“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”

POB 30771

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410

912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX

www.missjudycharters.com

Captain Judy’s email fishjudy2@aol.com

August 29, 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

Inshore Shorts

Sandy Davis, retired professional charter captain formerly from Hilton Head, South Carolina

Red fish, spotted sea trout, and flounder

Casting for shrimp

Channel markers, buoys, and crab traps

Fishing rips in rivers and sounds

Artificial Reefs

Savannah Snapper Banks Offshore fishing this past week

Gulf Stream Report Blue Water Just Got Real Catching Interesting!

X-TRA-SEA BLUE WATER CREW Its sail fish, blue marlin maybe, dolphin, king mackerel, shark, swordfish kind of a story

Daly Double Blue Water Catching Team

Cotton Picker Blue Water Crew Captain “Little” Tommy Williams

Freshies Report “Great Worms for summer time fishing!”

Little Miss Judy Believe it or not! Please meet my Uncle “Reds” Helmey!

For those of you that want to read and interesting book, please purchase or borrow a copy of the “The Lemon Dance!”

Inshore Shorts

Attachment 202994

Taken by Captain Uncle Bob Morrissey, Salt Shaker!

Sandy Davis, retired professional charter captain formerly from Hilton Head, South Carolina is holding up two almost legal to keep rat reds. (Sandy Shea Davis a native Savannahian and is back home to stay!) As you know to keep a red fish the legal slot limit is 14 TL to 23 TL. Captain Uncle Bob Morrissey, Sandy’s Uncle and also mine too, took her on an inshore fishing trip with many catching options. According to the report sent to me by Captain Uncle Bob the bite was just right! And here is how it went…

While fishing on the in coming tide stage Captain Uncle Bob and his niece Sandy started catching lots of “rat reds.” According to the report these fish were so hungry that it didn’t matter whether or not the shrimp used was live, fresh dead, or parts of either. The bottom line it was a fight for the fish to get to the bait on their hook. Captain Uncle Bob also reported that once the water got deep enough spotted sea trout moved in and basically tried to steal the feeding show. So here’s what Captain Uncle Bob suggested whatever you do take plenty of live shrimp and keep the baits that die or have been hit but happen to stay on the hook. The reason being is that after bite gets into the “over ride mode” it’s not going to matter, because the fish will hit the leftovers!

This is a good report for us inshore fishermen. The reason being is all of the undersized fish should start being legal keeping size in about a month or two. This boils down to it looks like the fall to winter inshore bite is going to be a good one! Thanks Captain Uncle Bob for sending me this report!

Red fish, spotted sea trout, and flounder

Inshore catching suggestions that a fisherman can live by especially if they want to catch fish!

The larger red fish have taken to the grass. So therefore the high tide stage would be a good time to target this fish. The secret to not getting stuck in the grass once the water is gone is to fish high incoming until only one hour after tide change. The secret is to knowing about where the water exceeds the grass also known as the marsh in the area that you are going to fish. In some cases it looks like you have plenty of water as well as time when the tide turns to out. However, it’s a known fact that water when moving out of the grass on some occasions doesn’t leave as you would think. So if you are not familiar with where you are fishing under these circumstances rule of thumb should always be “Get out when the tide turns!”

Here’s the thing about a red fish…if there is food available in a certain area they will come back. Now it might not be the exact spot, but either right up or down the bank the red fish will show. I call this the watching game. In most cases those that catch the most fish watch first!

As far as best baits you can use what I call cast in place and let them sit baits or plastics rigged weed less. Those you cast in and let sit can be live finger mullet, mud minnows, or shrimp. However, if you are going to “let it sit” I suggest going with some sort of bait that is going to send a message. The message being scents and aroma! This is where seasoned bait works the best. Take a mullet out and cut it up like a loaf of bread and let it sit in the sun. The sun will basically bake it sealing some of the stinking juices in the meat. Once introduced into the water the smell delivered screams “its dinner time!” I have seen a red fish turn its head toward a smell like this!

Tips for those that just want to fish as well as catch!

For those that want to do a little inshore fishing for this up coming weekend..here are a few suggestions…The large red fish have taken to the grass…so therefore high tide stage is the best time…some nice spotted sea trout are being caught with live shrimp on traditional adjustable old school floats best times to fish is when the tide is moving.. As far as the flounder bite high out going while using mud minnows finger mullet of live shrimp!

Casting for shrimp

This is a very good time to do a little casting for shrimp. For those that don’t need shrimp for bait..guess what the shrimp being caught are big enough to eat. During this time you will also catch some nice size mullet, which are also good when scaled, split, and smoked whole. This is a suggestion straight from the old time. No matter what for those of you that want to have some fun it time to do a little casting…

Channel markers, buoys, and crab traps

When I say try channel markers, buoys, and crab traps I am certainly not talking about everyone of them. However if the area that these are located in looks fishy I suggest giving it a try…what does looking fishy mean…are there birds hovering or feeding? Is that an oily sheen on the surface trailing away? Most fishermen have an eye for this sort of stuff. If you see an area that is offering up some of these situations I suggest giving it a fishing try!

