Miss Judy Charters
Captain Judy Helmey
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!"
124 Palmetto Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 897 4921 or 912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
July 22, 2007
Captain Judy's Saltwater Fishing Report
Which includes:
Inshore report, Offshore Report, Freshies Suggestions, and "Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!" (Story)
A shrimp's Red Legs
Back in the good old days when Miss Judy Charters sold bait I remember fishermen complaining about the shrimp being too large. I use to scratch my head on that one, because I certainly couldn't do anything about that one. According to fishermen the shrimp were too large, you didn't get that many when measured in the quart container, and on and on!
My father used to always say; "right before a full moon the shrimp develop a strong case of the red legs, which was supposedly normal." The shrimp's legs according to good old dad meant that the shrimp were just about to migrate to the sounds. The largest red-legged shrimp went and the smaller ones stay behind to grow till the next full moon phase. It's funny, but also so true. On this day, when Captain Jack caught so many fish, which he just (July 20, 2007) reported, and the shrimp boats didn't catch many shrimp. There drags were long and the shrimp catching was void. The only thing that the shrimp net caught was pounds and pounds of jelly balls. On this particular day the moon phase was almost ½ full. This means that the shrimp's legs are changing colors as we speak.
For those that want to try there hand at catching some of these large shrimp especially during this time frame your best times are as follows: During the tide stage where the water is first coming out of the grass or just going into it. It seems that the shrimp try to hold the bottom when the water is out of the grass. Areas that have frontal mud fats that reach out from the grass line are great areas to cast. As a child I loved casting the opposite shore/mud bank of the old hotel Savannah Inn, located on the Wilmington River. I just cast with I saw the mud exposed! The bottom line to this report is that it's a great time to fish and use the old cast net!