August 13, 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!
After chartering a trip with our Captain Matt Williams the bite pattern just set in! Bennet Linzey and Will Pesto (both of Savannah, Georgia) along with their guide Captain Matt Williams has a grand inshore catching day while using live shrimp as bait. Now I must say and even though it might be a secret, according to Captain Matt the old live shrimp works, but he has stepped his catching game up a bit. As all inshore fishermen know, shrimp is the one bait that all fish love to eat. The reason being is it easy to catch, easy to eat, and easy on the digestive system. However, if you prefer a stronger and bigger bite, Captain Matt, suggest giving live finger mullet a try. He always has shrimp, but sometimes he doesn’t even use it. What is the finger mullet such a head turner? It’s simple, larger fish such as spotted sea trout didn’t get that big being stupid. And when it comes to feeding a larger fish especially when the opportunity arises would prefer larger bait over a smaller one. Why? Because less hunting to fill the gullet and more resting to recharge its batteries! Now you know the rest of the story!
The Inshore Bite Plight!
So far the inshore bite has been pretty awesome! What it pretty awesome? Well, it means not all the time, but some of the time. If I had said “Totally Awesome” it would have meant all of the time. This past week proved once again that when you do go fishing that sometimes that is exactly what you do. The inshore bite was spotty for some and flourished with others. This means that the fish weren’t all on the same feeding page. So the bottom line to this report is it is still time to go fishing! And heck, go so you can there if catching is involved.
Thanks to Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy Charters for showing us the double barreled bait! Yes, sometimes two baits are better than one! Planning an inshore fishing trip, give us a call; ask to fish with Captain Tommy Williams (912-897-4921). We have two Williams – actually – we have three Williams at Miss Judy Charters. The best news is that all the Williams are pretty darn good fishermen!
Enough about those old what if’s? Let’s talk about some suggestions of what you can do if you do go. During this time of the year we do have warm to hot temperatures and when we get a lots of rain the water temperatures can drop. Well, they did drop this past week about 5 degrees, which means – heck – them fish should be on the bite. But sometimes not! So with that in mind, let’s talk about the best bait for the best bite. I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to live shrimp, but heck you know I am right! A healthy or even fresh dead shrimp seems to still get the old fish’s attention. So when dealing with warmer or subtle drops in water temps and you can’t get a bite or can’t get no satisfaction (I know that I am humming the Rolling Stones tune too) I suggest trying two shrimp instead of just one. Sometimes double barreled bait works better!
While inshore fishing with Captain Garrett Ross, Josh Zimmerman caught what some would say was an unusual catch. And I just did! On occasion when any of my customers have caught a shiny ribbon fish the first thing that comes out of their catching mouth is “Oh my, what the heck is this?” I always respond quickly by saying “It’s a ribbon fish and aren’t they beautiful?” And they are. However, once you get to their mouth design your feelings might greatly change. This is due to the fact that they are sporting a prehistoric set of teeth and might just know how to use them! Planning an inshore fishing trip, give us a call; ask to fish with Captain Garrett Ross.
Here’s a close up of the ribbon fish’s mouth along with its historic looking teeth design! Those that target large king mackerel love this fish as bait. According to Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters after catching and posting these pictures of the ribbon fish also known as a cutlass fish, he had several offers to 
purchase them as is! Want to do a little inshore fishing for red fish, spotted sea trout, flounder, and etc. Meaning, heck, you could even catch a ribbon fish.
While inshore fishing with Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters Josh Zimmerman and Jacob Robinson of Savannah, Georgia, had what you would call a very interesting day! They both caught some very nice spotted sea trout and some ribbon fish! What is their plan? They will eat the spotted sea trout and sell the ribbon fish to the highest bidder.
Pier and dock fishing whether on the ocean side or inshore has been interesting. Your chances of a fish bite are good, especially if you’re not picky and just want to feel the pull. You can expect to catch anything from a small blue fish to a large stingray! Just know it is time to go!