Fishing rips in rivers and sounds

Here’s a tip that you can take to the bank or I should say the old cooler! During this time with so much bait available fish do some strange feeding things. Spotted sea trout and red fish on some occasions will feed under and around formed rips. The funny thing is you could find this a possible catch a thon next to the bank or in the middle of the river or sound.. Please remember where the birds are feeding so are fish!

Artificial Reefs

The bottom fishing in these areas continues to offer up a lot of catching action. However, the catching great, but the keeping is bad. The reason being is most of the black sea bass caught in less than 60 feet of water are under the legal keeping size of 12 inches tail length. Out of a 10 hook ups and brings ins you might get to keep 1 fish. So therefore I guess you would call this 10 to 1 odds. However, when it comes to ocean fishing you really never know what you might catch. When practicing catch and release the fish send out distress signals, which bring in a much larger bite.

Savannah Snapper Banks

Offshore fishing this past week

While bottom fishing in about 100 feet at the Savannah Snapper banks with small pieces of squid and cut fish we caught vermilion snapper one after the other. When I moved a little to the west into about 90 feet we caught some of really nice size black sea bass. Mixed in with these fish were trigger fish, white grunt, red porgy, and a few flounder. As far as bigger fish we caught and released some nice genuine red snapper!

Gulf Stream Report

Blue Water Just Got Real Catching Interesting!

It’s time to go for WAHOO! The bite is no longer light!

Attachment 202999

X-TRA-SEA BLUE WATER CREW

August 17, 2011 Wednesday departed 6:00 AM

August 18, 2011 Thursday returned high noon

Its sail fish, blue marlin maybe, dolphin, king mackerel, shark, swordfish kind of a story

Please meet the X-TA-SEA Crew holding up a nice Atlantic Sailfish, which was caught, fought, released!

After loading up the boat for a two day adventure the X-TA-SEA Crew headed out at round 6:00 AM. Their goal was to catch a state record sword fish. In 2010 the crew hooked up a sword fish state record contender, but as fish stories go the fish is still most likely swimming and growing as we speak.

The crew’s first stop was the R3 Navy Tower, which should be called their bait stop/shop in the ocean. They loaded up on many different kinds of live bait. After the bait well was full to capacity they started their trolling trek to the ledge. Once arriving and while making their first pull around the area one of the lines out started screaming. Brendin grabbed it and within seconds a sailfish “got air” trying to throw the hook. After realizing what he had hooked up, Brendin finessed the sail to the boat, Zane grabbed it bill, pulled it into the boat, some nice photos were taken, and back in the water the sail went.

After that action the crew continued to troll the area when the next rod went off. While the reel was screaming and the line was peeling off Captain Chris fought trying to get the rod out of the holder. On some occasions when a big fish hits bait and the drag is a little too tight it’s almost impossible to get the rod out of the holder. Captain Chris while releasing some tension got the rod up just as the large fish turned sideways pulling the hook. According to the report it looked like a big blue marlin and mostly likely was. After this hit and miss the crew found themselves in barracuda and Bonita feeding frenzy!

Attachment 202991

These are what I call brown sharks! Back in the old days when I fished the blue waters of the stream it seems that every time I passed over a ledge especially during the hot times several of these frisky sharks would take out my entire trolling spread! During my fishing times the most active shark holding ledges were the Triple Ledges. The sharks would lay in ambush on the down current side of the ledge. From the bridge I could see the sharks as I approached.. These sharks were so determined to hit and eat our baits that the only way to avoid an attack was to just not troll the area. This area was covered with all kinds of sharks from the brown ones to the scalloped hammerheads. I would always tell my customers, whatever you do don’t sit on the gunnels and don’t fall over board!!!

Flying Sharks

Before you say, “WHAT?” I had this happen two times on the same fishing trip. A shark jump up, grabbed the bait that was on a hook on a rig that had the sinker wrapped around the reel handle. Yes, the shark got hooked up, the sinker unwrapped, and into the water it went. Luckily the drag was set light and the sinker wasn’t wrapped locked in. A customer that was sitting on the gunnels by the rod that was air borne hit by the shark almost got hit by the 16 ounce sinker that was swinging crazy before hitting the water. The second hit came right behind the first one almost hitting the customer first before the bait. This happened two times in one day. Now you know the meaning of “Flying Sharks!” It can happen and it did!

Back to the blue water report…

To get away from their current unwanted barracuda and Bonita bite they troll out to about 1,400 feet of water. Once reaching this depth their plan was to do a little day time sword fishing. At this time squid baits were rigged, and dropped at different decided depths.

After getting the third line out and right after Brendin had put the rod in the holder the rod tip started to bounce. He then picked the rod up, it double over, and the fish on the other end started trying to empty the spool. While all this was going on belt/harness were being adjusted and after about 10 minutes into this fight the line went slack. However, after just a few minutes into the fight all on board knew that this was a very big fish. It was time to check the bait. For those that don’t know just retrieving the bait from this depth does take it toll. Once getting bait back to the surface it wasn’t touched. After a few minutes of speculating it was decided that the sword must have made a few attempts to swat at the bait and then got tangled in the leader.

