel. According to daddy there was about $15,000.00 worth of damaged done to the boat by the shark that day. I guess you could say, "During the fifties that was considered a lot of money to spend on a one day fishing trip." According to my father this happened on one of these local boats. It was either the "Waterway" or "The Ambos Yacht" or "The Citation" or "The Altimeter." As daddy repeatedly told the story time after time he did make his own changes. Some versions I have to admit were better than others. However, the good thing is that everyone loves a good fish story! How did you like my version?
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 08, 2001 - 10:37 am: | |
Subject: Savannah Georgia Offshore Fishing
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 OR 912 897 3470 FAX
WWW.missjudycharters.com
July 7, 2001
INSHORE
Everything that our area has to offer is biting. Take these few suggestion and run with it. The surf fishing is great at this time of the year. You can catch Spottail bass using cut mullet by casting into the surf. There is a by-catch when doing this type of fishing. Either before or after the bass bite, sharks, whiting, and blue fish should keep you busy. The best tide to fish for the bass is the incoming, but don't let the tide chart slow you down. If you are there and have time, go for it. The flounder fishing has picked up. You will need to get your minnow trap out of the garage. These fish are born killers and are attracted by bait that's trying to escape. The best bait to use for this fish is a live minnow such as ploywogs, mud minnows or just plain so called small fish. Also, I might add, the best way to get your minnows trapped filled quickly is to put in some saltines and a piece of raw chicken. Fried chicken just doesn't seem to work as well.
OFFSHORE
The mid summer bite is still on with the Spanish mackerel. However, the arena has change a bit. The mackerel have been staying close to the bottom feeding on schools of bait that are content with the dark green waters. This situation has made it hard to locate these fish without the aid of a fish finder. However now that the water temperature is in the eighties the fish have decided to take to surface feeding, which is what we call "sight feeding." At this time of the year Spanish mackerel push the baitfish to the surface and go into a feeding frenzy. This feeding stage gives everyone a piece of the catching pie. The advantages are that the birds now can help you locate the feeding schools, you can smell the oils that gather on the surface from the shredded baitfish, and you can present your bait offering on the surface. I have been using cagen poppers and small bird exciters with small Clark spoons in tow. With these surface rigs you can actually see the fish hit at the bait and finally get mad enough to take it. For those of you who want to use light tackle and cast to the fish, now is the time to do so. All you need to do is to situate your boat up wind of the school and cast into the school. Use you lure of choice, most all surface-pulling plugs will work.
The bottom fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks has been hot and cold. This bite situation could leave any fishermen frustrated, including me, but there is an end to the bite uncertainly. The bottom fish are a bit more sluggish at this time of the year. So therefore with this low activity schedule the less food that they require. Another problem that we as fishermen are faced with is the fact that there is too much bait. The bottom fish have a smorgasbord of bait at their fin tips, which means less movement and little hunting for food. It's like they have called in for a "take out." Don't worry this can only last for so long and the end is near. Soon the bottom fish with have to go back to working a little more for their meals. The baitfish will start their normal cycle movement pattern, which means summer vacation for the bottom fish is over! Give these few pointers for catching these sluggish bottom fish a try. The best time to catch them is on the slack tide, less movement for fish, which means the bigger bottom fish are going to give feeding a shot. I have been using the "Captain Judy's Slammer" double hook bottom rig, which has 3/0 to 4/0 hook on board. This size hook is little enough to catch the smaller mouth fish such as the vermilion snapper and strong enough to also hold a large big red genuine snapper. You have two choices for bait. Squid will always work. I can't ever remember a bottom fish turning this bait down. However your best shot for a larger bottom fish is to use a live cigar minnow or any other smaller fish that you might have caught. When using a live fish always hook through the lips. After locating the school, you should drop directly into the school, and reel up a few turns quickly. The larger fish have a tendency to hold and fed above the smaller fish. The theory being that larger fish don't want to fight with a bunch of smaller fish over their intended meal. Don't stay on one fishing area to long. Keep moving to different locations, this takes the edge off of scattering the school by drifting these small location over and over. Here's a Captain Judy special secret. When looking on your favorite ledge for larger bottom fish the rule of my thumb is…if the bottom fish are feeding the smaller fish shouldn't show up on you fish finder screen. In other words, the larger fish scare the smaller fish into to small round ups or into the safety of the ledge. Bottom line is to always drop into these areas even if you don't mark but a few a fish. If the fish were there once, trust me they haven't left the area!
