Fished for: Snapper, Grouper,Sea Bass, ETC.
Date Fished:
Boat Name: Miss Judy Too
Water Temp: Lower 70's
Water Clarity:
Seas: choppy
Weather: windy
REPORT:
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
MISS JUDY CHARTERS
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com
October 22, 2001
INSHORE
For those who want to catch an inshore fish now is the time to go. The Spottail bass, spotted sea trout, sheepshead, and whiting feeding frenzy is on. Most of the Spottail bass and trout that have been brought into my dock have been caught in the Wassaw Sound area. Some have hit live bait while others have preferred the artificial stuff. Your best bet is to take both types of bait and give it all a try. Most of the whiting being caught are still in the pretty large category. These fish can't pass up a small piece of peeled shrimp. So your best bet is to give them what they want. Keep all of the heads and shells in a bucket. They make great chum to get the whiting to go into a feeding frenzy. You best time to dump the chum is during the slack tide. The smell will bring them to you. These fish have been holding in the areas where the river dumps into the sound. You can find the sheepshead feeding around dock pilings, bridges, or rock piles. Your best bet for bait is going to be the hard to get fiddler crab. However don't rule out barnacles, raw oyster, or small whole shrimp. There is a rule of thumb when it comes to setting the hook on a sheepshead. You must set the hook before they bite!
OFFSHORE
I know I must sound like a broken record. The fishing is good, but the wind still hasn't quit blowing. Last week we fished three days and were off four days due to high winds. There is an up side to all of these high winds. I call it "wind value." As long as the wind is blowing the fish aren't able to feed that much. This is due to the fact that there is so much turbulent motion taking place in the ocean. So therefore when it stops and does let us out we will have bonus fishing days.
For the time that we spent offshore this week we all had great bottom catches. One of our Captains brought in several red snapper that went over 25 pounds each not to mention all of the other bottom fish that he also caught that day. Captain Ken Kennickell, his first mate Captain Brian Woelber, and DeZoort charter party had a bonus fishing day at the Savannah Snapper Banks. He caught all of his large bottom fish on the "Grouper Grabber Rig." (Captain Judy's rig) He was using sand perch and rock bass for bait, which I might add, worked quite well. He also caught the boat limit of vermilion snapper, few sharks, triggerfish, and large Black Sea bass, using squid and fillet fish as bait. According to Captain Ken he caught most of the bottom fish inshore of the R 6 Naval Tower. Now you know the rest of the story. Congratulations Captain Ken and his first mate Captain Brain Woelber.
I spent sometime this past week fishing at the artificial reef located in 45 feet of water. I can definitely report that the big black (sea bass) fish build up has taken place. We even caught a few gag grouper that were over 26 inches. So therefore all of you fishermen that usually visit these areas at this time of the year should try to make the trip. The fish are plentiful and all you need is some squid as bait to get their attention. If you are not familiar with the artificial reef that you intend to fishing, give the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) a call and ask them to send you the information. This information allows you to make a fish plan before you leave the dock. Please remember your kitchen table doesn't move like your boat!
The fall/winter run of the king mackerel should be here. All of the signs are here that indicate that this migration has taken place. However, I can't confirm with multiple catches of mackerel as of yet. The bait has situated itself on the artificial reefs that are located in 50 to 60 feet of water. The yellow butterfly migration has already taken place. The ocean and sound skies were full of these beautiful insects. For those who don't know what the migration of the yellow butterflies has to do with the king mackerel run please let me explain. The migration through our area of the yellow butterflies takes place just before the king mackerel makes their track to the closer reefs. So therefore I don't know about you but I am counting on my butterflies to lead the way!
GULF STREAM
This time last year we caught a 91-pound wahoo on live bait in 160 feet of water. I was 4 miles east of the R 8 Naval Tower doing a little bottom fishing when this hookup took place. I know that the fish are there, but I haven't been able to get to them. So I am going to look at it another way, the longer I wait the bigger the fish will get!
PLEASE CALL ME TO REPORT ANY OF YOUR CATCHES THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO SHARE WITH OTHER FISHERMEN!
CAPTAIN JUDY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
I pulled this trick on some of my fishing buddies a long time ago. It was a classic. We were all booked for a snapper banks trip and the northeast wind was blowing a "Gale." Our party showed up and we explained to them the situation. We also told them that shark fishing in the sound was an option, but that they also didn't bite to well on a northeast wind either. They all decided that they still wanted to give it a try. This was due to the fact that they were ready to fish and the beer was already cold. Captain Ida Knight, whom ran and owned the boat "Debutramp" was one of the charter boats in the group. We talked and I told her that I knew we probably weren't going to catch anything, but everyone as a group just wanted to get out for a while. Before we left the fishing party wanted to get up a pot (money) for the biggest fish, which they did. It was about $200.00. I got all of the boats loaded while all of the fishermen screamed at one another on who was going to catch the biggest fish. As usual I was going to be the last to load and leave the dock. My group told me that they had to win and it didn't mater rather we had to fudge a little or not. I stood there with all of this pressure and decided to make a stand. I went up to the freezer and took out a large frozen barracuda and put the fish into the cooler. Off we went to the shark-infested water of the shark hole, which is located at the tip of Cabbage Island. It looked like a boat parking lot when I arrive. No one could fish offshore today so every boat from small to large was all anchored at the ever-popular shark hole. All of our four charter boats were anchored within screaming distance. We were all waiting for that big shark bite that would never probably materialized. After about two-hours into the trip my boat decided it was time to put on our show. Captain Ali hooked up the big still frozen barracuda and slipped it overboard. Luckily the fish sank so we let it drift out with the current until the reel was almost empty of line. Then we all started screaming that we had a fish on. The chosen fisherman fought it making his rod bend as if the large fish really was alive and pulling drag. This was due to the fact that the current was really running and the frozen dead fish was actually very heavy. Once the fisherman got the frozen dead fish to the boat Captain Ali went into action. She gaffed it a few times purposely missing it making the frozen fish really look even more alive. Upon making the finish fight looking real good she finally put the frozen fish onboard. Then she grabbed a bat and beat it all along while screaming take this and that! Everyone was screaming, including the other fishermen with great excitement on all of the other boats. It was truly an unbelievable sight to see! All of the other fishermen watching and wishing it was them who got to fight the big fish and let's not forget the $200.00 big fish award. After this great catch it was clearly time to go home, which we did. Upon arriving everyone was dropped off, the fish was held up, everyone cheered, took pictures and then handed the angler his $200.00 big fish award. Everyone was happy, the trip was over, and we all went home. I played this trick over 20 years ago.
I was having coffee with my old friend, retired Captain Ida Knight the other day and we got to talking about old fish stories. We talked about our old times and all of the fun that we had chasing and catching fish. Captain Ida then said something that I couldn't believe came out of her mouth. She told me that I was the only one that she ever knew of that had actually caught a barracuda in the Wilmington River. At first I didn't know what she was talking about and then it hit me. I never told her the real story about the frozen barracuda. Here's a question for you. Do you think that the fishermen that were on my boat 20 years ago ever told the others and returned the shared $200.00 big fish award? My answer would be, "I DON'T THINK SO!"
Sea You Later,
Captain Judy