Miss Judy fishing report, Savannah 12-20

[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

December 20, 2010



Saltwater Inshore, Offshore, Blue Water fishing reports, Freshies Suggestions, and “Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not story! A must read! “Christmas in the Fifties with Dear old Captain Dad! Thanks for Reading!



2011 Schools dates are


INSHORE FISHING CLINIC

Two Inshore School

Saturday February 19, 2011
Saturday March 12, 2011



One Offshore School

Saturday March 5, 2011



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)

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

For more details on the school please go to…

http://missjudycharters.com/fishingclinic.shtml



Table of Contents

Fishing off the piers, docks, and beachfronts Suggestions

Please report all right whales sightings!

Spotted sea trout Let’s talk a little about the trout bite this past week

The best way to catch spotted sea trout! Who needs real bait?

Inshore Striped Bass Section Best bait to use and why!

What is Red Bump Nose? Also called “Rudolph Nose!”

Red Fish Red Fish Invasion Where to look and why

Red fish catching dilemma! “Slow to go is being in the know!”

To catch a red fish when it’s cold you have to think like one. Here are a few pointers…

Offshore Sheepshead Report The Fish catching Howell’s come to town!

Richard Howell better known now as “POPS!”

Wednesday December 15, 2010 “Our frozen departure.” Making way to the KC!

While on this Howell’s Fish Extravaganza I got to fish too.. I came up with the slow rod-waving move!

How to catch a sheepshead before it sucks the insides out of your fiddler!

Sheepshead rig recipe! Lets go Carolina style with a twist!

Main lines, rod and reel set up! At the dock with the stock!

How to make the “slow waving of the rod work!” Baiting up practice!

Savannah Snapper Banks

Gulf Stream Suggestions

Freshies report Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from Bill Vanderford

Little Miss Judy’s Believe it or not! A must read! “Christmas in the Fifties with Dear old Captain Dad!”





I just had to show you this photo that I took while sitting on my dock. The head of the bird is in focus, but the rest of the photo is blurry.



Fishing off the piers, docks, and beachfronts Suggestions

On Sunday December 19, 2010 I received a call asking about fishing in these areas. Unfortunately, I had to report that due to current water temperatures that the bite could be very light and almost non-existing. The current water temperature at 10:00 AM at Station FPK – 8670870 – Fort Pulaski, GA was 49.8 degrees. It was over cast, which meant maybe the sun wouldn’t shine enough offering up any sort warming trend. In my fishing experiences fish bites might not happen! For those that want the web address for this site, please log on to…

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=fpkg1



And if you want the latest offshore marine forecast click on

Latest NWS Marine Forecast











Please report all right whales sightings!



Right whales just want to have fun!



The right whale is protected by federal regulations.

It is illegal to approach a right whale within 500 yards. (50 CFR 224.03 I) Any vessels finding itself within the 500 yards buffer zone created by a surfacing right must depart immediately at a safe, slow speed.

To report on VHF marine Radio go to channel 16 “hale USCG Station Tybee” Or you can call 912 786 5440

Please report all sightings..so that this information can be broadcasted to other boaters to prevent collisions at sea with the whales!





Spotted sea trout



Let’s talk a little about the trout bite this past week.



Monday December 13, 2010 and Tuesday December 14, 201

The winds howled, highs were only around 40 degrees. However, with the wind chill factored in it was more like 22 degrees. This dropped the morning surface water temperature at my dock in Turner Creek to about 43 to 45 degrees. Then when Wednesday December 15, 2010 rolled in the morning temperatures were below freezing, but a quick warming trend was predictive. And it happened the winds lay-ed 10:00 AM, the sun shined, and a warming trend made way.



While using live shrimp and fishing the edge of the grass line some inshore fisherman caught “several limits over” of mixed sizes spotted sea trout. According to the report, when the tide changed around 9:30AM to the incoming the trout bite exploded. So here’s what I have to say about all of this. We had two days of extremely cold weather and then a warming trend. As soon as it was known by the down under crowd the bite went from light to just right! The bottom line to this report is if possible to pick your fish days I suggest keeping up with the weather as well as it past, present, and future changes.



The best way to catch spotted sea trout! Who needs real bait? Especially when you know which artificial lures really work!





This is a standard DOA shrimp pattern. I have a removed the weight and hook that when purchased this shrimp is normally rigged with. The hook that I am using is a 2/0 to 3/0 Khale style hook. When hooking up the shrimp this way I try to balance it on the bend of the hook so that it rocks back and forth in the current. Normally when hooked up right the shrimp once steadied always goes back to the level position. You can use this style shrimp under popping corks or traditional adjustable corks. Since a trout at least most of the time looks up or to the side to go in the attack mode this artificial shrimp imitation looks just like the real thing. When in current it rocks back and forth. When hooked up this way the stiletto made from under and above looks just like the real thing. When the trout attacks to kill this shrimp they mostly get hooked up by theirs elves. The best news is if the artificial shrimp isn’t damaged or torn up upon impact the trout just keeps hitting it all the while wondering: “Where the heck did this shrimp come from and why the heck can’t I kill it?” It’s a known fact when any fish gets into this mode; hook ups are going to happen.