NOT THE GULF STREAM
If you have been following my fishing report you would have noticed that I have been reporting a lot of blue water fish being caught at the CCA artificial reef. Well, here comes another out standing catch from that same area. Lee Bryant who is among one of the fishing team on the boat "Southern Pride" has made his mark. He caught a release a sailfish from this area. Congratulations! For those of you who haven't been following my reports numerous blue water catches such as wahoo, yellow fin tuna, sailfish and dolphin have been caught over the years in this area at this time of the year.
GULF STREAM
I consider the Blue Water Trolling Fishing Season officially over around the middle of July every year. Well, as you on know that date has passed us and the top fishing has slowed down as expected for this time of the year. So it's time to drag those lures over the ledges at the edge. These areas always hold lots of bait. So therefore the big fish know that and tend to hang to feed. I have gotten several l bottom fishing reports of large gag grouper being caught in 150 to 200 feet. Your best bait to target these fish is live bait. You will have to stop at the snapper banks to catch your own. Don't wait till you arrive to the deep water to get your bait because they aren't any to be found. I have found that hardy bottom feeders like ruby red lips, sand perch, bank sea bass, vermilion, and small Black Sea bass make the best bait. Don't forget to pop their air bladder before you put them in the live well. If you do not, they will not survive the ride from the snapper banks to the ledge. Don't forget to put a flat line while you are drifting. We are still getting a few wahoo, king mackerel, and dolphin hits.
LITTLE MISS JUDY'S BELIEVE
My father loved to fish. He loved it so much that he started this charter boat company in 1948. Not only did he love to ocean fish he loved different kinds of inshore fishing. He liked trout fishing especially using the traditional float rig. His favorite saying, "just watching the sinking of that cork was always a thrill." His other favorite inshore favorite was to pull Cisco kid lures in the Savannah River for striped bass. He always knew when they were biting. I wished I had taken pictures, but at 6 years old it wasn't top priority. He would always take me along. Some of his trips were boring to me, but I will always remember the most exciting ones. Daddy called it "Mullet jumping." After my first experience with this fishing I knew I had to make some changes in my attire. I guess I should explain exactly what mullet jumping is. It simple really. We would get the old wooden rowboat out, load it up with the essentials, and take off for Mud Puppy. Mud Puppy was a small creek located just down from out house. The ride seems long, at least to a 6-year-old. The essentials were simple. Daddy brought along a white sheet and a flashlight. Oh, I forgot to mention you had to do this at night during a low tide. Not only at night, but also during a new moon. You know the moon stage where there isn't any light. At any rate it was dark and spooky at least for a six-year-old. Daddy would run our rowboat up into the creek to his special location. I would hold one end of the sheet and Daddy would hold the other. He then pointed the flashlight on the sheet and mullet jumped into the boat. It was strange to have all of these fish jumping in the boat. Some didn't hit the sheet. They would hit me in the head and all over. It was fun, but spooky to me. So as I told you earlier in this story that I changes my attire after my first mullet-jumping trip. I added a kitchen pot to my head and an old catcher mask to my face. I then felt safe, but I looked plain ridiculous. The bottom line is that you can't argue with dressing for success. No more mullet in my hair or in my face! Now lets not forget about the mullet that jumped into the boat. Daddy and I screaming as I went picked through the fish and only kept the ones that were suitable for smoking. It was great being raised on the water! Wish you all could have been there!
Sea You Later
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 01, 2001 - 1:13 am: | |
Subject: Georgia Offshore Fishing
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 OR 912 897 3470 FAX
WWW.missjudycharters.com
July 1, 2001
INSHORE
Surf fishing is always very exciting and simple at this time of the year. Spot tail bass, whiting, and sharks are hanging in these near shore areas looking for that easy meal. You best bait to use for this type of fishing is cut mullet. In the past, I have used whole finger mullet, but we have found that stripped pieces from a larger fish works just as well, if not better. I think it's the smell/taste, not the shape that gets the fish's attention.
If you just want to sit on a dock and wet a hook, try this. Trout, flounder, spot tail bass, yellow tail, and whiting can usually be found schooling around and under these areas. You can either jig artificial paddle/screw tail, use live bait, minnows/shrimp, or dead squid/shrimp. With this wide range of bait, you could find yourself catching a big one!
OFFSHORE
With the mackerel fishing in full swing you can certainly have a blast with light tackle. These fish are runners and on light tackle the fight is great. You can use anything from the traditional Clark spoon to a lure that you might use inshore to target trout. If presented properly, these fish will hit almost anything. The only way to present the bait properly is to find the school or evidences of the school and cast into it. Always remember when using artificial bait that you keep the lure moving.
