“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

March 14, 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 Content

Inshore fishing shorts!

Ready Set Go The Whiting Bite Has Started! Whiting 2011 Season has started!

South end of Tybee Island

South Channel (By Savannah River Channel)

Adams Bait house (Savannah, Georgia) this past week (912 897 1550)

How do I cook whiting?

Striped Bass fishing in the Savannah River

Splitting Current!

Meet the inshore/offshore flounder! Inshore Flounder Bite

Trout from 2009 Spotted Sea Trout Bite

Artificial Reefs Sheepshead bite still prevails from the beachfronts holding structure to

Savannah Snapper Banks

Gulf Stream it’s time to go and if you do please let me know! And if you do make the run! Try this!

Freshies Report Swirleybird Catches Bass! Those fishermen that want to “GO FISH LAKE LANIER” Bill Vanderford is “Lake Lanier’s Legend!”

Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not! Sherman Shooter AKA High Ball

Here’s what I do know in regards to catching fish at this time of the year!

First, you have to go so that you will know!

Inshore fishing shorts!

Ready Set Go

The Whiting Bite Has Started!

It’s whiting time!

Attachment 189266

Whiting 2011 Season has started!

The whiting 2011 season has started with inshore fishermen being able to catch lots of good eating fish. The whiting might not be a real large fish and they certainly don’t have game fish status, but what they do offer is just plain catching fun. So therefore with that being said, “It’s time to go whiting fishing!” As far as where to look, I suggest fishing in the sound areas around mud or sand flats in about 15 to 18 feet of water. In the river, I suggest looking for any live bottom in or near a deep hole or fish close to an oyster reef.

The best bait is going to be small pieces of peeled shrimp laced on to little hooks. Always check regulations before heading out! It looks likes they have to be at least 10 inches to keep. And the best news of all is there is at least for now “no bag limit!!

The bottom line to this report is …”When the whiting bite starts spring has sprung!” I will leave you with one more thing according to my father…When the dog woods are blooming the whiting are biting! And for all those in this area..you know the dog woods are blooming!

South end of Tybee Island

I have had some reports of fishermen catching whiting while fishing the south end of Tybee Island. The best news about this report is the fact that you can walk to the destination meaning no boats needed!

South Channel (By Savannah River Channel)

I talked with Adams Bait house (Savannah, Georgia) this past week (912 897 1550) and got some pretty good information. The bait house is selling mud minnows and fiddlers at this time. As far as live shrimp, it’s not happening yet. They have tried a little pre-dragging for shrimp last week, while catching not a thing. They will try again next week. Soon we will have live shrimp and we will forget all about this dry spell!

As far as the whiting bite Adams Bait house reported that some were being some caught while bottom fishing in the South Channel and also off the beach fronts at Tybee Island.. Best baits are going to be peeled shrimp laced on to small hooks.

How do I cook whiting?

If you are from the old school and you just happen to like fried fish, here’s the prefect suggestion. I suggest cleaning you whiting just like you did a fresh water fish in the old days, which was to scaled, gut, and cut the head off. Then I always place a few diagonal slices across the body. This way once dropped in the hot grease your whole fish will cook more evenly.

As far coating the ready to fry fish, my father always dropped the whole fish in a paper bag. When cooking at our house we never exactly knew what was going into the paper bag first. My father liked to use flour and/or corn meal. To this powder mixture he would dump in salt and pepper. If he had some extra old bay seasoning left over from our last crab boil he would throw some of that into the mix. While all this mixing and shaking of the paper bag was going on daddy was heating up the grease in our seasoned cast iron skillet. Once the whole fish was completely coated meaning the kitchen was a total mess he would start the frying process. My father could eat some whiting for sure. Now I did eat my share, but only after I poured Georgia Cane Syrup over the fried fish first!

Striped Bass fishing in the Savannah River
Attachment 189269
Splitting Current!

There were a few striped bass caught this past week while working the structure in the Savannah River. Here a tip that you can use especially when fishing artificial lures such as Gulp “root beer” swimming mullet threaded on to ¼ ounce jig heads. When working the current I suggest picking areas where it is split. Splitting current is caused when it flows around or over some sort of structure. Some of these currents are easily found just by looking at it as it makes its way around a piling. However, not all pilings hold the interest of fish or provide a safe haven for bait fish. Another place to look is where current flows over or around covered structure such as rocks or wrecks.

