Captain Judy fishing report ,Savannah, 1-31

[Fishing Report]

CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY

“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”

POB 30771

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410

912 897 4921 912 897 3460 FAX

www.missjudycharters.com

Captain Judy’s email fishjudy2@aol.com

January 31, 2011



Saltwater Inshore, Offshore, Blue Water fishing reports, Freshies Suggestions, and “Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not story! Thanks for Reading!



Table of contents

2011 schools dates in the classroom and on the water in a boat

Inshore Striped Bass Section

Here’s a great place to find a cold water red fish

Red fish, when it’s cold like to have time to eat

Red fish are more skittish than ever

Spotted Sea Trout Bite Meet the small fries!

Captain Jack McGowan’s winter time fishing report!

Some artificial reef catching options not to forget!

Richard Henry sporting his great sheepshead smile!

Artificial reefs and their by catch

What the flounder’s tail told…..

Captain Judy Charts Offshore fishing homework while inshore

Lots of birds a feeding…

Then this report came in…lot of Dolphin also known as Mahi Mahi

Second hand report, but you can definitely take it to the bank..

Flying fish catching air!

Savannah Snapper Banks It’s time to go bottom fishing!

Target Rich Environment You are going to love these pictures! Angry Squid in Action!

1st story What makes a squid angry? 2nd Story A Glass Minnow’s Plight! 3rd Story What is actually going on!

Gulf Stream Report Sunday January 30, 2011 Black fin tuna and Wahoo

Freshies Report Cold water still standing

Little Miss Judy’s Believe It Or not! Australia’s Gold Coast is a surfer’s paradise and a white pointer’s target rich environment!



Inshore schools information

In the classroom

February 19, 2011 Inshore school in the classroom at Tubby's, where they have always been....schools times are 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM $100.00 per person



On the water

February 20, 2011 inshore school on the water in a boat 8:30 AM till 2:30 PM departing from my dock (3 to 4 fishermen in an inshore boat) $125.00 per person)

In the classroom

March 12, 2011 Inshore school in the classroom at Tubby's, where they have always been....schools times are 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM $100.00 per person



On the water

March 13, 2011 inshore school on the water in a boat 8:30 AM till 2:30 PM departing from my dock (3 to 4 fishermen in an inshore boat) $125.00 per person)



Offshore School information



In the classroom

March 5, 2011 offshore in the classroom at Tubby's 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM $100.00 per person

On the water

March 6, 2011 offshore school on the water in a boat 8:30 AM till 2:30 PM per person



In the classroom information

Time: 8:00AM – 2:00 PM

Place: Tubby’s Tank House 2909 River Drive, Thunderbolt, Georgia 31404

Cost: $100.00 (included one day class, breakfast, and lunch)



On the Water information

Learning Trips on the water in a boat information

$125.00 per person



Captain Judy will provide boat, bait, tackle, ice, and fishing licenses.

Fishermen will need to bring food and drink

Departing from Miss Judy Charters Dock

8:30 AM till 2:30 Noon



Please call 912 897 4921 now for reservations

Please sign up as soon as possible! There is limited entry!

Capt Judy’s email fishjudy2@aol.com

Capt Judy’s Cell 912 429 7671





































Inshore



Striped Bass Section



Savannah River

Striped bass catching has been good and most likely will get better especially if our coastal warming trend continues!



The Savannah River areas have been holding the interest of some nice striped bass. The last couple of fish that were caught were packed full of shrimp. This means that the striped bass are not only feeding, but also staying and playing deep. Best available live baits are finger mullet and peanut menhaden, which should be fished deep. Here’s an old timey tip….”lip hooked your live bait on a jig, cast it in, wait, and whatever you do give them time to eat!”





Please check current regulations for areas that you are going to be fishing for striped or hybrid bass.