We have been catching quite a few king mackerel at the Savannah Snapper Banks. There are two methods in which to use to target this fish. It's simple you either have to use artificial or natural bait. However, these two methods are completely different when it comes to presenting the bait. Artificial baits are self-explanatory. They look unnatural and most of the times don't even look like a fish that these mackerel would be attracted to; unless you keep the bait moving. These high-speed feeding fish don't necessarily need to be hungry to eat. They are prompted by sight especially when they see what appears to be a fish fleeing from the area. If you want to be a natural bait fisherman, use live fish that are shinny and don't have an air bladder. These baits live longer and don't seem to be effected by shallow to deep trolling. Another plus is the fact that you get to feel the hit, experience the run of the fish, and can usually determine readily if it's a king on the first strike. Kings are strong on the first run and have a tendency to lean into the pressure after their initial run. Heck at this point, you have already had fun!
The vermilion snapper are back to their normal feeding habits. For a few weeks we all had a little problem with getting these fish to take any type of bait. They were there, but weren't apparently in the feeding mode. The good news is that their normal feeding habits are once again being expressed. I am finding large amounts of these fish holding in 105 to 110 feet of water. Look for them to be schooling on ledges that aren't frequently covered with Black Sea bass. These two fish don't seem to work well together. Here's is another secret about the vermilion. The schools of larger vermilion hold and feed over the smaller ones. It's easy to determine the depth that they are at by looking on your fish finder. They usually hold about 4 to 12 feet above the ledge. Slack to almost slack tide is the best time. Larger fish, being smarter always feed during the time of less resistance, which would be when the tide is slack. I have been using small pieces of cut squid laced on my double hook bottom rig. You best bet for the bigger vermilion is to not fish on the bottom. Your choices are simple either drop to the bottom and reel up quickly or just let you line out slowly until you feel a hit. Both methods will work!
The large bottom bite hasn't been red hot, but we are still catching a few. It's not unusual for the bite to get what we call "soft" at this time of the year. So your best bet is to always keep live bait on the bottom or 10 feet off the bottom. The larger fish like to get out of their habitant area and swim a bit at this time of the year.
GULF STREAM
The lights have not gone out in Georgia's blue water as of yet. In fact blue water has found it's way as close as 120 feet of water. I have had reports of wahoo and dolphin being caught from 150 to 40 feet of water. That's not a misprint. Troy Remoin of Savannah decided to take a little lone fishing trip out to the CCA Buoy this past week. Upon arriving he caught his first fish which was a king that weighted in at about 18 pounds. Tory's second fish was a 35 pound cobia, which took him over 15 minutes to land. He had two other lines out which also were hit at the same time. He managed to land one fish, which was a small king, but lost the other fish. While trying to catch his breathe another king hit doing that sky rocketing thing. As the king fell back into the water the fish didn't run and the line went limp. As Troy reeled the tailless fish back to the boat he started blaming the barracuda for the tail cut. His last line out and basically all he had left due to the fact that all of his lines had been hit, starting peeling off line. Troy grabbed the rod and started to get control of this fish. The fish made long surface runs, but didn't show his true colors. After about 15 minutes Troy got a look at what was on the end of his line, it was a 50-pound wahoo. After a total of 25 minutes, he landed this fine blue water fish in green waters of the CCA Buoy. Congratulations! Here comes the best part, for those of you whom Troy asked to go fishing, bet you wished you had gone. Remember the tailless king that he caught? Well, Troy found it in the stomach of his 50-pound wahoo. Now you know where wahoo got their nickname "TAIL CUTTERS."
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
July 1, 2001
I have seen a lot of lighting strikes over the years while on the ocean. I would like to share a few instances. Early in the sixties my father came home from a day of fishing with an antenna in a million pieces. Not only was the antenna a total lost so was all of his boats the windows. All ten of his windows included the front ones were broken. His old wooden boat actually looked like it had gone through a hurricane, but it was only hit with one bolt of lighting. The damage was unbelievable. I remember another boat that was hit that same day. A rather large yacht was making its way up the Savannah River at about the same time that the storm was passing. The yacht was also hit. Unfortunately for the captain it was almost a fatal hit. When the lightning hit the boat it traveled through the structure up through helm, hit the Captain's hand, went up his arm, and out his shoulder leaving a large exit wound. He immediately went into shock, but did live to tell the story. This happened over forty years ago.
