Captain Judy Savannah Fishing Report - Georgia

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   CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
"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 1, 2010

Inshore Report
Red fish on the flats

Photo by Captain Judy Helmey
This is homemade soft bait rigged by Captain Ray Crawley of Miss Judy Charters. This is one of his special soft baits that he uses during the coldwater times. Although this is not a rigged weed less soft bait it still works while working in and around the structure. The reason being is that when retrieved it balanced so that the hook points upward offering clear movement over the structure. The addition of the blade can catch a red fish’s attention triggering a more solid bite.

Red fish on the mud flats especially when the sun has heated them up. The best tide stages are low tide in midday along with sunny conditions. The best baits are soft bait rigged weed less and mud minnows lipped hooked up small adjustable floats.

Photo by Captain Judy Helmey
This is a nice live well of spotted sea trout. I would like to have reported that these fish were caught last week. However, they were caught in the fall 2009! Don’t worry 2010 spotted sea trout pictures will make a showing soon! I can guarantee it!

Spotted Sea Trout
A few spotted sea trout are moving about. The best baits are small freshwater type jigs threaded on to trimmed screw tails worked slowly on the ledges and deeper holes.

Crazy cold water patterns are changing
Despite the craziest in regards to weather patterns we do have a surface water-warming trend. Since it has been so cold on and off for so long the coast, the waters have been on the real cool side. I have been watching and the water temperatures are creeping up, which is a sign the maybe springtime situations are taking a little control. Now, I’m not saying that a strong cold front won’t take the temperatures down again I’m saying they are most likely going to bounce back to warmer conditions a whole lot quicker. What the heck in about a month all this business about cold water temperature should be behind us!

This past week has already shown fishermen what a few warms sunny days can do for the fish bite. Starting with this past weekend those on the coast have had a big time warming event. I’m not only talking about the fishermen, but also the fish. When the sun shines down on the mud at the low tide stage a warming event takes place. With low water taking place mid day this week along with lots of shine so far the old red fish has gone into a semi-thawing. I know it has been good for these fish to exercise their fins and tails. The bottom line to all is when a fish moves about it has to feed, which is where the fishermen gets the best end of the catching deal!

Eyes of the Beholder!
Red fish and their natural tricks!

Photo by Captain Judy Helmey
Now here is a red fish that can really confuse a hungry dolphin. My father always told me that the old red fish grows these spots on its tail so as to confuse the dolphin. In this fish’s case it has its real eye on one side and two other fakes ones on its tail. According to my father the dolphin would most likely in this case go for the tail section because it looks the biggest. In this particular fish’s case when the dolphin goes for the tail it has a better chance for getting away! You got to love a good fish tail! In this case a fish with a custom made tail for survival!

I have driven this point home many times, which is during this time the red fish is high up on the dolphin’s daily diet. The fact of the matter is the dolphin’s main goal is to feed on as many as they can when they can. This is a factor that the red fish has to deal with all of the time. So any moves that this fish makes are highly calculated. It has always been my opinion that when the warming trend starts that the red fish become more active and less stealthy. With that being said, "More red fish were caught, fought, and seen this past week

Photo by Captain Judy Helmey

Captain Rick Reynolds quick cold water fishing tips.
Alternate Method of rigging your Artificial Soft Baits
During this time of the year, the water is very cold and very clear. So here are a couple of ways to rig your Artificial that will help you now and in the spring and summer as well. I saw Mark Nichols, owner and inventor of the DOA shrimp demonstrate how to make his DOA shrimp weed less.
• The bottom shrimp is the original DOA rigged from the factory
• Remove the hook from the front of the shrimp
• Use a 4/0 worm offset hook and rig from the tail
• Trim the tail in a diamond shape if you want, I left it as is
• Slip a glass tube with a rattle in the hole where the hook was
By putting the rattle in the nose of the shrimp and tying a loop knot to the worm hook, you can now pitch this DOA into the weeds and oyster rakes without getting the lure hung up on the structure. Shrimp flee backwards, so make a jerk and let it sink while taking up some of the slack. Work this slow and you will catch some nice fish that you might have not been able to cast to. See below:

Photo by Captain Rick Reynolds
Another good tactic that will work year round is using a drop shot rig. This is more for extracting fish than searching for them. With this rig, you just cast it where you think or know where the fish are and just wait.