Here’s a great place to find a cold water red fish



When the tide is out this would be one of those places especially if it was sunny for the red fish to safely feed. It’s shallow, so therefore no feeding chasing porpoises here! Once finding such a location, I suggest approaching as quietly as possible and looking around for red fish wakes. It’s a known fact that when a school of red fish moves in shallow water “wakes on the surface happen.” Believe me when it comes to this kind of scenario schools of red fish are most likely are lurking off the points and pockets just waiting for that prefect feeding opportunity. The rule thumb here is look, wait, listen,



Red fish, when it’s cold like to have time to eat

With water temperatures going from 44 to 55 degrees believe it or not, but red fish are still putting on the fed bag. The secret is to approach your fishing area slow making the least amount of noise as possible, using lures that make the least amount splash rings, and when in the retrieve mode “do so slow!”



If you want to use cut mullet or live mullet for bait when targeting red fish I suggest casting into place and laying your rod down. This way when the fish takes your bait you will not try and set the hook. When the fish does pick up your bait believe it or not but it’s best to give them slack instead of taking in some! For you fly fishermen a slow sinking fly has been sealing this red fish hooking up deal!



Red fish are more skittish than ever

If you are serious cold water reds fisherman you might already know that these fish have really gone into the stealth mode. This past week proved it more to be the case. Fishermen definitely saw more red fish than they caught. The best news is we do have quite a large population of schooling red fish in Wassaw Sound. So if you want to see a lot and catch a few now is the time to do so. So therefore to get your best chance at seeing and catching you need to approach the areas a silently as possible.



Spotted Sea Trout Bite

Meet the small fries!



These are small size jigs that are just perfect to use when fishing deep holes and ledges. Please remember to get a trout to bite you first have to be where they are in the first place. Working small fry jigs such as this could make all the difference in bite or not!



This bite has been slow to none all!

However, if you must I suggest using small, small, small jigs on 4 to 10 pound test main line and working deep hole. The secret to at least maybe getting a bite is to work your jig “slow to go,” work all sides and deepest part of the hole fished. More next week on the hibernating mud babies!



They look like fresh water jigs, because they are. During this time when the trout bite is “slow to none” the smallest bait such as these with get your best shot at getting a hooking job done.





Captain Jack gladly weathers the cold to catch a fish!



Captain Jack McGowan’s winter time fishing report!

Winter can be tricky time to fish! Nonetheless, cold water can mean good fishing! On once recent trip fishing structure about nine feet deep there were plenty of stripers and reds! A deep water winter pattern isn’t as unusual as it sounds. Anything structure that is above the water has the potential to absorb heat and radiate that heat into the water. There are lots of variables just because a pattern worked well on one tide doesn’t necessarily mean you can easily duplicate it. An increase or decrease of the current can be critical as well the availability of bait. In general in cold conditions don’t expect lots of fish. These fish are expending as little energy as possible. Typically fish will hold tight to structure and close to bottom.

Guys that like to fish bait could find stripers deep! Fishermen could find success deep jigging or dragging a lure deep.

Reds on flats! Reds during the winter can be easily spooked. The splash of a ¼ ounce jig while appropriate on lots of days can way too much during the winter. Long casts are the norm. Downsizing your fishing line, using a section of fluorocarbon leader as well lighter lures can be helpful. On many days you can see a fish throw to that fish and know he’ll eat. During the winter it’s more problematic. Fish can become very skittish in cold clear coastal water. Sometimes the pressure of hull can send fish scattering. Noise is critical as well. Despite the challenges winter fishing, on some days, can be good as anytime of the year! When fishermen are up to the challenge winter fishing can be fun!

Winter is great time of the year to get ready for the New Year! Attending a seminar or seminars is a fun way to glean lots of information in short period of time. There will be a few seminars you wont want to miss! The first is The Saltwater Sportsman’s Seminar February 5th in Savannah. For information or to sign up contact George Poveromo at 1.800.448.7360.

Miss Judy will be presenting two Inshore Seminars: one on February 19, the second on March 12th. For information you can call Capt. Judy at 912.897.2478.

Hope this of interest and help! Keep the fish you want to eat and release the rest!
Fish On! Capt. Jack McGowan



Some artificial reef catching options not to forget!







Richard Henry sporting his great sheepshead catching smile!



The Sheepshead bite is in full swing!







Captain Kathy Brown is holding up a nice black drum that was caught while fishing with purple back fiddlers.