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 10:06 am: | |
Subject: Georgia Offshore Fishing
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 OR 912 897 3470 FAX
WWW.missjudycharters.com
June 25, 2001
INSHORE
Large row trout are starting to show up in the rivers and sounds. There are several ways to get a hook with one of the big boys. First you must realize that they didn't get big because they are dumb. Se therefore, you must use a little more fishing finesse when you are trying to get them to take a hook. They have keen eyesight and on some occasions it takes a lighter weight leader than you usually use. Another way to get their attention is to use the fantastic "Cagen Popper." This is basically a small float rig with it's own bells and whistles included. This rig works well when you add a short leader and live shrimp mud minnow or an artifical screw tail. I know for a fact that some the assassins' series will work with this float system. At any rate when you do get that hookup you will know immediately that you have scored. This will be due to fact that your rod will be bend completely over. Don't forget your net.
It could be crying time again especially for those arms of your if you get that special hookup with an 80 to 100 pound tarpon. According to Captain David Newlin, charter boat captain from Kilkenny Marina the tarpon has arrived in full force. He is seeing and catching them in the near offshore waters of the barriers Islands of St Catherine's and Ossabaw islands. The tarpon that he is seeing are all in the full size monster range, mostly all over 80 pounds. The best bait for tarpon is the sometimes hard to and dangerous to tangle with menhaden. (Also referred to pogies) Don't scratch your head about the dangerous part, especially since you probably know for a fact that a menhaden are only a few inches long. However, when you throw your cast net for these fish your never actually know what might catch. It normal to loop the end of the cast net around your arm, everyone does it. Captain Newlin was doing just that. He attached the cast net line to his arm and made the throw, which by the way opened perfect. You know the throw that opens the net into a circular shape, which means you are getting full coverage. Especially when it thrown over a fleeing school of menhaden. However, when throwing a net on a school of fish and a tarpon just happens to arrive at the same time things can and usually do get very hectic. The tarpon arrived at the same time that the net was thrown. Captain Newlin was almost pulled overboard and would have been if the large tarpon hadn't made his own exit through the net. As the tarpon left the scene so did the bait, but not before the line tighten on David arm. Luckily he wasn't pulled over and the fish survived along with the menhaden. Now you know how casting for small bait could cause you a problem. Don't forget to wear your life preserver!
I would like to report that I am seeing lots of surfacing schooling Spanish mackerel and rolling tarpon near the sand bar at Wassaw Island. I love my morning ride to the ocean. So much to see!
OFFSHORE
As I have been reporting the artifical reefs have had a lots surface activity. There have been a few bottom fish in these areas, but not as many as there will be in the fall. The top water action has been good with large king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, little tunny, and barracuda covering these areas. These four top water fish don't play well together so you will need to use a little thought before you try to catch them. Trying to catch the mackerel directly over the wrecks isn't too likely due to the fact that the barracuda will usually attack them as soon as you hook up. So therefore you will need to stay on the out skirts of these areas to get your entire fish to the boat. I guess I should say, "hooking up is not a problem it's getting the whole fish in."
The bottom fishing has been a little touch and go. This ridiculous bite pattern only lasted about 7 days. However, it did almost drive me crazy. The fish were there, but they just didn't want to take the bait. They would ride the bait almost to the surface and then let go. I know what I am describing sound like "soar mouth," but this was a little different. In fact the only way I could get any bottom fish to take the bait was to add color to the squid. I took some of my plastic lures and cut them into small squares. Then I added this to the hook along with the cut squid. Some of the pieces worked. I found the pieces with the colored glitter worked the best. I am happy now that the bite pattern is back to normal. Once again all you have to do is to find the ledge, drop the bait, and set the hook. This is how it's supposed to be. However, if it was easy and always the same I'm sure we would get bored!
The king mackerel bite has also been on the strange side. However, whatever caused all of the sound bite patterns has left the area. Now to get a king all you need is the right bait, which has always been the case. Live bait works the best with some types of fish working better than other. Your best bet is to get a cast net and catch some menhaden, but if that's not always possible. Another suggestion is to stop by one of the artificial reef buoys or naval towers and pick up some live cigar minnows. Both of these live baits will work, but from the information that I am getting the menhaden get the bigger fish. However if you just want have fun, get a lot of hooks up, go with the cigar minnows. They do bring on the multiple hits.