Inshore

Striped Bass Section



Best bait to use and why!



The striped bass bite continuous to be good. For those fishermen that want to give this kind of fishing a try now is the time.

As far as what baits are best…I always suggest live shrimp under some sort of a traditional adjustable float. However, mud minnows will also work as well as finger mullet. The old mud minnow is probably the easiest to keep alive especially in cold-water conditions. When using the mud minnow as bait I suggest placing your hook through the lips. This allows the bait some movement, which is what the striped bass keys on.

Mullet is another bait that will work. Live is better, but dead ones will work. When talking about live mullet most all sizes will work from small to medium to large. As far as where to hook them up I suggest either lip hooking or behind the dorsal fin placement. These two hook placements still allows the mullet to make moves, which in turn gets the striped bass’s attention.



This is what I call a real healthy live finger mullet. There are no signs of any bruising on the bait. Now if this mullet had been continuously bumping the tank it would have “red bump nose!”



What is Red Bump Nose? Also called especially during the holiday season “Rudolph Nose!”

It has been proven by other fishermen as well as myself that in some cases mullet that have red bump nose don’t work as well as those that don’t. I guess I should first explain what the heck is “red bump nose.” When mullet are kept in a live tank they have a tendency to bump the walls. While not just one bump causes the bruising several solids hits do. It seems that if the mullet that are held in capacity for any length of time they develop red noses. This is due to the fact that bruising from hitting the walls of the tank takes place. There have been days where “red bump nose or not” baits still do work. However, there have also been days where “red bump nose mullet” were not touched. However, changing up baits to a mullet that does not have red bump nose worked. The bottom line is if that’s all you have still use them…but if you have a choice….stay away from the red bump nose!

Red Fish Invasion

Where to look and why!



Red fish on the move!



This is where we saw this red fish on the move. Areas like this are great spots to take “a look-see” for red fish!





The cold pushes the red fish to the flats and they pretty much stay there. It’s kind of like this especially when it comes to the cold-water red fish story. Most of the red fish that are in the creek, rivers, and sounds advance to the mud flats for safety. And as soon as the tide gets to the grass they push forward up into the marsh as far as they can. It’s that time of year where the red fish is preyed upon by the dolphin. The dolphin also called porpoise feed heavily on the old red fish. During this time especially at the low tide stage where you have dolphin holding out in the deeper water in front of the flats you most likely have red fish holding in the shallows.



Red fish catching dilemma! “Slow to go is being in the know!”



To catch a red fish when it’s cold you have to think like one. Here are a few pointers…



When it’s cold they move slow and stay in the stealth mode as much as possible. When they feed their take is very slow. So therefore when using live bait, let the fish eat it, and then start reeling. Setting the hook too soon on a red fish in cold water in most cases doesn’t get you hooked up. When using soft artificial rigged weed-less flukes I suggest, “making slow moves only!” It’s best to cast into place, let it fall to the bottom, let it sit long enough for the made sand storm to settle, and then make your retrieving moves. No matter what, when it comes to the biting ways of red fish especially when it’s cold “slow to go in being in the know!”



Offshore Sheepshead Report



The Fish catching Howell’s come to town!



Richard Howell better known now as “POPS!” Captain Kathy Brown holding a black drum, and Steve Howell bringing up the rear!



Steve and his father Mr. Howell, which I later nicknamed “Pops” went fishing with us on Wednesday December 15, 2010. On Tuesday temperatures brought freezing temperatures and the winds howled 20 knots plus all day. On Wednesday morning, Steve found us some fiddlers at Tybee Island Bait and Tackle. Now I must say, “The purchase that Steve made wasn’t a normal one!” I had been calling the bait house all morning, but there was no answer. In the back of my mind I did think that maybe the bait house didn’t have any heat and that no one could possibly stay inside. When Steve got there the bait house was open, but no one was there. So he looked around and found a heated spot, which was where all were holding up. As luck would have it Steve brought all the fiddlers that they had, which turned out to be around 300 purple backs. When Steve and Pops arrived to the dock the crabs although still alive were in a sort of deep freeze hibernation mode.



Wednesday December 15, 2010 “Our frozen departure.”

When the sun got high enough in the sky, which was around 10:00 AM we pushed off with ice on the Miss Judy Too aft deck. There was absolutely no wind, but it was cold as heck. As I made way through the creek I noticed the 44-degree water temperature showing on two of my screens. (GPS and Fish finder) All I could think is well today might be one of those days where fishing instead of catching was going to be our main attraction.