Fishing in the sound!
Fishing in the sound can certainly be interesting especially during this time of the year! I know it is August, it is hot, and sometimes not a lot of wind is blowing, but heck we all still want to go fish. We might want to complain about it, but the desire no matter what is still apparent!
What is this? Well, you know it as shrimp. I know it is seasoned air dried shrimp! How do you get seasoned air dried shrimp? It is so simple, cut your shrimp up as you see in the picture above, and leave it in the sun to dry. Now if there isn’t any sun, don’t worry, simply laying it out in the air will do the same thing. Why is this bait so good? Once it’s dried, it seals in the shrimp juices. And once introduced back into the water on your hook the juices come real back alive! This is a great style of bait, especially when targeting whiting, blue fish, or summer trout. Now if you finish fishing and you don’t want to throw you hard earned seasoned bait away, simply drop it all in a water bottle, screw top on tight, wash the outside off, and the freezer troll just might let you save it. No stink here!
Beachfront Report!
Do spot tail bass exactly go surfing? Well, you could call it surfing, because these fish with the help of the surf are pushing baits into the shallows and then you know the rest of the story! Surf fishing for spot tail – aka redfish – during this time of the year can be very interesting! Your best bait to use to catch these fine 
specimens is small whole finger mullet or stripped mullet. To keep a spot tail the slot limit is 14 inches to 23 inches and the bag limit is 5. These fish that are bigger, well, they are considered trophy fish and should be properly released back to the wild!
Spot tail bite in Creeks, Rivers, and Sounds!
Some of the bass being caught in these areas are still coming up a little short of 14 inches. Give them a few more weeks and they will make the mark. Keep practicing and you’re catching techniques will improve. And what does this mean? You will achieve the ability to catch more and release less!
While fishing with Captain Kevin Ross of Miss Judy Charters Mr. Marion Kennickell and his grandson Jake Dyches (age 11) had themselves a fish catching time. Both proud citizens of Savannah, Georgia; born and raised! Jake caught over 40 fish, which some were released and some were kept! What were they using for bait? Trained live shrimp!
Where did they get it from? Captain Judy’s Bait House. Is it open? Yes, it opens this weekend!
Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters took AJ Kempton, Cole Larance, Jacob Herner, and their grandfather Larry Larance (who is a resident of the Landings located on Skidaway Island) inshore fishing! Now, what do AJ, Cole, and Jacob all have in common? Well, they are all eighteen, starting college next month, like to play soccer, have the same grandfather, and love to fish! All of them are visiting from Ann Arbor, Michigan. According to their grandfather when the boys arrive they spent more time fishing the ponds and lakes on Skidaway Island than not. He also stated that they need to all buy into stocks at a grocery store chain and shop there! And now he thinks he should also!
Jacob is holding a nice tarpon that he caught while pitching the old gold spoon in one of Landings lagoons. His grandfather Larry Larance told me that while his grandson is visiting he plans on fishing a lot! And from this picture, we can see that Jacob catches too!
As you can see from this tarpon’s appearance it is definitely a resident fish. What is a resident fish? In the case of this tarpon, it means it definitely lives right where you caught it. The longer fish stay in stained, dark, or clearer water the more their natural camouflaging takes place. This fish is much darker in color than one that you catch on the beachfront. So this fish has spent a lot of time in this darker water. Now if it was released in lighter colored water it would quickly adapt!
The 2017 EMC Services Offshore Fishing Team!
This past week I had the pleasure of taking EMC group out do a little fishing. Christopher Brazell of Columbus, Georgia and Joseph Butts of Savannah, Georgia are offering us some fish catching smiles. Chris is holding up a nice Spanish mackerel, which hit a 00 Clarke spoon being pulled 10 feet behind a number one planer. We did a little trolling, we did a little catching, and we did a lot of talking! And heck, isn’t that what fishing is all about?