GULF STREAM
Captain Cage Zipperer that runs the "Katie Colleen" is our blue water hero fisherman for this week. He fished the blue water earlier this week and had what I called a "bonus day!" He caught yellow fin tuna, dolphin, and hooked up a hatchet marlin. I know back up and read that statement again. A hatchet marlin looks like a white marlin, but it's larger. Not only is it larger it has a dorsal like a blue marlin then it tapers down towards the tail area. There haven't been a lot of them caught in this area. Yes, we did have pictures of what we believe to be a hatchet marlin. All of fish were caught in less than 150 feet of water. Captain Cage found a round up (bait pod) being held by the larger fish. According to Captain Cage there was so much feeding going on in this area a slick formed from all of the leftover fish oils. The marlin was released unharmed. Congratulations to Captain Cage and his first mate Brian Woebler.
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
June 25, 2001
I will need to set the scene for this particular unbelievable fish story. I was trolling with six lines out. To enable us fishermen to have all of these lines out at once we have what is called "outriggers." For those of you who don't know what these fishing tools are let me explain. When lowered they look like a narrow set of airplane wings. There is a clothes line system set up which allows you to pull the line to the end of the outriggers. In other words a outrigger clip, which is similar to a old time clothes pin, holds the line until a fish hits it and pulls it out. Thus when the fish hits the bait, the fish runs giving you notice. The outrigger allows you to spread your lines out which keep them from getting tangled and gives you a larger surface coverage. We got a hook up and as usual we had everyone pitch in and help pull the other lines it in. This fish that we had on was pulling hard close to the surface, which meant an air show was soon to be had. As soon as the fish jumped we realized it was a large wahoo, probably in the 40-pound plus range. I told everyone to clear the aft deck and give Captain Ali some much-needed room. Everyone moved either towards the helm area or to the port side of the boat. One gentlemen sat on the port side of the boat and propped his feet up on the fish cooler. This box is located in the mid-deck area. The fish made another wild run leaving the fisherman that was holding the rod in what we called a "holding position." In other words you are only holding the rod, trying to reel, but only when the line stops pulling out. Suddenly the line went slack. Captain Ali immediately told him to reel, which he did. I heard a big splash on the port side of the boat right where the other fisherman was siting. Here's comes the hook to the story, the wahoo jumped between the outrigger and the boat breaking the line. The line lay limp on the port side, but it was lying between the outrigger base and side of the boat. Which mean that the fish had to have jumped between the two to get the line there. The fishermen stood up and turned to see what has happened. That's when I got to see it all. As the fish passed between the outrigger and the boat he cut the fisherman right cheek. I was looking for the blood to start soaking his pants. However, the clean L shape cut in his pants only went through to his underwear, but never touched his skin. How do I know this? Because it frightens him so much that he jumped up and pulled his pants down showing it all! Talk about almost getting rear-ended!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Judy Helmey
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2001 - 11:00 am: | |
Subject: Georgia Offsore Fishing
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"
Captain Judy Helmey
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
June 18, 2001
INSHORE
Last week we received some much-needed rain (from
tropical storm Allison) which will help shrimp and
small fish to grow as nutrients are washed from the
grasses. Speaking of shrimp, the brown shrimp have arrived and are in
good supply. This should help the fishing as well.
Spot tail bass were active last week with several nice
fish caught last week around the barrier islands on
dead shrimp using popping corks. There were several
good catches of seatrout reported on both live and
dead bait. Apparently the trout were ready to eat.
Small sharks and ladyfish are plentiful as well the
undesired stingray. Jack crevailles and tarpon are
just starting to show up. The last week was the first
report of a tarpon hooked and landed for the season.
We saw only one fish crashing bait in about 5 feet of
water. Pretty spectacular.
One last word about seatrout. They appear to
rebounding well from last winter. These fish are
thought to spawn multiple times a year (two or more
). A 12" trout can reproduce so with a little luck
we'll have another good fall. The reports to the
north and south of us haven't been as encouraging for
trout. Whatever reason trout have been showing up in
our waters. We been catching and releasing top end
fish that survived the winter as well as plenty of
undersized fish that spawned this year. Indications
look good.
Last but not least take your spoons with you Spanish
are starting to show up off the beaches.
Good Fishing........Capt.Jack McGowan
OFFSHORE
The artificial reefs are still holding their own. The top water fish are still arriving. At this time of the year you can almost count on top water bite of some kind in these areas. For instance, on the reefs that are located in less than 50 feet fish are easily caught by trolling over or around with Clark spoons. I have told you in previous reports that you will need to troll deep for these fish. However, now you can catch them at both levels due to the fact that they are surface feeding. The Spanish have started pushing the bait to the surface so that they can feast on them. So therefore where you find the birds circling, you will find the fish feeding. Always have you guard up for a larger fish. It's not unusual to catch king mackerel, jack crevalle or amberjack while trolling for Spanish. Set your drag light just in case a big fish takes you up on your small bait offering.