Artificial reefs and their by catch



Photo taken by Greg McFall of NOAA/Gray’s Reef



The Sheepshead bite as reported is in full swing! While fishing for Sheepshead you are likely to also catch black drum and trophy red fish. You can keep the black drum, but you have to release all red fish caught offshore. Another fish that is forgotten especially during this time is the flounder. These flat fish invade the reefs at this time of the year doing what they do best, which is adding class. The flounder is one of the most interesting fish that fishermen get the chance to catch. After all any fish that sees like a rabbit, is cunning like a fox and strikes like a cobra has got to be interesting!



What the flounder’s tail told…..

When the flounder are feeding they move out from the protection of the structure and burrow themselves on the out skirts. The flounder shown above has definitely camouflage-ed itself up and is waiting for the first of many hopeful meals. Being an old time diver from yesteryear here’s what I know about flounder especially at this time of the year. The flounder shown above is definitely in the feeding mode and I have seen this many times. Another thing that I have seen is when the flounder are not feeding they stack up like plates in the structure. This means that on some occasions they were three flounder high and four flounder wide stacked in the wreck. Here’s the strange thing…they stuck their heads and most of their body into the structure while leaving their tails out. I watched as their tails kind of waved in the current. It is my opinion that the flounder knew by the movement of their tail when it was supposed to rest or move about and feed. And that seems to be exactly what they did!





Captain Judy Charts

Offshore fishing homework while inshore

If the weather is so that you can’t fish there is some homework that you just might want to consider. Days not fishing I suggest getting ready to do so. With the artificial reefs being such a popular place for the bottom fish at this time I suggest picking one out and getting to know it better. Believe me it’s a whole lot easier to look at a chart on the old kitchen table than a rocking boat. For information on my charts please go to http://missjudycharters.com/Merchandise.shtml



































Lots of birds a feeding…



This is just one of the pictures that I took of a flock of birds actively feeding. This photo was taken on January 14, 2010 in about 80 feet of water. I watched from afar as these birds chased the schools of small bait fish that were being pushed to the surface. There is quite a nice size “sheen” on the surface, which means that what’s feeding below is doing one heck of a job. The oils from the fish kills are floating to the top and the bird above are have a feeding field day. I watched as the flock of birds above mimicked the moves made by the feeding fish below.



Then this report came in…lot of Dolphin also known as Mahi Mahi



Second hand report, but you can definitely take it to the bank..

While bottom fishing a live bottom area in about 80 feet of water fishermen got to an un-usual sight. With the water temperature in the mid fifties hundreds of peanut dolphin passed under the boat. All on board saw it. After all how could you miss such a sight? The dolphin aka Mahi Mahi “had their lights on” meaning they were ready to feed, but refused to eat.























This is what an artificial reef buoy looks like. During the hot water times small bait fish love to hang around the shadow of these buoys and also the chain that holds them in place. These buoys are never anchored to any of the wrecks. They make for great points to start from in regards to finding the man made wrecks on the bottom. Never tie to any buoys!



Flying fish catching air!



On my way to the Snapper banks here is just one of the wonderful sites that I get to see, “flying fish!” Over the years I have had many a ccustomer ask, “Are there such things as flying fish?” While asking they are laughing just in case I say, “NO!” There one other thing that always ask, “When the water splashes up the side of the boat, is that a rainbow that I see?”





Savannah Snapper Banks

It’s time to go bottom fishing!



Quite few black fish are also being caught! These fish can be caught on an 8 hour offshore fishing trip. For those interested please give me a call 912 897 4921





Target Rich Environment

You are going to love these pictures!



Watching what’s in the water and what’s feeding on it can definitely be a big catching advantage to a fisherman!



Angry Squid in Action!





This is what I call a bait ball sometime referred to as a round up. The bottom line to this scenario is the fact that where you find smaller fish schooling like this you can almost bet that larger ones are causing this phenomenon.



On this particular day this was a tightly formed school of squid and glass minnows. The reason I know this for a fact is that when we caught the fish holding in the out skirts of the round up we check their stomach contents out. And believe me the Spanish mackerel were packed full of juvenile fully developed squid and glass minnows. Just looking at this situation there are three stories that needs to be told.











