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
March 5, 2007
Captain Judy's Saltwater Fishing Report
Freshies Report!
"Knowing a Crappy!"
Crappy are pretty much sight feeders and once they see what they like they basically eat it. However, the information that I am going to share with you will get you more "reliable consistent crappy hook ups!" My personal favorite saying when it comes to catching a fish is "to catch them effectively you must know a little about them!" In the case of this fish, Anthony has once again shared with me how to obtain the "keys to the fishing catching kingdom of crappy!"
This fish does not fed looking down. The fact of the matter is that any bait suspended below this fish's head "nine times out of ten" will just hang their. The best strike zone for this fish is 3 to 12 inches above them. Their strike zone is at its best operation in this area located out and above their holding pattern. Bait that drops 3 inches or more below isn't going to get much bite activity from this fish.
Crappy are structure-holding fish. In other words, these areas harbor what they want whether it's food or protection! Sometimes these fish will stage close to the structure, meaning with in sight. Then there are times when they form a holding patter as far as 30 yards out. My take on this outside holding pattern is the fact that they are full and want to stay away giving new as well as the old residents fish time to re-group. This scenario leads to the fact that" fishing away from the structure is also a good idea!"
Let talk a little about Wave Forecasting!
It has been brought to my attention that the wave forecasting is mostly done by a formula than from a gauge attached to a buoy offering exact height. I always though and wondered at the same time how there could be that much "scope in a buoy's anchor chain."
I had a nice conversation with Dr. Dana K. Savidge Assistant Professor Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. We discussed about ocean currents and wave heights. It went something like this: Dr. Savidage is heading up the new radio wave transmitters and receivers that the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has installed on our barriers island. These new additions are able to measure both currents and waves on the ocean. They cover a broad area off the Georgia Coast line. At this point, they have not tested measurements acquired for accuracy. Hang on and keep reading, all this is more important than you think for us fishermen…
Here's the questions I was asked by Dr. Savidage. Would fishermen be interested in reporting, "wave heights experienced" from their day spent on the ocean? The answer I gave her on my behalf was "yes, definitely yes!" The reason being once we report and they can cross check with their signals. It would take a little effort from us, but we would stand to benefit from it greatly.
In the meantime, people can view ocean currents from the systems website:
http://www.skio.usg.edu/research/sabsoon/WERA.
Dr. Savidge is responsible for the data collection and quality, and questions or interests can be directed to: Dr. Dana K. Savidge, Assistant Professor, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography,10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411dana.savidge@skio.usg.edu,office: 912 598-3344
Chris Morris's 1975 Black Drum Catch
Chris Morris an old time Savannah Fisherman has shared with me one of his most memorable catches! He and his grandfather Martis Morris caught during the seventies a large 80-pound black drum. The tackle that was used was a Penn 209 reel that was loaded with 80-pound nylon braided line. I remember this line like it was yesterday. It was called braided and it wasn't anything like the style we use today. It was thick, not totally round, and very strong. The fact of the matter was you could almost tie up a small boat with it. Another name for this braided/nylon stuff was "squiding line!" If you waxed it with line dressing it would float. There is your semi-lesson on line for the fifties through the seventies!
The fight lasted about 21/2 hours while Chris's grandfather faithfully held him by the waist. Chris had only one option when it came to this big fish, "he had to reel and keep reeling!" According to the story had Mr. Morris not held him by his waist Chris would have been "swimming with the fishes!"
This happened in the year of 1975 when Chris Morris was around 12 years old. He caught this eighty pound black drum while fishing with his grandfather in the Belfast River. It took him 21/2 long hours to land it. I had to ask, "What did the fish eat?" Chris informed me that his Grandfather had his own special style of bait. The bait used most when targeting large black drum was an old stand by for sure, which was a single blue crab. However, Chris's grandfather always added his personal touch to this bait. Firstly, he took the live blue crab, backed it, and pulled its legs along with its claws off. He only used the "meaty part" of the crab. This is what he put on his hook, which according to the Morris's fish catching log book, worked more than many a time!
The eighty pound black drum was a big one for sure. It didn't go to waste, because it was given to a family that really loved fish. I can only assume that they had black drum as many ways as you can. Figuring out how to eat it wasn't a problem. However, cleaning this rascal was. This fish had scales the size of quarters. Back in the old days when a spoon or a knife wouldn't work a "hoe" did. That's exactly what they used to remove the scales or should I say "the armor" so that they could get to the fish's meat.