The artificial reefs that are located in more than fifty feet of water, Savannah Snapper Banks, and the naval towers are holding lots of bait. So therefore the big fish are also there. For you light tackle fisherman it's simple. Catch yourself some bait and situate yourself on the outskirts of the areas in which you are planning to fish. It's best to fish down current of the area you have selected, especially if you are fishing for king mackerel. This is due to the fact that barracuda are always holding directly over the wreck or very close. Fishing on the out skirts and down current gives you a better chance to get your king mackerel in before it become apparent to the barracuda. Fishing up current will only gives the barracuda advance notice of the new hookup. Not only do the barracuda get the distress signals of the king mackerel quicker, but also the left over fish oils from the fresh dead live bait.
There has been a little confusion over the status of our bottom fishing. I would like to clear this up. The bottom fishing at the artifical reefs that are located in less than 50 feet of water isn't as good as it is in the cooler months. This is due to the fact that most of the bottom fish have migrated to deeper water. However, if you know of isolated spots in this depth they could be holding fish, but they are few and far between. All types of bottom fishing are great in 80 plus feet of water. Squid is the universal bait to use, but live bait will get you a better chance at the big one.
GULF STREAM
The blue water fish have done what I called the "big split up!" It's that time of the year where they migrate into the green waters of the Savannah Snapper Banks. So for all you fishermen who want to target blue water fish and don't want to make that ride now is your chance. All of our boats are seeing school dolphin and larger ones on almost every visit to the snapper banks.
Little Captain Judy's Believe It or Not!
I always get ask this question, "How did you learn how to hold a compass course?" I have always loved this question, because I have a simple answer. My father, Captain Sherman Helmey was, as you probably already know my teacher. You must remember I was only 6 years only when I had my first lesson. My father explained it to me like this. Honey, when heading home to Tybee Island, always remember that South Carolina is to your right and Florida is to your left. This seemed perfectly easy even to a 6 year old. There was a big compass with lot of numbers on it located on the dash. Daddy explained when we were heading home to increase the numbers I had to go right and to decrease I had to go left. Now that was a little confusing to me. My father wanted to take a nap so he made it a littler simpler. He tied a string on the ships wheel spoke that held the rudder in a straight heading. This was much simpler for me to understand. All I had to do was get that spoke straight up and the boat would go straight. Now here comes the technical part. Two spokes to the right increased the numbers on the compass, which meant I was going to South Carolina, but only for a second or two. All I had to do was bring the rudder back to center mark spoke and then turn two spokes to the left. Now I was temporally going to Florida. I had very good memories of Florida, so basically it was fun even if the visit wasn't very long. While I was doing all of this I was to look for that big black and white lighthouse. After locating the lighthouse I was then suppose to head in that direction, which seem to make the numbers on the compass much stiller. All this going on while daddy slept and the boat moved at 8 knots. I had a wonderful childhood! I meant to add I was to wake daddy up as soon as I made it to the shipping channel. According to daddy the ships were much bigger than we were. That was easy for even a 6-year-old to understand!
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy
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Captain Ed Richards
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2000 - 7:40 pm: | |
Subject: Catching big Sheepshead in February
This is not the northern trash fish we're talking about here, but rather the hardest-to-catch fish in the ocean, and maybe one on the best eating. Now the Sheepshead is really hard to hook for most folks, but the ole Cap'n has perfected a lite tackle trick that puts 'em in the boat. If you would like to try your luck, let us know. Captain Ed charters year 'round. |
fishing woman
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 23, 2000 - 9:26 am: | |
Subject: My big Red Drum
I was at Tybee island the weekend of october the 21st
and was introduceing my husband to the joys of surf fishing. He was catching blues one after another, but
I wasn't having any luck until that big BITE. My big
Bite turned out to be a hugh red drum, weighing 22lbs and was 33inchs long. It was a great fight. He's back out there for someone else to catch an release.
"not my husband the fish" |
Dayag
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2000 - 1:48 pm: | |
Subject: fishing in Savannah
Since the rain began again in this area the last week of June, the salt content (salinity) of the esturary dropped to a level that the shrimp could tolerate. The white shrimp moved in from offshore in a big way bringing unusually large trout and reds with them for this time of year. |
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