1st story What makes a squid angry?

When a school of fish finds something to eat such as these squid they feed heavily on it. Once decided by those that are feeding that they are getting full holding off in the outskirts while keeping the school at bay seems like a great idea. Those being fed upon being the squid figure that if they school tightly together while moving in the same direction those herding might think if not for a moment that they are a larger fish. And when this happens the bait fish scattered while moving away from danger. Squid not only school together they turn red and once you get a bunch of angry squid schooling together the water turns red. (Please see picture shown above!)



Bay anchovy, also known as glass minnows, and big mouth fry



2nd Story A Glass Minnow’s Plight!



For those that haven’t seen a glass minnows you really need to take a look see. You can actually see the minnow’s insides. If the minnow is alive you can watch the moving parts. The glass minnow is translucent. These are very delicate bait fish and are fed upon by many of those from down under and those that fly above. So when schools of glass minnows are pushed to the surface they get attacked from the fish doing the chasing and the bird’s flying above.







School of angry squid and glass minnows!



3rd Story What is actually going on!

The larger fish that are pushing these bait fish to the surface can be anything from a Spanish to a king mackerel. On this particular day we caught mostly Spanish mackerel, which were what seemed to be holding the baits. However, we took one of the live Spanish mackerel hooked it up on light pound test wire leader rig, and put it out. The hooked up mackerel ran away from the schools, was immediately chased, and eaten by a much bigger fish. Although we did not hook up what ate the Spanish mackerel we do know this: It had very sharp teeth and when it hit the bait it cut the leader. If I had to guess I would have to say, “There was a big smoker king lurking in the outskirts of all this feeding frenzy!” With that being said, “There seems to always be a bigger fish in the sea!” Just keep that thought in mind!

















One heck of a rounded up bait ball! This bird is about to be in feeding heaven! Your choice when finding this is to either fish close to the school of bait or on the out skirts. It has been proven by me many times that the further out you fish the bigger the fish seem to be. When fishing a bait ball its best not to pull your lines directly through it, because if you do it might break it up. The secret is to keep your distance and fish the out skirts. You can troll by or pitch to it.



Gulf Stream Report

Sunday January 30, 2011

Black fin tuna and Wahoo



Yes that’s what they caught on Sunday January 30, 2011..more detailed information coming up in the February 7, 2011 fishing report…it’s time to go, because we now know!



Freshies Report

Cold water still standing



Fishing during this time of year can certainly be a cold event. However, catching can be included, but only if you can wait long enough for a bite! At least that is what my father always said. As a child that was not possible!



For those fishermen that want to “GO FISH LAKE LANIER”

Bill Vanderford is “Lake Lanier’s Legend!”

For more about my long time friend Bill Vanderford as well as his accomplishments, his freshwater charter trips or wildlife tours, books written and his special line up of tackle offered, please visit his site http://www.fishinglanier.com/contact.html for all the details! For more details go http://stores.ebay.com/Fishy-Racer http://www.youtube.com/fishyracer www.cafepress.com/grapefruitshop

















“Little Miss Judy’s Believe It Or not!”



Australia’s Gold Coast is a surfer’s paradise and a white pointer’s target rich environment!





While visiting Australia in the mid nineties I took this picture while standing on the beach at Gold Coast!



There were a few things that I learned about the sharks that swam the waters in Australia. The first is great white sharks are called “White Pointers!” The second there weren’t many shark attacks only total devour – ations. The means not much left after a shark attack. While there I saw lots of pictures of what was left after one of these hungry sharks moved through a crowded beach area. The thing about the surfing community was that surfers came and went with no prior or forwarding addresses. So in most cases those attacked and devoured were never identified. So as the story goes, if a surfer went missing it was only assumed they had moved on to another beach to ride another wave. Pretty much all the shark attack articles were the same stating not sure from what or where the hand full of leftovers came from!



Thanks for reading! Captain Judy

Captain Judy Helmey
missjudycharters.com
912 897 4921