Making way to the KC!

Once arriving to the KC artificial Buoy, also known by the locals as the “tire reef” I wanted to anchor up as soon as possible. There were two reasons for this. The wind, although very calm, still had a little few hidden gusts. When this happened if you happened to be facing the wind it actually would sting. The second reason was if we didn’t get anchored up right on one of the wrecks we most likely were not going to get a chance at catching anything. After several droppings of the reef anchor we finally got hung up. Now the Miss Judy Too was facing the wind and when gusts happened the boat protected us and the sun warmed us.



When it comes to fishing from a boat “Pops” told me that for some reason he always migrates to the starboard side. And that is where he usually catches fish. Well, I didn’t find this out until I had moved him over to the port side. After a few minutes of not catching much, Steve finally hooked up a nice sheepshead on the starboard side. Quietly “Pops” sat port with rod in hand waiting for a hit to be had. I asked would he like to move to the starboard and that’s when I found out about his migration theory to always fish starboard side of the boat. And believe it or not as soon as “Pops move to the starboard side” hook ups happened! With using braided line and a light rod reel combo “Pops” hooked up and reeled up some nice sheepshead and black drum. Steve fished the starboard side corner and also caught quite a few nice sheepsheads. As you read this story you already know what my might next line might be. The Howell’s did catching good! And Kathy and I enjoyed fishing with them very much!



While on this Howell’s Fish Extravaganza I got to fish too..



And this is when I came up with the slow rod-waving move!

How to catch a sheepshead before it sucks the insides out of your fiddler!





To feel a sheepshead bite you have be quick minded. Most fish will take the bait; you then received some sort of a nibbling trembling at the end of the rod, which in turn triggers the setting of the rod at least by most fishermen. I know it does for me! When it comes to a sheepshead bite things are certainly different. Most of the times when fishing for sheepshead, if you feel a nibble, it’s most likely a small fish such as a black sea bass or ocean perch. These guys invented nibbling!



Lets start with explaining the title to this paragraph, which is “The slow rod-waving move!” I thought I would share with you the feeding ways of a sheepshead, at least from my point view. This is the way I get to feel the sheepshead so called bite. Sheepsheads don’t nibble like other fish do. They grab their intended meal, which is normally something wrapped in a shell, and then they quickly suck the insides out. It would seems that the one holding the rod could feel this action vibrate up the line attached to the reel. However, you can’t really feel it, because the sheepshead does it so quick. A so-called bite from a sheepshead should really be called “a nudge,” which in turn causes, if not for a split second, pressure on your line. If you are “very slowly” waving your rod up and down you just might feel it. Please know that when I say, “slow moving” I mean just that. Don’t make large up and down moves with your rod or you will be running the sheepshead away. However, if you move your rod up and down slowly the crab on the hook will look like it moving naturally instead of not so! Thus the sheepshead that sees won’t look long before it goes into the grabbing, sucking, eating, and then moving away mode!”



Sheepshead rig recipe! Lets go Carolina style with a twist!



This is a standard set up Carolina Style Rig. When sheepshead fishing I use 20 pound test fluorocarbon or regular monofilament line as leader. It’s true when the manufacture says, “Fluorocarbon leaders disappears in the water and are abrasive resistance.” However, this type of leader is expensive to say the least. Since I always check my leader every time meaning, “pull it through my fingers checking for nicks” I just use “Ande” 20 lb pink monofilament line. It’s my opinion if you check your leader every time break offs are less likely to happen. The bottom line is this if you have fluorocarbon leader already I suggest using it. The best pound sizes to use are 20 to 25 pound test. However, no mater what, always check leaders every time, because it might be the difference in landing your fish or not. Whatever you do don’t forget your dip net, because lifting moving as well as heavy fish out of water to put in boat might result in main lines or leaders breaking.



As far as the hook used I go with a thin tinned Khale hook #4, #6, or 1/0. The hook size is normally decided based on the way the sheepshead is hitting your bait. If a sheepshead is hitting hard and taking fast a small thin tinned hook could be snapped right at the bend. When this happens I know you are going to want to change your hook and you can. However, for me I prefer the smaller hooks, because my “hook up to cut off” is better. Another thing that I think is the fact that the thin tinned hook can not seen by the sheepshead, which means no hesitation when it comes to feeding time.



Main lines, rod and reel set up

I always like using when going monofilament 20 pound test main line. When going braided I don’t mind using up to 60-pound test. Any thing larger will still work, but it’s basically over kill. You know the old saying when it comes to the sheepshead bite “The feel is definitely the deal!” As far as rod and reel set up I suggest anything, but a long trout rod outfit. However, if that is all you got “it will work too!”



At the dock with the stock!



Pops first mate Captain Kathy Brown and Steve Howell!



How to make the “slow waving of the rod work!”

Captain Kathy Brown showing off the dockside twins!