Over the years I have heard of many and seen a few of these magnificent fish. However, in the last 10 years the numbers have dropped. I had one friend that lived south of here that had a black drum that she would see occasionally, as she pasted it's deep hole. I haven't had a report of a spotting for a few unfortunate years. All I can say and hope is that if you happen to catch one of these fish that you release it, because it could be at least fifty year old. If you do catch and release it, please don't tell anyone where you caught it. This fish probably does fall under "great want to be dinosaurs from down under!"
This story reminds me of a time when my father and I went fishing. I have to admit it wasn't one time, but many. As a small child my father would always tell me that if you "shoot it you eat it and if you hooked it you had to land it by yourself!" However, I will have to admit he did help me on more than a few occasions, because if it hadn't I wouldn't be here tell you this wonderful story. The story that I am talking about is under "Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not!" It's called "New Pants Badly needed after this fish fight!"
Inshore Almost Spring Bite!
Spotted Sea trout
As of the first of the week, the water looked like coffee, but thank goodness didn't taste like it. That's another story for sure. It's a known fact especially in the fishing world that when the water is muddy the fish bite is going to be off! Some fish were caught during the first of the week, but not too many for sure. The good news is that the unclear water design didn't last all week. The water cleared up by Wednesday offering all us inshore fisherman another opportunity to show off our later winter like fish catching skills.
With water temperature still in the mid to upper fifties fish especially the spotted sea trout are going to be a little hard to catch. It's not impossible, but it's certainly not the type of bite that you experienced during the warm times. As you know it has been ascertained that the sea trout is most affected by the cool water. Once we all get this into our fishing heads we can start to use it to our advantage. I have always said, "to catch a fish you need to know a little about it!" In this case, spotted sea trout intake for food is slow to none. We know that they have to eat, but not like they do during the warm times. The rule of thumb is "slow take" for sure. This means that when and if a trout gets to your bait you had best let them eat it before setting the old hook. The reason being if you don't, you are only going to get your damaged bait back or even just an empty hook.
It has been said when trout take their meals "gingerly" that the best way to hook them is to do what is called "reel set." This is where you don't set the hook with the means of the jerking rod, but by "just reeling." This is great type of setting the hook especially when the trout are what daddy used to call "mouthing the bait." All this boils down to during the cold times is that the fish haven't thawed completely. So therefore all you have to do when you see that cork start to sink is to start to reel. The fact of the matter is normally during this time it's not the sinking of the cork as much as the way it moves a bit! Once you get a handle on the bite you hook up ratio will increase!
Most of the fish caught last week were found in around 6 feet of water. The rig used for the scenario has been a popping cork type, 3 feet of fluorocarbon leader 10 to 12 pound test, (YO-ZURI HD CARBON) and a small kale hook. This rig puts you in the 3 to 4 foot depth range, which is most likely where your fish are going to want to feed.
Normally during warmer times we always suggest adding a small split shot sinker to the leader so as to keep the bait more control or basically in the water. I don't suggest going with this now. However, if you bait isn't staying at depth you might have to add a real small split weight. You best bait at this time and probably the most assessable is going to be mud minnows. Make sure you use the smallest baits first, because these are most likely the one that are going to get hit the quickest!
Red Fish
Mud and sand flats!
The good news is that there are plenty! The bad news is that they are more skittish than ever! The reason being is that they have just about had enough of being chased by the porpoises. Red fish populations are good and can be seen in large schooling numbers. However, as I mentioned, the porpoises are having a field day chasing them. When the feeding frenzy gets this bad your boat and any unnatural noise, which is this case "is any," causes the red fish to shut down. You can see them, they can see you, but you can't get to them! I think you get my point! It's not that you can't catch the red fish it's just that they are very aware of their surroundings!
Let's assume that you have quietly approached a flat whether it's mud or sand bottom, and have found a school of red fish. The absolutely first thing you need to know is that "noise is not an option!" So if you can control it do so! I had a report last week stating that just the wave action hitting the hull of the boat spooked the fish. I suggest watching to see exactly if the fish have any sort of moving pattern. In other words are they feeding, staging, or just holding. It doesn't matter, which stage you find them in, but I suggest making a note of it in your logbook. If possible, get as close as you can so that you can make a cast. You need to use an artificial lure that fits these criteria: One that doesn't make an unnatural entry once hitting the water. I suggest one that sinks, but not like a rock! They also will hit "chugger" type surface plugs. Jerk baits also known as "twitch baits" rigged weed less are also a big hit at this time. When fishing mud bars go with dark colors. When it's sandy bottom go with a lighter color. You don't want your lure to stand out you want it to blend in just like a bait is going to try to do when it's trying to hid or escape!
