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)
Offshore Bait Collecting
Catching the right kind of bait!
The best way to catch a fish is first present them with something that they want to eat, which is what we all try to do. It has been my experience that live bait is absolutely the number one bait to use, but there are exceptions to all rules. I can't say, "that it works all of the time, because it doesn't!" However, live bait just makes me feel better. With that being said, "lets go over the possibilities and leaving no stone unturned!"
Firstly small fish that neatly fit inside the targeted fish's mouth makes great bait. When fishing for bottom fish such as red snapper or grouper it's best to used baits that aren't too big. There are the nervous baits, which are those that don't have air bladders. Then there are the baits that do have air bladders meaning decompression of some sort has to take place when retrieving from the bottom. I would like to touch on some baits that aren't normally used, which will work when the other baits don't make a showing. These baits are caught mostly in the inshore or near shore waters.
Nervous Bait Category
The best of the best is going to be cigar minnows, Spanish sardines AKA "diamonds," jack mackerel, big-eyed scad, Atlantic mackerel, moonfish, and Boston mackerel. These bait fish are normally are a prefect size fit for most bottom fish. The hinges that open a bottom fish's mouth is quite flexible in that they can eat larger baits than you think.
Baits with air bladders
When these baits are brought up from the bottom their air bladder expands. To keep your bait healthy you will need to relieve the bladder of any bloating. The best way is to use the end of a knife or ice pick to lightly penetrate air bladder wall so as to let the built up air escape. Baitfishes that fall into the category are sand perch, rock bass, vermilion snapper, scup, ruby-red lips AKA tomtate, and black sea bass.
Inshore/near shore baits
Menhaden, mud minnows, thread herring, mullet, yellow tail, pinfish, and blue fish.
Bottom line when using live bait is that it's kept as lively as possible. Baits that are shocked AKA "stressed out" will not work very good in the getting the fish's attention. I suggest making sure that your live well has continuous water flow type of bait pump. In my pump world there are two types: continuous flow and on demand!
Continuous flow pumps once turned on run at the same speed delivering fresh water the entire time. The live well that I use is filled continuously and it has an overflow, which allows the excess water to escape. This keeps the water fresh, clean, and holding the right amount of over turned oxygen, which is "bait keeping prefect!" On demand pumps deliver pressure amounts of water as needed. This type of delivery causes too much bubbles and dismay in your live well. This pump is prefect for washing down the fishy decks!