Captain Judy Helmey
Miss Judy Charters
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!"
124 Palmetto Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 897 4921 or 912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
September 1, 2008
Happy Fish Day!
Saltwater inshore, offshore, blue water fishing report, Freshies Suggestions, and "Little Miss Judy's story! Thanks for reading! Captain Judy
"Little Miss Judy's Believe It or Not!"
Fishing for Scallops and Catching Liquor
Now if I was flipping through a magazine and came across a title like this one I would definitely have to read it! Well, I hope that you feel the same way. While visiting my Aunt Lois and Uncle Buddy Smith at their new resident, "Savannah Squares" I was impressed by the grand tour! Not only that, but as we talked this great story was told to me by my Uncle Buddy! As he talked, Aunt Lois listened, adlibbed when necessary and although she wasn't present when it happened, knew this story word for word.
On my ride home from my visit the story that Uncle Buddy has shared with me soon became one of those stories that had to be published. So therefore here's a story that's definitely worth reading and also "far to good" to have been one of those "way back then made up stories!" The fact of the matter is those involved don't ever forget stories like this! This is very good news for all of us!
Seventy-Five Years Ago…My Uncle Buddy at the Age of six….
Way back when before liquor was legal and "boot legging" was at its height Uncle Buddy and his father made a grave discovery. Uncle Buddy at the age of six was helping his father as he usually did while he worked. His father was a commercial scallop fisherman off the Cape Cod area. Uncle Buddy helped his father when he could. According to Uncle Buddy this was one memory that traveled well for over 75 years! As a child he loved working with his father!
The bottom line to this story is when it comes to fishing of any type the lure is you never know what you might catch. In this case this father and son duo wanted to catch scallops and lots of them! However, as you read you will find that they caught lots more than that, for sure! They did catch some scallops on this particular fish day! However, this day marked the beginning of a great adventure that Uncle Buddy has never forgotten to this day!
According to Uncle Buddy his father pulled about 8 scallop dredges at a time. Those commercial fishermen such as Uncle Buddy's father that fished a lot could tell when the dredgers were getting full, which meant a pending great haul of scallops. One day while they were dragging for scallops the boat slowed "quick fashion!" Uncle Buddy's father said, "boy, son we must have made quite a load!" So therefore with catching expectations high the dredges were hauled in! To both of their amazement not many scallops were found. However, what fell out of the dredge was unbelievable. Dozens of straw wrapped bottles were gingerly dropped on the boat's deck.
As I listened to the story, questions begin flying out of my mouth. The list was long, but will good reason. The first was "How did the liquor come from? After I asked that question, since I had heard story after story from my father, I already knew. However, I really wanted to know the facts about this particular landing. Uncle Buddy remarked, "It has been rumored that a large vessels traveling in from Canada illegally transporting liquors and wine had been reported!" However, the boat was never seized, because once it was boarded there was not any illegal contraband to be found on! As the story goes the vessel even after much questioning was eventually set free to once again "make way empty!" According to the story the entire crew kept quiet about what had happened to their cargo. The ship's "bowels" even though they were as empty as could be was set free to go on their way "making way empty!"
Uncle Buddy then went to explaining what happened next. After unloading and packing down what turned out to be a whole lot of liquor it was decided to make yet another so called scallop drag. Uncle Buddy's father trolled pulling his dredges right through the same spot. Sure enough according to Uncle Buddy, scallops were out and liquor was in! On this day they made several drags with each one being better than the first. As so as what was supposed to be full with scallops was packed full to the brim with caught liquor bottles they made their way home. As with anything else roomers flew over the fishing community about the catch made!
Not knowing exactly where to go other commercial fishermen "made-way" to where they though the liquor grounds were located. When all was said and done, according to Uncle Buddy all commercial fishermen became involved in the catching, collecting, and distribution of the caught liquor bottles.
Uncle Buddy told me that the Mayor of Cape Cod at the time even visited their house to purchase a few bottles of this so called precious drink! As time went on the catches of liquor and bottles got less and less. After a short while their dredges went from catching liquor back to being full once again with scallops!
After thinking about it while putting this great story in prospectus it seems that liquor doesn't take as long to make as scallops take to grow! So therefore while the liquor was being caught the scallops were still growing or I could even get away with saying "aging underneath the pile! The moral of this story from a fisherman mind is a simple one, but all so true…. "You should always fish for what's biting and be happy with what you catch!" In this case if they weren't happy at first with this strange catch, it seems that they could have easily gotten that way later!
The story once again concretes the idea that taking a child fishing is a great idea!
Thanks For Reading!
Captain Judy