Over the years it had come to my attention that most sword fish are not hooked up, but actually wrapped up in the leader. Some call it “cat and mouse games” while others call it getting wrapped up in the leader while trying to kill their intended meal.

Attachment 202993

Nice Atlantic Sailfish

As the sun faded the X-TA-SEA crew switched tactics to night fishing under a bright ¾ moon. And here’s what happened next ..

Captain Chris reported ..

We could see lightning to the North and South of us, but according to our radar the storms were each about 20 miles away and pretty much stationery. Brendin was working two lines and Zane was working one. Brendin had several hits, but couldn’t seem to hook up until the third time. The fish wasn’t putting up much of a fight as he was bringing it to the boat and we weren’t sure what to expect. Zane then said he had a fish on as well. When Brendin’s fish reached boat side we could see it was a small swordfish and Zack leaned over, grabbed its bill, and brought it into the boat about the same time Zane brought a Mahi Mahi into the boat. It was pretty exciting that we caught a swordfish and a Mahi at the same time. Swordfish need to be 47 inches from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail and this one was a few inches shy. We took a few pictures and released it back into the dark.

Attachment 202996

Here’s a great picture of the X-TA-SEA Crew holding up a nice juvenile sword fish and nice Mahi Mahi. The crew has a great goal, which I know that they are going to accomplish. The goal is to break the current swordfish Georgia State Record, which is 86 pound. This record according to the Georgia Saltwater Gamefish Records was caught in 1980 by W. H. Lippitt. I know from their reports that the crew would have already had a would be state record on the hook in 2010, but as you all know that’s fishing. When they do catch the sword fish state record it’s going to be a big one for sure!

After setting out the lines again we notice the wind had picked up and the storms seemed a little closer. A quick look at the satellite radar and we could see that the storms were growing in size as well as towards each other. I wanted to head deeper to try to avoid them but majority ruled. We headed back in toward the ledge figuring we would fish there once we got out of the way of the storms. Unfortunately the storms came together into one big storm and began to move in our direction. We wanted to head west and eventually we were going directly north to try to stay ahead of the storm. It was filled with lightning and the boys watched the light show as we ran for about three hours until the storm slowed and I was able to pull back on the throttles.

Attachment 202995

We were now in 80 feet of water and didn’t have enough fuel to make it back to the hungry swordfish. We made the best of it and trolled around the R7 Navy Tower for a short while and picked up a nice king mackerel and a few more barracuda. We decided to call it a day and we were back to the house by noon. The only thing the boys could talk about for the next few days was planning the next trip to try for the state record, again. Talk with you soon,

Capt. Chris

Team X-TA-SEA

PS…I am predicating that the X-TA-SEA crew will break the sword fish state

August 18, 2011 Thursday

Attachment 202998

Daly Double Blue Water Catching Team

Attachment 202997

Joseph Barrow and friend holding a nice Atlantic Sail Fish

Captain “Little” Tommy Williams along with the Daly Double Blue Water Crew had quite a day while fishing the blue waters. While pulling solid black, purple/black, and blue/white Ilanders rigged with large ballyhoo Wahoo bites happened. The best bite occurred while pulling baits at different depths around the live bottom areas located in

155 to 165 feet of water called “B-Liner Hole!”

While trolling the team caught one 30 pound Wahoo, one 60 pound Wahoo, one 40 pound bull as well as some smaller dolphin also known as a Mahi Mahi, and released two nice Atlantic Sail fish. Then it was decided to do a little bottom fishing. They caught foot ball vermilion snapper, large red porgy, and black sea bass.

August 20, 2011 Saturday

Cotton Picker Crew

Captain “Little” Tommy Williams along with the Cotton Picker crew had a great day of trolling as well as bottom fishing. While trolling they picked up some nice pound Wahoo and then it was decided to do a little bottom fishing. Once dropping to the bottom with cut squid it was decided promptly by bite delivered that this was the right decision. The crew caught large Gulf Stream size vermilion snapper also known as b-liners or footballs, red porgy better known by us old school fishermen as “silver snappers,” black sea bass, and an assortment of other large size bottom fish.

Freshies Report

Attachment 203000
Photo by Bill Vanderford

Great worm baits for summer time fishing

When I first looked at Bill’s picture I thought he was holding the live stuff in his hand. A second harder look revealed “fantastic plastic!” Now here’s the thing, I just proved that a fish is going to most likely hit these lures, because “one call that’s all!” If a fish see it as the real deal the biting deal is sealed!

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!

Attachment 203000

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lemo…mey/1004309741

Please meet my Uncle “Reds” Helmey!

For those of you that want to read and interesting book, please purchase or borrow a copy of the “The Lemon Dance!” My Uncle Bobby also known as “Reds” Helmey is not a legend in his own mind, but in the minds of many including myself! It’s an interesting read and I remember when it all happened, because I was right there!

Stories to come about Uncle Bobby…How he managed to survive in a concentration camp type prison in Cuba and the tactics he used. Believe me this in itself is an interesting story! And believe it or not it’s all about red hair! How he single handedly escaped from Cuba, and much more!

Thanks for reading! Captain Judy

Captain Judy Helmey
http://www.missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921