August 28, 2017 – Fishing reports and a Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not story! Thanks for reading!
Fishing statement: To try to ensure that fishing stays in the hearts of those that love it!
Inshore Fishing
I always say, “If it’s going to be your first grouper it might as well be a big one!” – Congratulations Alli!
The inshore bite continues to surprise me, due to the fact that the water temps are so darn warm. Believe me, I need to say, “It’s just plain HOT!” Once again I am giving the inshore bite a pretty good report even if our captains are having to pull out all of the baiting up secrets. It is true those inshore fishermen that think outside of the baiting up box are the ones that are going to have the most luck catching instead of just fishing. So let talk about live baits during the hot times:
Live shrimp when you can keep that alive and well are usually the number one bait that an inshore fish loves to key on. The creeks and rivers are packed with all sizes of these hovering marine creatures and things in the eating department have changed up. So, you know the old saying, “Feast or famine!” Well, when it comes to using live shrimp as bait a triggered hit might not happen unless you used two at a time. Now I know that sounds like an expensive baiting up method, but since there are so many your hooked up shrimp just might not get as much attention. So therefore I suggest going with doubles. The best news is you can bring along your cast net and catch your own.
During this time when casting for your own bait you get the opportunity to catch other baits that are going to work much better than a shrimp. I know I can’t believe I am saying that either! You could find yourself catching finger mullet, small blue crabs, yellow tail, croakers, peanut menhaden and others that just might “match the hatch!” Another live bait that is also working is the so often forgotten about mud minnow, which comes in all sizes from super small to jumbo. When only having the smaller ones I suggest using two. The larger ones, also known as jumbos, will work just fine alone. This is bait is as hardy in the hot months as it is in the cold months.
Using these bait up your chances for catching larger fish. What kind of large fish? Spotted sea trout, red fish, and flounder. What’s the best way to present these off the wall baits? I suggest taking the float out of the rigging up situation and only using the trout sinker, leader, and hook. Or using a Carolina type rig with an egg sinker, swivel, leader, and hook.
Near Shore – Savannah River Channel
This is a photo I took in 1970 while fishing in Tybee Roads! The birds are showing us the way! Boy, I love and miss the good old days!
Trolling and Strolling!
There have been a few days where the Spanish mackerel having been school in the shipping channel that passes right off the beach at Tybee Island.
The shipping channel is also known by us old codgers as “Tybee Roads!” During this time of the year Spanish mackerel are known for schooling and feeding from red 12 all the way to the end of the shipping channel. All the red buoys heading out to the ocean are always on your left and when heading back to shore they should always be on your right. (Thus the saying, “Red right return” was born. All of the red buoys are marking the offshore side of the channel. I always like trolling red side of the channel while zigzag back and forth from the deeper to the shallower side of the channel. School of bait can be found holding on the drop offs. Spanish mackerel become the best ambushers of all times. And here’s the thing, when the Spanish start feeding like this in the channel, so do the large smoker king mackerel. The best when targeting Spanish mackerel is to troll 0 and 00 Clark spoon deep behind #1, #2, or # 3 planners. The best bait when targeting large king mackerel is small Spanish. (Bringing back to light there is always a bigger fish in the sea!)
Artificial Reefs
Normally during this time of the year the Spanish and King mackerel bite is much more dependable. However, I must report that it has not been so, so far! So with that being said, “When fishing all of the artificial reefs I suggest pulling out all of the baits that ever worked or just doing what I do, KEEP DRAGGING THOSE BAITS AND SOONER OR LATER BITES WILL HAPPEN!
The bottom fishing for black sea bass in 45 to 65 feet of water has almost been non existence. You might catch a few while small ones while bottom bumping. However when it comes to keeping I don’t have not much to report. However, please remember when it comes to bottom fishing you really never know what you might catch!
Savannah Snapper Banks!
While fishing at the Savannah Snapper banks with her father Dan DeYoung Alli caught this nice scamp grouper also known as a broom tail!
This fishing report comes straight from the ocean from Alli DeYoung, contributing editor to Captain Judy’s fishing report!