Since I am using a circle hook with this rig, you could safely cast it out and leave it till you see the rod tip dip, then just reel the fish in, do not set the hook. If you cannot help setting the hook then replace the 3/0 Circle hook with a 2/0 Kahle hook. See below:

Photo by Captain Rick Reynolds
Notice picture number 2 on the next page. Use the following items to build this rig,
Fluorocarbon leader, swivel, ½ ounce steel, titanium, or lead sinker. The Titanium will be smaller than the other two weights, and will cast just as well, but quieter. However expect to spend 3 times as much for titanium. You can attach your favorite screw tail or paddle tail to the hook. I used a 3/0 circle hook, but you can attach whatever hook you like.

Just cast it out where you see fish moving and just wait, they cannot resist the fluttering of this rig. Instead of tying the weight on the bottom, you can peg it with a peg and adjust the depth this is fished from the bottom. In the picture below, you could raise the weight 6 inches and peg it. This would put the screw tail 6 inches closer to the bottom.

Photo by Captain Rick Reynolds
Another view of the same drop shot rig hanging so as to see it more clearly.

Offshore Artificial Reefs Bites
The sheepshead bite has been strong at the artificial reefs with the best baits have been changing from purple back fiddler to mud fiddlers to flats black back fiddlers. However, if you can get any fiddlers I suggest doing so and don’t be picky. It’s just that most of the 9 to 11 pound sheepshead was caught on mud crabs this past weekend.

Flounder can be caught while fishing the outskirts of the artificial reefs wreck. The best baits to use are live such as mud minnows or any live fish that you are lucky enough to catch while bottom fishing. However, there isn’t much of a small bait bite offshore so I suggest bringing mud minnows or finger mullet when possible.

Some nice black sea bass were caught while sheepshead fishing the past weekend. The bass hit fiddler crabs, cut fish, shrimp, and squid. These fish were mixed in with the sheepshead schooling over the structure. If you are targeting black sea bass I suggest fishing any areas such as pallet ball, convert pipes, and low relief structure that you find. Just keep moving around the structure at the artificial reef until you find the fish. Believe me they are there!

Offshore Artificial Reefs
Part two
I email Spud Woodward, Director of Georgia Department of Natural Resources and
asked if he had any underwater photos of some of the structure at the artificial reefs. And he sent me some great photos. Here’s this week’s special shot! Thank Spud! 
Off the Tracks and down under

Photo by Spud Woodward

This is a subway car, which holds the interest of many of those down under. As you can see from the photo the fish aren’t the only ones interested in taking a look inside. The subway cars are 60-ft long by 10-ft wide by 8-ft tall. They weigh about 40,000 pounds when dry. Check out all of the marine growth that has attached itself. Almost any structure put down under provides surfaces for some sort of growth. In this case we have outside and inside areas, which means a whole lot of growing activity going on! We fishermen are very fortunate, because we now have subway cars at the "J" buoy, "L" buoy, and "CCA" buoy. This kind of structure offers protection and feeding chain event that can’t be denied. You know the old saying, "Where you have small fish you are going to have larger ones too!"

During the late fall, winter, and early spring areas like this hold the attentions of all kinds of bottom fish from small to large. When the water warms top water fish such as Spanish and king mackerel along with many other mid water species find these areas great spots to grab a quick meal. When the bait arrives to these areas it stays until it time to migrate with the water temperature change. The bottom line is this.."fish here any time to catch fish all of the time!"