For those that want to experience ocean fishing, please do give us a call at 912-897-4921; we have Captain Ken Kennickell, Captain Deidra Helmey Jeffcoat, Captain Greg Harvey, Captain Kathy Brown, and the oldest you must have already guessed is me – Captain Judy Helmey. Coming soon in the spring of 2018 our company will again have on board Captain Ryan Howard, who no stranger to the offshore frontier!
Artificial reef trolling event!
While trolling for 2 hours in about 45 feet of water at the artificial reef KC, we did a lot of dragging spoons and not a lot of catching. I was marking a lot of bait and even schools of mackerel. However, the morning bite wasn’t on, so it certainly was a fishing trip for sure! Captain Ken Kennickell took an afternoon trip out to the same area and the bite was little better, but not on wide open for sure.
Normally these artificial reefs in 45 feet of water are holding a lot more Spanish and king mackerel. However, as we all know and have come to learn that these fish can definitely be a little finicky! On this same day, I had received catching reports from the artificial reefs located in 55 to 60 feet of water and the top bite was a lot better. Those who ventured out a little further got the opportunity to experience a pretty darn good king mackerel bite. What is all of this leaning towards? A grand fall king mackerel bite! The month of August has always been like this for as long as I can remember. And make no mistake folks: that is a long darn time for sure! What does this boil down too? Bottom and top water fish don’t act regularly in the month of August! I don’t have to tell you, but September is right around the corner and so is that early fall bite pattern! August is the practice month and all the rest are the real deal catching months!
Pieces of the bottom and the Savannah Snapper Banks report!
What do we have here? This is a pile of fish that were caught while bottom fishing on a piece of live bottom located in about 60 feet of water. From the left to the right: black sea bass, white grunts, trigger fish, ocean perch, and ruby red lips! Don’t laugh.I am calling the Ruby’s the fish of the future! Have you ever heard the saying, “Grits and grunts?” According to my father, the grunt was the fish that helped put Florida on the food map. On bad days when they couldn’t get other fish the “grits and grunts” prepared with undesirable bottom fish became a very popular dish. Bringing to light this question, what is a grunt? His standard answer, “Any small fried fish that goes well with grits!”
When it comes to the actual snapper banks, I love this area! No matter the month this area is considered a “target rich environment” for catching fish. Why? There is always a lot of bite activity going on when you are fishing in 100 feet of water. This area has lots of live bottom which can definitely hold the interest of all sizes of fish. As my father always said, “Where you got small fish, you got larger fish!”
So if you go, just be prepared for it all from the top water bite to doing a little bottom bumping. As far as the best bait you can never so wrong with squid because all fish at one time or the other have eaten it and like it! Now if you want to step up your catching game, bring along your sabiki bait rig, and catch yourself some nice Spanish sardines or Cigar minnows. These baits, especially during hot water times, are known for triggering the bite. What does this mean? A fish in most cases doesn’t look this bait over before trying to inhale it. Why? Because when this bait is alive and kicking or should I say darting about on your hook, a fish can’t stand it! And for a fisherman, a careless bite is just about as good as a hookup! I always tell my customer especially during hot water times that when you get a hit don’t set, but instead drop back and give the fish time to eat!
When hooking up nervous live bait to always place the hook right behind the dorsal fin. Why? It allows the fish to inhale the bait without notice. If you lip hook this bait the fish is going to hit the leader before the fish. And this is what I call putting the fish on notice. Now don’t get me wrong, when a fish is put on notice, on some occasion, it will adjust quickly and eat from the bait from the tail. However, during hot water times and with the presence of serious amounts of baits everywhere, it might scare them off. Try it my way, which is placing the hook behind the dorsal fin! But make sure when you do get a hit that you don’t immediately start reeling, give that fish time to eat!
Captain Deidra Helmey Jeffcoat of Miss Judy Charters sits on the MREP Southeast Steering Committee. Captain Deidra is asking fishermen to take look at this survey. MREP Steering Committee would appreciate your feed back!