Baiting up practice!

After popping the tip of my hook past the barb into the fiddler’s leg socket I drop it to the bottom. Once I hit the bottom I reel up just enough to get my bait off the bottom and suspended in the water column. This means when you start waving you don’t want your bait to bounce back and forth on the bottom you want it to flow kind of naturally above the bottom. It’s may opinion that while doing the slow waving event that you are imitating a fiddler crab moving from one spot to another. Believe me if a fiddler is seen making a move by the old sheepshead it will be right there to grab it. By slowly waving your rod you can feel the sheepshead when he grabs the fiddler. Now your fish catching instincts are going to say to you to set the hook, but if you do you are going to most likely miss this hook up deal. When this happens to me I try and I must say, “TRY not to set the hook.” However, I will say that I have in some cases and of course not hooked up, but I just wanted to make sure. So here’s how I do it..



While moving rod slowly up and down I stay in step with the motion made. The sheepshead now has the crab in its mouth and is in the sucking the inside process out of the fiddler. The waving motion helps put the hook in the fish’s mouth. The reason being is it basically happens when the sheepshead makes the move away from where it grabbed the crab in the first place. This is where you” get hooked up and not stood up!” Whatever you do don’t forget you dip net! Believe me you are going to need it especially at this time of the year! Good luck and let me know how your “slow waving of the rod goes!”

Savannah Snapper Banks



Just plain fishing is good right now!

Bottom Fishing at its finest!

Bottom fishing for black sea bass, triggerfish, white bone porgy, knobbed porgy, red porgy, banded rudder fish, gag grouper, scamp grouper, red grouper, mutton snapper, flounder, almaco jack, amberjack, tomtate, rock bass, scup, and etc…



Gulf Stream Suggestions

My suggestion is especially at this time…if you get good weather be prepared to go…boats have gone during this time in the past and have done quite well in the catching department while doing just a little trolling and strolling! Whatever you do if you get to go, what the heck, give bottom fishing a try! Here’s the best line ever, “You won’t know unless you go!”



Freshies report

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from Bill Vanderford



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”



Merry Christmas!



Here I am early Christmas morning with doll in hand, eyes closed half a sleep, and just happy as can be that daddy didn’t catch Santa Clause!



“Christmas in the Fifties with Dear old Captain Dad!”

As a child, like most, I loved Christmas. I knew that Santa Clause was the real thing and that hopefully he was going to visit my house. Every year my father would tell all of us children that he was going to set a trap so as to catch old Saint Nick. In this department I wasn’t too popular with the neighborhood kids. This was due to the fact that Daddy was a great hunter and could possibly set a trap that just might work. So as you can see we were all in a dilemma at Christmas time.



We would talk about it among ourselves and came up with some pretty convincing reasons why we shouldn’t worry too much about Daddy’s old trap. The number one reason was that we knew for a fact that Santa was very smart. So therefore he would see right through any trap. The other and best reason was that we knew for a fact was that if Santa could get into houses without chimneys he could easily escape.

After a few minutes us six year olds would get tried of worrying about this and basically forgot about it. At least until Daddy brought it up again, which was quite often on Christmas Eve!



As an only child I was very fortunate to get a lot things during the year. So therefore when Christmas arrived I needed more. After all a child needs lot of things to survive. Back in the old days we received only a few catalogs. Not like today where your mailbox is packed full everyday for months before the big event. I would always be anxiously waiting for the “Levy’s” catalog to arrive. This was my Christmas list in picture form. My father would tell me that I could circle what I wanted and he would pass it on to Santa. Now this is the funny thing. He always told me not to spend anymore than $25.00 on all of my gifts. So the process began. Picking the presents, then adding their costs up with the hopes that what I wanted wasn’t over the designated amount.



Until I got older I didn’t understand what money and Santa Clause had in common. After doing all of this work and making my final decision I would hand over my picture Christmas list to Daddy. He would hopefully as he promised, pass it on to Santa Clause. However, I never forgot for one moment that he might catch the rascal before he got to our house. I wasn’t the only child worried about this.



Finally Christmas morning arrived. I jumped out of bed, ran into the living room, and got a big let down. There wasn’t any presents or toys to be found. I couldn’t believe it Daddy had actually caught Santa Clause. I ran to daddy’s bedroom almost in tears and woke him up. He rose up half a sleep and asked, “What’s wrong?” I replied, “Santa didn’t come!” He quickly replied, “Oh Santa and I got to talking about fishing and he left all of your presents in my closet!”



Once again my father saved the day with just a few words putting Christmas morning back into motion!



Hope you have a wonderful Merry Christmas!

And I hope that Santa brings you all the tackle that you asked for!



Captain Judy














Thank You,
Captain Judy
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!"
1 912 897 4921 office
1 877 500 3363 toll free
Miss Judy Charters