Stacked up like cord wood
My father used to call all fish tightly schooled up "stacked up just like cord wood!" I had my father explain this to me and this is what he said, "A cord of wood is stacked 4x4x8 feet or computes into about 124 cubic inches worth. In a fisherman world this means a whole lot of darn fish in one spot!" Here’s a good tip: Once the baitfish arrive they normally "stack up like cordwood" over and around the structure. Not only does this sort of schooling up help provide a feeding zone for other fish, but it also helps us fishermen to easily locate the structure down under. Baitfish will school in a certain areas over the structure, which means they can be found up or down current. The best news is that you can see the baitfish on the surface, which helps you locate the wreck. And there is more…by watching the school of bait along with their surface actions made it will be easier for you to develop a trolling plan.

Blue Water Happenings…
Lots of little tunny, few black fins and Wahoo…best news is this is a sign that springtime warming conditions are right around the corner….

Swordfish caught off Georgia in 1,600 feet of water…

Photo by Captain Chris Page

From left to right: Zack Page, Kevin Surells, Brendin Page, Zane Page, and Thomas
Bishop with a nice sword fish caught off Savannah Georgia Zack Page along with crew strikes again!

A Successful Blue Water Fish Catching Plan
Saturday February 20, 2010
The Crew "Capt. Chris Page, Zack Page, Zane Page, Brendin Page, Thomas Bishop, and Kevin Surells" fishing on board the "X-TA-SEA" had quite a memorable catching night! Before I get started on this fishing report I would like to say that this is one fishing crew that plans ahead before heading out. I have been receiving fishing reports from them for a couple of years and without a doubt this group has studied the up coming weather patterns way before starting their fishing adventure. Believe me this crew has had quite a few successful fish catching experiences! The bottom line when planning any kind of offshore fishing trip that checking the weather should always be at the top of your list. If the forecast turns bad or if it’s marginal, it’s always suggested not to go! 

Kevin Surells is holding a nice amberjack that was caught while jigging Saturday morning around the R 3 naval tower.

At about daylight on Saturday February 20, 2010 the "X-TA-SEA" crew took a heading to the "South Ledge." On their way they stopped at the R 3 Naval tower for a bait check. However, they found no bait, but while jigging they caught about 6 nice amberjack. After landing these fish the fishing team took a heading once again to the South Ledge. Once arriving they found themselves among many other blue water fishermen. According to the radio chatter there was more talk about what they wanted to catch than what these boats were actually hooking up! The South Ledge area was holding schools on top of schools of surface feeding little tunny, which some fishermen call Bonita. The water temperature was 71 degrees from every direction that they took. They found no temperature changes in this area. After catching their full of these tuna like hard running fish it was it was decided to make a move.

The crew decided to head out to a little deeper water while looking for any sort of a
warming trend or temperature break. As the ride lengthen to the offshore and finding absolute no warming temperature change it was decided to take a heading to the Deil Ledge. Once arriving to the ledge they immediately starting marking fish on the bottom. It was then decided to give this type of fishing a try. However, once they baited up and dropped down they didn’t get any sort of a bottom bite. With dark time already on the horizon and bottom fishing not what was expected they moved to around 200 feet of water. Now in the full darkness mode they started marking bait in around 200 feet of water. They quickly dropped in their Hydro glow light, which brought in the attentions of some nice 8 to 10 inch mackerel type baits to the bait. They quickly caught about 3- dozen of these baits, which were introduced right into the live well. With live baits on board the crew decided to make a serious 23-mile run to the Charleston Bump area. To their amazement the water temperature never changed it still held at 71 degrees.

Charleston Bump Area
Just so that you will know this is where this particular fishing trip gets real interesting. Plans were made ahead of time for the crew to make this run prior to departing. They were prepared with tackle needed for the job at hand, which was nighttime fishing for swordfish. After seeing the Prefect Storm over a dozen times I know exactly what this team was thinking, which was much larger fish and of course hopefully not big waves. Well, the good news was rough sea conditions was not something that they had to deal with.