What a great day of fishing! Daddy and I left the dock at 7:30 am to begin our fishing adventure. While still in the sound, a beautiful sunrise was poking out from behind a storm. The seas were a bit bumpy as we passed thru the cans, but we managed to find a good ride. As we came to the artificial reefs, we made a pit stop to jig up some live bait. There was a small school of bait on top with a few birds working it, but most of our success was found on the bottom. Once we had our fill of Spanish Sardines and Greenies, it was time to get to the Common Area of the Savannah Snapper Banks. In about one hundred feet of water we got all rigged up and lined up our drift to fish. My first drop was a standard double hook rig with squid on both hooks and down to the bottom it went. Within a few minutes it got crushed. I was fighting the fish and wondered what was on the other end, and then as it came to the surface and to my surprise I saw it was a grouper. I yelled to Daddy, “It’s a Grouper! It’s a Grouper!” He looked at me in disbelief; then he saw it for himself and quickly flipped it over into the boat. It was all celebration from there. It was my first grouper ever and a thirteen and a half pounder at that! For the rest of the day we worked the rest of the Common Area and caught six Triggerfish and one Genuine Red Snapper, which was released unharmed back to the wild. When bottom fishing I find it works best to drop the line all the way to the bottom and then reel up a few cranks instead of it continuing to bump on/off the bottom. It gives more feel of a nibbling fish. The ride home was flat calm and beautiful. It was an awesome day fishing and I got to spend it with just my daddy. This was truly a day for the books that I will never forget.
Sunrise: A beautiful morning in Wassaw sound. Alli DeYoung took the photo on the morning ride out to the Savannah Snapper Banks. Alli and her father Dan went fishing and it ended up being quite a grand catching day!
It is time to go, because during the hot water times your chances for catching more fish and multiple species are the best!
Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not Recipe – brought to you by Captain Steve “Triple Trouble” Howell!
During this time of the year you can catch your own shrimp or just pull up to the nearest seafood market! The secret to purchasing shrimp is that you make sure you are getting Georgia Wild Shrimp! The ones in the picture above were caught while casting the old net, which can happen especially during this time of the year. My father used to always says, “When the shrimp have red legs it means that are just about to leave the creeks/rivers and head out to the sound!” Good thing we caught these nice ones before they started making way!
Captain Steve “Triple Trouble” Howell has once again been a cooking up some good stuff! And this time it is not my recipe, but one of his! This recipe was given to him in one form and now it he has taken it to a Captain Steve “Triple Trouble” super great and delicious level! He is calling it Barbecued Shrimp à la Chef Kelly Plaswirth! And I am calling it ‘Great Bait and Crusty Bread’!
Captain Steve “Triple Trouble” says…
Hello again folks. Prime time for fall white shrimp in Georgia is approaching, so Captain Judy asked me to start thinking about shrimp recipes she could share in her Weekly Fishing Report. There are a gazillion recipes for barbecued shrimp but I particularly like one developed by Kelly Plaswirth, former chef at the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans. My wife, Melinda, started her career at the New Orleans Fed and became good friends with Chef Kelly. Now, some chefs can be secretive about their recipes, but Melinda liked this recipe so much that she finally talked Kelly into sharing the recipe. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she was his boss at the time!
We have enjoyed this dish many times over the years and, yes, we have tinkered with the ingredients and cooking method. That’s what cooking is all about. Note that Judy’s father probably wouldn’t have liked this dish – there’s no ketchup in it! Enjoy. (From Captain Judy, this is true! However, he could have always added a bottle or two! Heck, after all, we had plenty; he brought it at the warehouse by the case! How about this? Glass bottles, too! And when the bottle was empty, daddy would add a bit of apple cider vinegar, shake it, and then drink it! As I said before, “Yes he loved ketchup even straight up!”)
Barbecued Shrimp à la Chef Kelly Plaswirth:
From the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta – New Orleans Branch
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup Crisco vegetable oil
- 1 TB finely minced garlic
- 4 dried bay leaves crushed fine (a blade-style coffee grinder works great for this)
- 3 teaspoons crushed fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 TB paprika
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 pounds large fresh shrimp in the shell
- In a heavy sauté pan, melt the butter, then add the oil and mix well.
- Add all the other ingredients except the shrimp and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to boil.
- Turn off the heat and let the pan stand, uncovered, at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Add the shrimp to the sauce. Mix thoroughly and put the pan back on the burner.
- Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the shrimp just turn pink, then put the pan in a pre-heated 450 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. Serve equal portions of shrimp with about 1/2 cup of sauce over each one and lots of crusty French bread to sop up the drippings.
Thanks for reading! – Captain Judy