Offshore
Blue Fin Tuna Sightings
It's now "no big secret" that we have a blue fin tuna migration that normally last from around December till about mid March. I guess you could say, "This is their refueling station!" I have seen a few over the last few months while making semi-surface activity. There one thing for sure when it comes to these fish, "they are big!" At any rate here's a list of un-confirmed sightings: A few local shrimp boat operators reported that they had large tuna fish feeding off the stern as they dump their by-catch. On two separate occasions there two small boats that saw what looked like giant blue fin chasing fish on the surface. One of these boats reported that the tuna got so brave that they actually took black fish right off their hooks.
I talked on the VHF radio with Trip Wolf while fishing onboard "Dr. Feel Good" along with Johnnie Peters and he offered up an interesting report. According to their report, they had mark around 10 large blue fin tuna on February 28, 2007 while trolling at the KC artificial reefs. The tuna played a holding game in this area all day. There was some surface activity while the fish had a "harvest fest" with the schools blue fish and black sea bass.
Savannah Snapper Banks
I went on a "fact finding mission" last week to the live bottom areas that we all call the "Savannah Snapper Banks." As we rounded the Warsaw Sea buoy at 8:00 AM the water temperature was an even 55 degrees. It has reached around 56 degrees when I passed the L and CCA artificial reef buoys. When I passed over the first ledge, which is in 95 feet of water we had 57 degrees. I stopped in this area to do a little bottom fishing. Here's how our fact finding mission stacked up!"
There were large hungry numbers of black fish holding in 95 to 105 feet of water. I marked them as well as a large amount of suspended bait holding over the live bottom. Our first couple of fish's stomachs was so full that they actually looked funny. We cut open one of the fish and found some alarming contents. One medium, not large, black fish had 5 large cigar minnows in its stomach. As soon as I realized that I had bait and mega bottom fish we starting fishing for both. I pulled out my gold hook bottom rigs, double hook bottom rigs, ˝ ounce DOA shrimp pattern lures, and some butterfly jigs. I wanted it all covered. The bottom-line what that all listed bait styles worked. We caught as many black fish as we wanted using real bait, DOA lures, and butterfly jigs. Our gold hook bait rigs work great for catching some real nice cigar minnows.
I move to a little deeper water and found medium to large vermilion snapper mixed a bit with black fish. However, the bite was more about the vermilion than it was about the black sea bass. The vermilion hit all listed above options thrown at them. We also caught a few genuine red snapper that were in the 16 to 22 inch range. They also hit at all of the above baits offered.
I tried live cigar minnows as bait for a large bite, but they didn't last very long on my hook. The reason being is that all feeding fish wanted my live bait offering giving absolutely no time for the larger fish to feed. I then tried larger baits on the bottom while using a circle hook. The baits tried were sand perch, rock bass, ruby red lips, and vermilion snapper. All fish were hit or burned by large fish. However, the non-commitment factor ruled in this no-take case. The baits weren't too big for the fish trying to eat them, because the marks made on the bait indicated that they had tried to swallow it. My father used to always say, "Sore mouth," indicating that the fish possibly had a sinus headache. According to my father, the fish bites down as if it going to swallow it, but feels uncomfortable pressure causing a quick release! More to come next week!
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
"New Pants Badly needed after this fight!"
(Or big needle and lots of thread!)
When I read Chris Morse's e-mail about him and his grandfather it sent me right back into yesteryear for sure! My father was pretty much like Chris's grandfather he helped, but it didn't seem to like it. However, there was this one time where my father refused to give me a lending hand, which is the "lead in" for my next "Daddy Story!"
Back in the day my father loved to go cobia fishing around the buoys located in "Tybee Roads!" The other name for this area is "shipping channel!" In the old days some of the buoys had whistles while other had bells. The degree in which the "bell tolled or the whistle whistled" was in accordance to the wave action. When it was real rough with steep waves these buoys were very loud. The fact of the matter is on real rough days I remember covering my ears a time or two! At any rate, my father always told me that the buoys that made the most noise were the ones that got the most attention from the "good old cobia!" According to my father, cobias were very curious meaning they were drawn to noise and any source of shade. Buoys this day and time have had a color change. In the old days what is green now was black then. So therefore all buoys located on you starboard side when heading to the ocean are "green" in color. The port side, which has always been "red", still is "red." I guess the powers that be couldn't come up with a better color than "red."
So therefore the black buoys always seemed to get more attentions from the fish than the red ones. If I had to guess the black ones made the most noise and offered up the most shade. Where the shipping channel meets the ocean is where we would start our "look-see" mission. My father always pulled up to the buoy in question and we both kept "eyes peeled" in the alert mode! Nine times out of ten, if a cobia were there they would come right out from under the buoy and head straight for our boat. Heck, if more than one happened to be in the area, they all would head straight to the boat. My father always said, "Our boat provides a bigger shade than the buoy."