Once arriving at said destination point lines were being made ready for set drifts so that they could do some serious nighttime sword fishing. While the crew was getting the glow sticks together, cutting the bellies out of the Bonita and sewing in the large "J" styles hooks, and setting up the large rod/reels a move was made that the changed the entire course of the evening. Zack took a 10-foot section of 60-pound test fluorocarbon and attached a live bait hook. Once getting this rig ready he attached it to his 5-foot coastal rod and 6500 bait runner reel, which was loaded with 80-pound braid. Under this 80 pound braid Zack had backed his reel 40-pound test braid. So therefore he had a several hundred yards of 80 and lots more 40 on his reel. When he loaded this reel with all this line he hoped, but never really thought for one moment that he would ever be in a situation where he exactly needed it. Well, in this fisherman world everything was just about change.

Baitfish used for catch Swordfish On Saturday February 20, 2010

Once Zack was rigged up, he hooked up one of the live baits, and put it in the water. His theory was while getting ready we might as well see if there is any tuna in the area. Once the bait hit the water, it took a serious 100-foot dive, and then kind of stopped. Zack set his drag on "bait runner mode" and put the rod in the holder. After about 5 minutes or so the main line slowly started to move a bit. With the clicking sound making noise Brendin, Zack’s brother pick up the rod, reeled tight, and nothing! Brendin set the rod back in the holder. A few minutes later the same thing happen again. However, when Zack picked up the rod, he let whatever was eating eat! When Zack thought the deed was done he reeled tight on the bait and hooked up what didn’t seem at least for the moment as not much of a fish. When fish on the end finally felt the pressure from the fisherman above it made a screaming run, which took about 450 yards of line. As Zack held this not for swordfish rod and reel set up he started to wonder whether or not this was a big shark. Speculation in the boat ran wild with those not holding the rod. The initial hook was at 11:20 PM where the first wild run was made. After a few minute Zack slowly got line back, but as soon as the spool was half full the fish would make another long hard run. After about two hours of fighting this fish it made a swim by showing those on board it’s true colors. Yes, indeed it was a swordfish!

Zack Page is fighting a 100-pound plus swordfish that turned out to be one of those fish fights that a fisherman could never forget.

As the swordfish made it’s first swim by it tried to go under the boat, but the captain made sure that this did not happen. With the clock ticking the hours away Zack reeled the taken line in and then the fish took it back out again. With the fourth hours quickly approaching Zack rod broke about 2 feet from the tip. When this happen a lot of slack, which couldn’t be helped happened. All on board though including the one holding what was left of the rod that the fish had gotten off. However, as soon as Zack took up the slack the fight was back on. The swordfish had now been on for almost four hours with Zack still reeling when he could. At 4:50 AM Zack couldn’t reel anymore and he handed the rod off to Zane. As soon as Zane got his "game face on" the swordfish made a charging move towards the boat. This move happened so fast that no one had time to get the gaff. On the first charge the fish passed, then swam about 50 feet from the boat, and then started thrashing it’s head on the surface. While all this was going on the crew now
had gaffs in hand, because if the fish charged once there was a good chance that this was going to happen again. As soon as the fish stopped thrashing it went into the "grey hounding mode." As soon as this maneuver was over the fish turned and started to once again charge the boat.

All on board now was in the gaffing mode. Kevin held the flashlight on the fish and
when it got close Brendin stuck him with the first gaff and Zack followed with the second hit. With gaffs in place the swordfish bill was pounding on the boat. The billed was then grabbed and they pulled the swordfish right into the boat. Well, as you can imagine this is when the cheering and yelling really got started!

After five ½ hours the crew had landed the fish that they had made this long run for in the first place. All on board were tried, but real happy. With all onboard ready to do the same thing again it was quickly decided to give it a try all over again. However, once they looked at their current position, they found that they were now 14 miles from where they were first hooked up. It was quickly decided to go into the head home mode. They might have been heading home, but they still decided to do a little high speed trolling on the way. Once getting back to the Deli Ledge with "no hits" the lines were pulled in and a more serious boat ride of heading in really took place.