This survey seeks to capture the diverse perspectives, attitudes, and experiences from fishermen and the fishing industry. Results will be used to help guide the strategies of the Marine Resource Education Program (MREP), a neutral program which aims to empower the fishing industry to represent their interests in fisheries science and management.
This survey is voluntary and anonymous and will take 5-10 minutes to complete. For more information about MREP, please visit: www.gmri.org/mrep.
Little Miss Judy’s Believe It Or Not! – A story from years past!
It all about rough seas, St Elmo’s fire, and some really true hard core fishermen!
Here’s a blast from the past article that was published in 2005 in the Island Living magazine out of Savannah, Georgia. At the time I was supplying Maribeth Spence with fishing reports and local catches! She always made sure that my information was published in her magazine! A lot of our fishing friends thanks to Maribeth were made Fishing Stars for the day!
The story told was about a local fishing family that had chartered my boat for what turned out to be a very interesting day at the snapper banks.
Savannah’s own fishing families! Joseph Butt and his fine Motley fishing team.
Joseph Butts, Cindy, and Bill Butt’s (1952-2017) son was just awarded “The Presidential scholarship” from Dr. Carlton of Savannah State College. (An unbelievable achievement and a college scholarship not received by many) He starts college this Fall. He tells me that he can’t wait! Joseph is holding a king mackerel, which is only one of the many fish that he caught.
Donald Sharp (Joseph’s grandfather) holding two vermilion snapper, which as you can see aren’t sure which way that they want to swim “up or down!”
Randy Sharp (Joseph’s uncle) holding a triggerfish. Randy plans on removing the skin of this fish and drying it out. Once the drying out process is accomplished he will then have two pieces of the greatest sand paper known and only used by real fishermen. The fact of the matter is that back in the old days (way back) sailors did, in fact, use dried triggerfish skins to sand the deck of wooden ships. It was either sand or “walk the plank!” Back in this era, some sailors preferred to walk the plank!
Randy Lucree (grandfather to Cole Baham) holding a nice horizontal and very balanced vermilion snapper.
Cole Baham, “big fish catcher of the day” well known accomplished fisherman at Miss Judy Charters. He is holding the big fish of the day, which is a fine genuine red snapper. Cole told his Grandfather (Randy) that he was determined to catch a big one. Cole is a true fisherman!
Art Gagne holding is two nice size “football” vermilion snapper. For those of you that don’t know it, there is an art to catching vermilion snapper. Art figured this out early in the fishing bottom fishing day. This fish is known for sucking and stretching your bait to its limit. The secret is to set the hook when their mouth is over the hook’s point not just around it. Art got it and caught them repeatedly!
Cole and Grandfather Randy are holding up his fine genuine red snapper in this picture. Cole caught this fish while using a small piece of bait, small hooks, and a very determined fishing attitude! It was the big fish of the day!
This group proved that they are real fishermen. The chartered my boat “Miss Judy Too” for a day of fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks. They all braved the rough waters with a smile. Not one fisherman complained when a noon time storm surrounded us, charged us up with St Elmo’s Fire that caused all of our hair to stand straight up. As if that wasn’t enough this caused electronics failure that lasted the entire passing of the storm. (The towers that were supposed to send the signal when on the blink!) They all patiently waited for the storm to pass so that they could start fishing again. Not one fisherman complained about the rough sea conditions causing the fish to bite a little funny. They all continued to fish when they could, were happy at what they caught, and always managed to pull a fish to the boat. After a great day of storm dodging, we headed home to hit yet another more violent weather. Ten miles off the sea buoy we encountered 50 knot plus winds and 8-foot sea conditions. When we finally reached the calm waters of Wassaw Sound we agreed that we all had something to talk about at the old supper table and lived to tell it! I certainly do love my customers and my job!
Thanks for reading! – Captain Judy
Captain Judy Helmey
Miss Judy Charters
Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!
124 Palmetto Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31410
(912)-897-4921 or (912)-897-2478
(912)-897-3460 fax
fishjudy2@aol.com
