“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”

POB 30771

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410

912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX

http://www.missjudycharters.com

Captain Judy’s email fishjudy2@aol.com

July 18, 2011

Saltwater Inshore, Offshore, Blue Water fishing reports, Freshies Suggestions, and “Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not story! Thanks for Reading!

Table of contents

Shrimp are here!

Red bump nose!

Red Fish like their steaks on the rare side!

Spotted sea trout and flounder time!

Let’s take a dip with Walt’s tip!

Sounds and beach front report

Artificial Reef Report

King mackerel or not!!

Savannah Snapper Banks Just keep drifting!

Gulf Stream

Freshies Suggestions June 29 2011 Lake Lanier Walt Davis

Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not! Bait fit for a king!!

Shrimp are here!

More shrimp are showing up in the creeks and rivers! And to add to this already great bait scenario there is also plenty of perfect size finger mullet. Most all fish like finger mullet and shrimp!!!

Red bump nose!
Attachment 195166
This is a mullet that has developed what I call “red bump nose!” It seems and it has been proven that mullet with “red bump nose” might get a pass by a red fish. However, there are circumstances to this last statement. If you don’t have a choice and all your mullet have the red thing going on then use them “they will work!” But if you do have choices go with baits that don’t and cut these red bump nose mullet up like a loaf of bread. They make great steak baits and red fish do like the taste and smell of fish steaks.

How do the mullet get “red bump nose?” By trying to jump free from the live tank. If you happen to have a live well with a clear cover I suggest making sure that you cover it up with a dark towel. The reason being is if you don’t the mullet will continuously bump the cover until they get “RED BUMP NOSE!” I must add I had a child on my boat one day that called them “Mullet the Rudolph red nose!”

Red Fish like their steaks on the rare side!

Red fish can be found on the beach fronts, in the sounds, and hanging around rips! I suggest taking a sight seeing trip, but whatever you do don’t forget to take some real bait or artificial lures. Here’s another suggestion: If you can’t get the red fish to take a lure or hit that live shrimp or finger mullet. I suggest cutting the mullet up like a loaf of bread and putting a steak slice on the hook. Then I would just cast bait into place and let it sit! This new fresh dead scent gets them every time!!

Spotted Sea Trout and their friends!

Attachment 195160

Photo by Captain Matt Williams

This is one great photo that was taken my Captain Matt Williams. It’s the front half of a nice sea trout, the hook that caught it, and the bait that brought it to its faith.

Spotted sea trout and flounder time!

The trout flounder bite has been good, but it’s all about timing. I call it a moving clear water event!! It’s hot and in some cases it’s though by fishermen that the catching is slow. Well, as fishing goes in some cases that might be true. However, a fish has got to eat and once you get in their strike zone bites are going to happen.

Let’s take a dip with Walt’s tip!

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Please meet Walt Davis

You know I love getting presents in the mail! Walt sent me a bottle of Garlic dip-n-glow and I can’t wait to give it a try!! Thanks Walt!

Attachment 195162

According to Walt the secret is definitely in the sauce.

While fishing for spotted sea trout on the Gulf flats out of St. Marks, Florida Walt took to doing a little dipping. While fishing with Gulp new penny shrimp he dipped the tail in the Garlic-dip-n-glow formula, which made a hit with the fish. Walt made an astounding discovery and he did it the old fashion way. He fished baits with and without the dip-n-glow. The out come was undeniable. The spotted sea trout preferred ten to one the dipped bait over the one that was not. I suggest heading over to Bass Pro and purchasing some of this proven sauce. The best news for me is that I can spend more time fishing and less time for shopping! Thanks to Walt I already have some!!

Sounds and beach front report

The shrimp boats are back and so are the fish that follow them. This is that time of year where we fishermen get the chance of a life time! I am talking about getting an opportunity to catch what is following down under behind the old shrimp boat. As you know when a shrimp boat empties its nets on the deck they drop shrimp and lots of other so called “by catch!” This by catch, which consist of fish and more fish of all sizes is pushed out of the scuppers right back into the water. All size fish from large to small with and without teeth know this. So therefore it time to “Go shrimp boat chasing!” Please do not get in front of the shrimp boats especially when they are putting their net, because during this time they have limited ability to change course quickly.

Artificial Reef Report

The Spanish mackerel bite is getting better. I caught some real nice large Spanish mackerel while trolling small Clark spoon behind planers and right on the surface!

King mackerel or not!!

There have been a few more catching reports. The rule of thumb when it comes to these fish …When the snakes arrive, which is those fish 7 pounds or less. Well, some of the snakes have arrived and they are being caught mixed in with the schools of Spanish mackerel. Please always check current regulations before going fishing. Currently a king mackerel has to be 24 fork length to keep with a bag limit of 3 per person.

The bottom line to this report is there hasn’t been much of a king mackerel bite this year.

Savannah Snapper Banks

Just keep drifting!

If you have been reading you already know that plain old bottom fishing and drifting certainly can be interesting at this time of the year, because you really never know what you might catch.

Gulf Stream

With all water temperatures just about the same the blue water fish have spread out. This could boil down to all fishermen from the beach fronts to the Gulf Stream a possible blue water catch!

