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
May 28, 2007
Captain Judy's Saltwater Fishing Report
Inshore Suggestions
Captain Jack's Inshore Tricks of the Trade
Captain Jack's inshore fishing report even though the northeast wind was howling turned out to be "darn good" especially in the information/catching department! Not only did he brave the wind and rough inshore conditions he also caught fish. The first thing he reported was the fact that he noticed a lot more of inshore bait activity. The bait has almost been non-existence over the past months. This is good news!
Lot of bait such as menhaden and brown shrimp are starting show up. With that being said I suggest breaking out the old cast net. Here are a few tips that I think that you should consider using. Captain Jack used them this past week while the northeast wind was sustained at around 15 plus knots.
The first thing he did was to catch himself some menhaden, which he saw cursorily surface cruising. After but a few throw of the old cast net he was in baiting holding business. Captain Jack caught just enough menhaden to sweeten the "bait attention pot!" In his live well he had to two sizes of freshly caught menhaden. He caught a few small ones, which are referred to as "peanuts" and a few larger ones sometimes referred to as bunker. The smaller ones are great when used live under a traditional floating cork system. The best way to hook up your live peanut menhaden is to stick your Kale hook right behind the dorsal fin. This gives the bait a good reason advance towards the bottom offers up some good exposure in the strike zone! Large spotted sea trout as well as those choppers blue love this bait.
For the larger menhaden, Captain Jack suggests to "pop off the head" and put directly onto a ¼ ounce jig head. Hook it up so that the jig is uniform with the tail. Even though the jig head is smaller than the menhaden's body this is bait that's not all about "sight feeding." This bait sends the scent message that I'm headless but still good to eat! In other words, without a head I'm not going anywhere! This fresh dead bait is worked best when presented by the grass's edge. That's just about where the big red fish is going to be looking for a free meal! This bottom fishing at it finest!
Another plan of attack was to go with popping cork and mud minnows. As I have been reporting these past few weeks popping corks haven't exactly been the fish catching rage. However, things have changed in the attention getting department. Give these corks a try once again, because those clanking brass balls are once again bringing the fish to the dinner table. Thanks Captain Jack McGowan for such an interesting report!