Nice swordfish caught while fishing off the coast of Georgia/South Carolina on Saturday February 20, 2010 while drifting in around 1,600 feet of water in the Charleston Bump area. It was reported that this fish had a very large stomach, which had quite bite of semi-digested seafood in it. Some of the stomach contents couldn’t be identified. There were few squid and few nice size squid beaks. I guess squid beaks don’t digest to easily! A big congratulation goes our to Zack Page and the crew of the "X-TA-SEA for making the run that some of us only get to dream about!

Freshies Report
Bill Vanderford is "Lake Lanier’s Legend!"
My long time friend Bill Vanderford had sent me some of his most wonderful pictures! With that being said, "You will be seeing them in my up coming weekly Freshies Report!" This means my "Freshies Report" is "Stepping up" and offering some real time serious value! For those readers out there that would like to know more about Bill Vanderford’s 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

Photo by Bill Vanderford
Nice pan size sunfish! When my father and I would go freshwater fishing this is the type of fish that we would scale, cut the head off, gut, and fry whole. As a child I poured Georgia cane syrup on all my fried fish. I know what you must be thinking, "I bet that was years ago when she did that." Well, that’s not true, I still do it now! Hey, you might as well go on and try it!

Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not!

Two ladies with a real fisherman in the middle!
This picture was sent to me by Judy Quinney, which was taken after this trio's fishing trip. According to this 1956 fishing report this long stringer of fish was caught in the Ogeechee River near Rocky Ford. The real fisherman is Judy Quinney (in the middle), who still remembers this fish catching day as if it was only yesterday! This is why taking a child fishing is so important! Heck, instead of being a Realtor she could have been commercial fisher woman!

When Judy Quinney read last week's "Mullet Gizzard Gravy" with Bob Paschal it prompted her to remember this great story that she shared with me. Her father, like mine, also loved to eat mullet. According to Judy his most preferred time for eating mullet was "cold" for breakfast the morning after the fish-frying event.

When Judy Quinney was in ninth grade her biology teacher told the students that they needed to bring something in to dissect. After telling her father about this, he went to Punk’s Fish Market/beer joint in Portal and brought her a nice mullet. Judy’s father remarked, "This would be a prefect fish to dissect and also a good one to eat, too!" As he handed her the paper wrapped fish she could tell he was thinking about a cold mullet morning snack.

The soon-to-be dissected mullet wrapped in paper and ice spent the night in the
refrigerator. When it was time to head to school, Judy grabbed the mullet, tucked it
under her arm and off too school she went.

Here’s what happened…Since Judy’s biology class wasn’t until 5th period the mullet went to all classes with her. By 3rd period class the mullet not only was dripping it has started it own special smelling event. When she finally did get to 5th period biology class the mullet has taken on an entirely new stink. With the students and her biology teacher watching she unwrapped the mullet causing the smell to really travel. Her teacher while holding her nose, said with a nasally voice, "When I said I wanted you to bring something to dissect I meant bugs, lizards or frogs!" As you can imagine the mullet was then removed from the room leaving somewhat of a lingering smell, which meant Judy had not a thing to dissect. When she got home, her father asked, "How did biology class go?" Judy said, "Not to well, the mullet really was stinking by 5th period and my teacher wasn’t very happy about this." At this point her father not really thinking about dissecting anymore said, "That was a prefect mullet for
frying up!" Judy while still seemly smelling the old mullet said, "I would have brought it back home, but I think the only one that might have been interested would be the cat if that!" The moral of this story is "Fish are for eating and definitely not dissecting in 5th period biology class!"

Thanks Judy for sending this great 1964 fishing story!
Thanks for reading! Captain Judy

Edited by Captain Judy - 01/Mar/2010 at 5:17pm