I guess I should have set the cockpit stage, because it all had to right and ready for any fish that happened by. My father loved what I consider the "world famous, probably only to us, Cisco kid!" This lure was one of those styles that once a cobia got a look at it "they wanted it and had to have it!" My father was a great worker of this lure. It wasn't what you think either. I am always talking about slow or fast retrieve. Well, my father had what was called "slapping mode."
One rod in the holder would have a Cisco kid tied and ready for action. He had another rod that was rigged with a "beefed up traditional trout float rig." This rig is great, because you can easily adjust the depth in which you wanted your bait to be delivered. There were some cases where the cobia wouldn't come away from the buoy chain. My father seemed to always know that the fish was there. Heck, I never saw the fish, but my father always knew! So therefore if the fish stayed and didn't play he would quickly bait up his traditional float rig with a large live pawn shrimp. Once he ascertained the best depth he set his float accordingly and cast to the spot of choice. This is where I became a "float watcher!"
I am going to say right up front in regards to other possible cobia baits. My father not only hated, but also was scared to death of snakes. So therefore when it came to handling eels, although he loved to eat them, and they made great cobia bait, he basically stood down. Our most used baits were live pawn shrimp and artificial baits.
When the cobia would grace us with its presents my father started doing the "cobia dance!" This was a dance where he was trying as quickly as possible to get his "Cisco kid" into the water. However, when you are in a hurry those three attached treble hooks always tangled in some manner! I proclaimed earlier that my father had a "slapping mode!" Well, you could have called it that for sure! My father would cast the lure as far as he could away from the fish. As soon as the lure hit the water it was quickly noted whether or not the fish was in the feeding mode. If the fish were hungry it would quickly turn towards the noise that the lure made as it hit the surface. My father reasoning for "casting away" was a simple one. According to him when the lure splashed down it took a few seconds to get in the retrieval mode. The landing was the only time that the lure didn't look real!
Once getting the cobia's attention he would reel as fast as he could! The fish would go in to the chase mode and basically "zero in" on what was thought to be its next easy meal! As soon as daddy reeled as far as he could, which meant to the tip of his rod, the slapping process began! I could draw you a picture, wish I could, but no skills in this department. However, this was the wildest type of fishing that I ever experience. He basically would "whip the rod while slapping the lure on the surface." To me this was the most unnatural time for this bait. It made the cobia so mad that it basically "slammed at the lure." Hook up was inevitable! I remember this one time, which was why I started this story in the first place, when daddy had just sat the other rod down. The fact of the matter he didn't put it in a rod holder, he just laid it down. The traditional float along with it bait was still just lazily floating in step with the boat. I hadn't paid much attention to it, because just watching my father slapping his bait and talking loudly was entertainment enough for the moment. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of the trout float making way. It looked as though a large cobia had found it more interesting than the "slapping popping" lure noises that daddy was making. Being a fisherman first and a little girl second on this particular day I grabbed the rod with reeling intentions!
There this thing about a cobia that you should know "the more pressure you put on the fish the more fight it puts up!" Well, the pressure must have been over the top, because this fish was screaming out line. Once my father realized that I had the fish on that he was trying to "slap hook" he turned and started yelling off suggestions! At this point, I was practically lying on the rod hopefully for a reeling miracle. My father walked over, but didn't lay a hand on the rod. The words that I can still remember today came out of his mouth, "you hooked it you land it!" I'm sure I went pale right at this exact moment!
After a few minutes of serious fighting, trying to hold your rod comfortably, and your father offering his suggestions, the little arms start to tire. Once I figured that daddy wasn't kidding and he wasn't going to help out I needed to come up with a quick workable child strategy. At the moment the only thing I could come up with was to just sit on the deck of the boat and hold tight while the fish tried to throw my hook. I should have mentioned earlier, because it's very critical to this story, my father boat was made of wood.
When I plopped down on the old rough wooden floor I started figuring how many splinters I was going to probably get not by the end of this fish fight, but in the end! As I moved my shorts became hung on one of the so-called hatch cover edges. The first rip of the pants was early in the fighting game with many more to come. The bottom line to the story is a simple one, "fighting a big fish while being pulled across a wooden deck can be quite interesting and painful at the same time!"
I finally landed the fish with less of a seat left in my pants than more! My father did help by gaffing the fish and throwing it into the boat. As I am writing this account for you I am actually reliving this fight, which I will never forget for as long as I live! For my close I will add, "what a fish what a fish!" Although this fish is long gone like my youth that was fighting it, my memory hopefully will live forever keeping this one alive!
Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!
Captain Judy
Fishing Physic!