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
For those that want to experience an on the Miss Judy Too techniques for catching black sea bass, Sheepshead, mackerel, cobia, barracuda, amberjack, grouper, and etc I suggest consider signing up for this trip
And heck I plan on actually doing a little catching!
(In the event we catch fish, fish cleaning is extra!)
Please sign up as soon as possible! There is limited entry!
The original “trick and sneak” team! Captain Ali Young “Sneak” and Captain Judy “Trick” Helmey!
Inshore
Striped Bass Section
Savannah River
Striped bass catching has been up and down. The secret to catching striped bass is to fish for them regular. This means you have to fish the areas where you have caught them before looking as you go. The bad news is that the Savannah River areas where the striped bass are usually holding has been a muddy soup. Now I am not saying “There are no striped or hybrid bass in the river!” However, I am saying they are certainly hard to find them with blinders on and that is what it means when the river is a muddy condition. As with anything else this will all change. And most likely as you are reading this finding the bite will be taking place! You won’t know unless you go!
Please check current regulations for areas that you are going to be fishing for striped or hybrid bass.
Spotted Sea Trout Bite
This bite has been slow to none all!
As you all know it is February and this is the month that makes us fishermen CRAZY! This all boils down to the fact that the water temperature is cold and the fish don’t want to take a stroll.
However, warming water temperatures will start to happen and when they do the spotted sea trout will start to make a move.
Red fish cold water biting deal!
There have been good fish days and of course as all us fishermen know “that’s fishing!” The bottom line when it comes to catching coldwater red fish is the fact that you have to know a few things…
When approaching the area in which you think that is holding red fish “any noise is going to be considered a bad noise.” Red fish are especially tuned into sounds, which by the way travel further at this time of the year. So you need to approach any fishing areas quietly. Some of our captains arrived early to their fishing spots so as to blend in better with the area. (Now think about this last statement, because it could make the difference in seeing as well as getting a chance at catching red fish.
The next thing is bait used. Heck, its February and not many bait houses are open. Purchasing live bait or even dead bait isn’t in most cases, going to be an option. Another not so good option is to plan on catching your own bait while throwing the cast net. I will say, “There is a winter time mullet arena here and also quite a few peanut menhaden. However, if you don’t know where to go to throw the net you can forget this option!”
So therefore I have offered the not so good options and now here are some good ones to hang on your hook. Go to the grocery store and purchase some fresh flash frozen shrimp. I am not suggesting you purchase more than a pound and if you do you can always eat them after the fishing trip. Here’s what you need to do to the shrimp to get your best baiting up option with them….
Cut the tail off the shrimp and peel it. This leaves you with a soft piece of shrimp that not only has a good scent, but also would be easy to eat by a cold water red fish. The best way to present this bait is threaded on a hook and fish under the smallest adjustable float that you have. Cast into place, let it sit on the bottom, and give the red fish time to eat!
A nice Sheepshead also referred to as “a convict fish!”
Artificial reefs
Some artificial reef catching options not to forget!
The Sheepshead bite 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!
OFFSHORE FISHERMEN NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS!
New Circle Hook Requirement
Effective March 3, 2011 in federal waters
The requirement to used non-stainless circle hooks north of 28 degree N. Latitude is effective March 3, 2011
You can use regular “J” hooks at the Savannah River Jetties, but when you move to the offshore waters all hooks when targeting fish listed in the snapper grouper complex must use circle hooks.
Here’s just a few fish that are listed in this group: Sheepshead, scup, Atlantic spadefish, triggerfish, vermilion, grouper, amberjack, black sea bass, bank sea bass, sailor’s choice, red porgy, white bone porgy, knobbed porgy, bar jack, and etc….for the rest of the list please go to
To find the complete list of species in the South Atlantic snapper grouper management unit:
Closes February 12, 2011 until opens on June 1, 2011
Here’s a date that all fishermen need to be aware of. The black sea bass season will close on February 12 of this month. It will reopen on June 1, 2011. This means if you catch a black sea bass during the closure time you need release as soon as possible.
Just having an old time cedar plug is always a good option! This one has been “used and abused!”
From this photo you can see that a Wahoo really can eat almost anything that it wants. The bottom line is if it can’t swallow it whole this fish certainly has an option to chop it up first. They didn’t get the nick name tail cutters by be just a regular fish! Just from looking at this fish’s head you know it’s built for speed chopping and cutting! The location of a fish’s eye can say a lot about the way it kills and feeds!
For those of you blue water fishermen that want to get the cob webs out of your gear and others things, if you happen up on a good weather I do suggest making taking this ride.
New New New
Blue Water Report
January 30, 2011 Sunday
Please meet the blue water team
Bill Scott, Captain Barry Bazemore, Dr. HOO HOO also know as Juha Jaakkola, Dr. Horn, Arran Bibby, and Rob Carden
After interviewing Arran I got a pretty good idea in regards to their fishing experience. They caught 6 black fin tuna averaging around 15 pound each, one Wahoo that tipped the scales to a little over 40 pounds, quite a few Bonita fights, and one giant amberjack. According to the report the amberjack hit a lure that was being pulled at around 6 knots. This means when a big fish finds something that it wants to eat, it does.
As far was what they used for bait it can only be called “Old School Type Fishing!” They pulled original style cedar plugs, which were the real deal and soaked in secret fish oil. I am working on getting the ingredients to this fish soaking concoction. The cedar plugs were pulled several hundred yards behind the boat. While setting this stage they had their meat line out also known as the planer rod pulling straight and deep. This planer line is pretty impressive to say the least, but I won’t go into Arran’s planer set up in this report. His planer pulling invention needs to be shared with all. If you are old school you already know that the rod pulling the planer also known as the meat rod gets “hands down” the most biting action! On the planer rod they pulled 31/2 stainless steel Drone spoon. They also pulled strip baits removed from the stomach walls of the Bonita caught.