Freshies Suggestion

June 29 2011 Lake Lanier
Attachment 195165
Walt Davis

Walt caught this 14 pound stripped bass in 60 feet of water. Along with this nice 14 pound-er Walt caught 3 more striped bass in the 6 to 9 pound range and 2 large mouth in the 2 pound range. As if that wasn’t enough a catfish too! As far as bait, Walt was using shad, which he was holding at bay in about 30 to 40 feet. This set up allows the bait to seek its safe zone, which is just about where the larger fish are waiting! It’s safe to say, Walt and crew had a great fishing day!

Those fishermen that want to “GO FISH LAKE LANIER”

Bill Vanderford is “Lake Lanier’s Legend!”

For more about my long time friend Bill Vanderford as well as his accomplishments, his freshwater charter trips or wildlife tours, books written and his special line up of tackle offered, please visit his site http://www.fishinglanier.com/contact.html for all the details! For more details go http://stores.ebay.com/Fishy-Racer http://www.youtube.com/fishyracer www.cafepress.com/grapefruitshop

Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not!

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Bait fit for a king!!

Cigar fish known by most as a reef runner or lizard fish!

Bait fit for a king!

Back in the good old days when fishing wasn’t so complicated. It was just plain simple. We just went fishing. Our bait was mostly collected on our own either from using a cast net or what we could get from our shrimping boat buddies. In fact it wasn’t odd to stop a shrimp boat on our way out to the fishing grounds to get bait. We would get fresh dead local shrimp and squid. In some cases this became part of the fishing trip. This part of the trip was interesting for the customers. They would get to see a shrimp boat, shrimping boat captains, and mates. In fact everyone loved to get up close and personal with a big shrimp boat! I guess you could say, “The fishing community was small as well as close!” Yes those were the good old days where everyone knew everyone especially when it came to ocean going working folks!

I can’t remember when bait became so complicated. We just used what we had at the time and it just worked. I never knew what a cigar minnow was until the middle seventies. In fact I don’t even think gold hooks rigs were even invented until sometimes in the middle eighties. Let just say, “If they were us fishermen in this area didn’t know about them!” In our creek where we lived there were schools and schools of menhaden. I never once used them as bait for king mackerel. In fact, I use to catch them by the hundreds with my cast net. I would then sell them to the next-door crabber for ten cents a pounds. He would use them for bait in his crab traps. As far as a ribbonfish we caught plenty in our nets, but never once used them as king mackerel bait. However, we still caught lots of really big king mackerel.

Our bait of choice for king mackerel back in the good days was known as the “Cigar Fish,” not to be confused with the well-known cigar minnow. While bottom fishing at the Old Black Fish Banks we would catch these fine bait fish. Then it would be a rush to get them rigged up and back in to the water before they died. At the time they were the greatest king mackerel bait known to us. In fact catching one cigar fish meant that your chances were good for getting a big king mackerel hooked up, landed, and thrown in the box. That’s how quick it was! During my father’s king mackerel fishing era, big kings were called “Smokers or Silver Kings.”

Believe it or not but we also used “Prawn Shrimp” while king mackerel fishing. We would keep them in a five-gallon bucket that had about two gallons of saltwater in it. I would throw small chunks of ice in the bucket until we reach the fishing grounds. According to Daddy the ice along with the splashing helped keep the shrimp alive longer. Upon arriving at the fishing grounds Daddy would throw out the bait container, which was basically a homemade wooden box. Daddy made them out of marine plywood. He drilled about one hundred-quarter inch holes in it. This allowed the water to flow through, which in turn would keep its occupants alive most all day.

I know that you are dying to hear about the rig that we use back in the old days to catch a king mackerel. It was simple rig and most inshore trout fishermen would recognize it right off. It basically was a traditional trout rig, but real beefed up. The cork that daddy used was larger than a normal trout float. The sinker that he used to set the cork up was around 21/2 to 3 ounces. The leader in some cases was made out of wire while others times he used mono. We just hooked the fish, awkward as it was, in the dorsal fin area. The rule when hooking the long and narrow cigar fish was that you had to place the hook directly in the middle of the weight of the fish. If you didn’t the fish would swim entirely too funny sometimes scaring the mackerel off. Daddy had a way of making sure that the bait was balanced. He just held the leader up while the bait was on it. If the fish leaned more to one end rather than level he would just move the hook until he had the balance that he wanted. According to Daddy bait balance was everything. For those of you that are laughing he was known for catching a lot of big fish. I don’t remember using stinger hooks until later on. (A stinger hook is a trailing hook, which is usually located about 3 to 4 inches beyond the main hook.)

My father used a big long shank “J” hooks on his king mackerel float rig. By using a longer shank hook the king’s teeth never touch the leader at all. I know what you must be thinking that a long bait such as the cigar fish would certainly need more than one hook. If I didn’t know what I know about the way this bait would swim with a single hook I would have to agree. However, once hooked up the cigar fish would swim in such a manner that a king could not pass them up. Even if the mackerel missed the hook on the first pass it really didn’t matter the fish always turn back to finish up the eating deal.

Attachment 195164

The old cigar fish from yesteryear is what we call reef runner or lizard fish today. My father named this fish “cigar fish,” because it was the same color and shape of his big King Edward Cigars! Now you know the rest of the story!

Here’s what the inside of the mouth of a reef runner also known as a cigar fish looks like. It not an especially good picture, but I can walk you through it. There are teeth on its tongue, lips, mouth, and throat allowing this fish to hold on to what it attacks. Now you might think it’s not a fighter, but it is. I hate for this fish to weight in at around 50 pounds! Thank goodness they only come in small more manageable sizes.

Thanks for reading!

Captain Judy Helmey
missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921