Most fishermen will agree that before a place or situation can hold the attentions of fish it has to look fishy first! The meaning of fishy might start with birds hovering or diving, sheen on the surface from fish oils floating up, schools of bait fish in the area, but not necessarily right at the spot in question. When talking about fish and their feeding habits some things just come natural while others have to be learned by trial and error. Whatever the case it’s still just called fishing by many and catching by a few!

Attachment 189265

Meet the inshore/offshore flounder!

Inshore Flounder Bite

Believe it or not, but this is a good time to make plans to target flounder. The secret is to understand how a flounder works during this time of the year. There is one thing that you can count on a flounder to do on an incoming tide and that is to advance to the structure. In our case, especially when talking about inshore fishing, it could be the old live oyster rake. This is one place that fish know where smaller bait fish and hopefully shrimp will be heading and the path that they will take. So here is your flounder catching suggestion: While fishing the turn of the tide from low to high, lip hook a mud minnows onto a 1/8 to ¼ ounce jig, cast up to towards the bank, and walk it slowly back to your boat. Most flounder will be situated facing toward the current in a holding camouflage pattern. Any advancement of bait from the rear will be welcome occurrence especially to the fish that is trying to score a quick meal.

Trout from 2009
Attachment 189268
Spotted Sea Trout Bite

Although I have had some scattered reports of trout be caught I have not seen any “up close and personal!” If you have caught any spotted sea trout, please send me a picture!

Artificial Reefs

Attachment 189272

Sheepshead bite still prevails from the beachfronts holding structure to the near shore artificial reefs. Now is the time to either plan you Sheepshead fishing trip with us or get your own boat ready…time is flying by and the Sheepshead will soon have migrated back into the inshore waters.

Please forget circle hooks only!

Savannah Snapper Banks

Vermilion snapper season will open on April 1 making a ride to the Savannah Snapper banks a worth while ride. With the vermilion snapper bite you can also experience trigger fish, white bone porgy, knobbed porgy, red porgy, white grunt, scup, ocean perch, banded rudder fish, bank bass, rock bass, sand perch, tomtate, cubera snapper, amberjack, and almaco Jack. All this boils down to a whole of catching possibilities!

Please forget circle hooks only!

Attachment 189271

Nice bill!!

Gulf Stream

It’s time to go and if you do please let me know!

And if you do make the run! Try this!

Pick a Ledge or Live bottom areas to stroll and troll! As far as best baits to use I suggest using “Old School!” With being said, “Break out the cedar plugs and drone spoons!” These lures worked then and they are still working now!

Freshies Report

Attachment 189270

Swirleybird Catches Bass!

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’s Believe It or Not!

Attachment 189267

Sherman Shooter

AKA High Ball

According to the dictionary “high ball” is an iced drink containing liquor and water or a carbonated beverage served in a tall glass

Sherman Shooter is not listed in the dictionary. Here’s what made this drink what it was. It was an iced drink containing more liquor than water or carbonated beverage served in a old time large tea glass

The man with a Sherman Shooter in is hand!

If you have been keeping up with my stories you already know that my father, Captain Sherman I Helmey, was considered a “Colorful Coastal Character.” My father loved life and he spent all of his time, at least when I knew him, making the very best of it. He loved fishing, hunting, having lots of different dates, and his afternoon drinks. Back in the old days before the opening of The Piggy Wiggly on the island there was only a few places to purchase any kind of grocery items. There was Woos owned and operated by Mr. Soc Woo. You could get almost anything from there from food to hardware, but it closed before dark. Now if you happened to need anything after dark you could go to “Mitchell’s Store” owned and operated by Mr. Mitchell. It all seemed fine until you needed something on Sunday after dark. Mitchell’s wasn’t open on Sunday’s.

My father always loved to have his brown liquor drink in the afternoon. Sometimes this afternoon drink would turn into several. He usually mixed his drinks with sprite, squirt, or coke, but on some occasions he would be out of all of the above mixes. So here is what he would do. He would take white vinegar and blend it with tomato ketchup. This became his mix. He poured this concoction into his brown liquor. Now for those who might want to possibly make this drink. It was mixed with three parts-liquor and one-part concoction. It actually wasn’t that bad. You know I had t taste it. Yes, even an eight-year-old got to taste the concoction. This drink became known as the “Sherman Shooter.”

Thanks for reading! Judy

Captain Judy Helmey
missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921