Now here’s a good thing to know about stomach walls they freeze well. The best part about pulling them is they don’t wash out.
Here’s the thing about this particular fish day..the lures set way back brought on a serious bite. Those lures pulled closer to the boat didn’t get as much bite attention. This is something that all fishermen need to remember that the distance decided to pull your bait is easily determined by the fish. Thanks for this fine fishing report! Please keep them coming!
How to build the prefect Drone Spoon!
31/2 Drone Spoons
Left to right: Top spoon is brand new, but only has one ring. You will need to add an extra split ring. The middle spoon has been pounded “over and over” by fish making it a prefect learning tool definitely not something to fish with! The last spoon is also a basic leftover after several dozen fish hits, misses, and hook ups!
All lures, at least in most cases need some “setting up” before using them. The 31/2 Drone spoon is no different in the set up department. The hook always needs to be sharp. There should be two split rings not one. If there is only one ring add one. All tackle boxes should be equipped with extra split rings. Don’t add any sort of leader wire to this spoon. The addition of the wire doesn’t allow this lure to work properly. It has to be pulled 5 knots and it works a lot better at 6 to 7 knots!
I pull all of my Drone spoons 20 to 30 feet behind my planner. If you want to use a downrigger just make sure you let your lure out far enough. I have never met a Drone spoon that a fish didn’t like. This means all colors work for sure. However, you can’t beat the old stainless steel color, because it worked then and it’s still working now.
Freshies Report!
Please meet David Miller and his son Christopher great fish catchers of all times!
David and Christopher Miller showing off what they do best and that is catch fish!
Both fishermen are holding a nice large mouth bass that was caught while fishing with
Bob Stonewater’s Trophy Bass Guide Service. For more information please go to
This is called a “floating island.” According to David these “Floating Islands are great places to fish.” The reason being is you can fish 360 degrees around. And if a fish is holding under it sooner or later you will most likely get its attention.
David’s fish, one shown in the above picture was caught while he was fishing round this floating island. While David was fighting his fish his son Christopher had the other fish shown on. Both fishermen were reeling and smiling at the same time! This is one of those father and son fishing stories that definitely had a great catching ending!
The bait of choice is the golden shiner, which was caught right from the St. John’s River, where this great fishing occurs all year long. According to David, the bait is lip hooked, which allows it to swim freely in and out of the cover. Once the bait is aware that a large bass is taking a second look “a cat mouse game is started,” which normally ends up with the fisherman being the only winner of this game! According to David on some occasions the bass with hit the bait so quickly that the only thing you see is “rippling water along with the absences of the bait and bobber!” On one bite occasion, David witnessed the bass “catching air” while totally engulfing the shiner. David reported that keeping the bait from getting tangled in the cover while fishing under and around it is quite an interesting challenge!
Bob Stonewater and Christopher Miller
In the middle of Florida the Miller fishing team caught up with some fine examples of Largemouth bass, at the excellent direction of long time 30 year plus guide Bob Stonewalter. Bob always has high expectations for large fish being caught, so much so that when you catch a less than 5 pound fish he unhooks it, and quickly backhand flips it out of the opposite side of the boat. And this is before you can say, “Maybe I’ll get a picture of that one!” On this particular trip the David Miller and his son Christopher caught and released more than 6 fish over 6 pounds, 3 in a row were 8, 9, and 10.25 pounds. All that’s left to say is “UNBELIEVEABLE and CONGRADULATIONS!”
For those fishermen that want to “GO FISH LAKE LANIER”
When daddy and I went out on the town he let me dress any way I wanted! Hey, and guess what? Both of my pop guns were always loaded with caps. I love the smell of a good cap gun once it was fired. And when a roll ran out I just reloaded. My father brought me rolls of caps by the box fulls. Here’s the thing, my father and I never once got thrown out of a bar, because of the noise that my pop guns were making. However, I do remember a couple of times that we had to leave, but I can say for sure “I didn’t cause!”
Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not!
Purple Tree Lounge
Here’s one of my stories that you must read. Not only was my father quite a fisherman in the daytime he was also an avid night person. In fact I spent many great times with him on his night time rendezvous. These outing were great especially for a child who was only about 8 years old. Every outing turned into an adventure. For instance the times that we spent at the lounge located in the Manger Hotel, which was located in what is now called “historic downtown Savannah.” If you are a long time local you must remember this bar in this hotel it was called the “Purple Tree Lounge.” It was so neat, especially to an eight-year-old. When they brought Daddy and me our beverages both drinks had a purple tree stir stick in it. These were the good times before business owners were scared of people poking their eyes out with sharp objects. This stir stick was neat. Daddy would always give me his. I would stick my cherries on the limbs of the trees. It sounds like this story is about purple tree stir sticks, but it’s not.
It’s about the fish tank that was in the “Purple Tree Lounge.” Their large aquarium had lots of small to large gold fish swimming around in it. As I watched the fish swim I noticed something different about them. You could see their insides functioning as the fish moved about. It was even weirder when they turned the lights down. The fish became illuminated with their bodies becoming lighter than their insides. You really could see everything that was going on inside their little bodies. I watched the food go in. And of course I watched as the fish made their deposits all over the aquarium. Now that I think about it I had no idea what daddy was doing all of this time! All I could figure was that he was missing a great fishing show!
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