03-19-2002, 07:28 PM
CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY<br>"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956"<br>POB 30771<br>SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410<br>912 897 4921 or 912 897 3460 fax<br>www.missjudycharters.com.<br><br>March 18, 2002<br><br>INSHORE<br>All of our spring fish groups can't be considered up and running, but at least they are trying to make a slight showing. In fact our inshore boats are getting a little bite on trout and spottail, but not anything like predicted in a few weeks. The sheepshead fishing is still the fish to target at this time of the year. Especially if you just want to catch a fish and not worry about chasing those that I listed above. In fact all you need for bait is either raw oyster, smoked oyster, peeled raw shrimp, crickets, or fiddler crab. Don't forget the saltines for the baits that don't work. Here's another pointer for sheepshead fishing when it comes to using raw oysters for bait. Drop them in boiling water for a few seconds. This helps to toughen them up a bit so that they will stay on the hook longer. <br><br>Don't get me wrong the spottail bass are still being found up on the shallows chasing those poor fleeing finger mullet. The rule of thumb for this game is if you can see them, you can pitch to them, and your chances are good that you will get a solid bite. However, the fish's rule of thumb is a little different. If the fish sees you first you are basically out of luck. So there fore when fishing the shallows wear you best fish camouflage. <br><br>The trout are still holding deep especially after that spike of cold weather that we had this past week, but this can't last forever. Soon these fish will have to get up, start moving, and feeding. The bottom line is to just keep checking your favorite spots and hitting them with all that you have got. Pull out your entire set of secret lures and drop them in. After all the trout has to start eating soon!<br><br>A couple of weeks ago I wrote a fishing report that I had received in regard to catching spottail bass while using fresh water plastic worms as bait. The just of the report was a simple one. The worm brought on quite a fish bite from the spottail bass. It's amazing, but it seems that these plastic worms might have worked more than a few times. In fact I received e-mail from Danny Payne, who is overseas at this particular time. He was deployed to this area in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as he shared this information with me. According to Danny his father caught a flounder on a purple colored plastic worm in Georgetown, South Carolina. In fact the Georgetown Times thought so much about it that they wrote and published a story about this special biting event. This particular plastic worm was purple in color and it had a pink tail in tow. The worm that I wrote about was in fact blue with a red tail. Now I have come to my own conclusion on the theory of plastic worms as bait for saltwater, "Two Tones Are In!" Heck they brought back the two-toned cars, so why not the worms! <br><br>Danny thanks you so much for taking the time to share this story with us. We hope you and all of your comrades the best of luck and thanks for protecting us! May God Bless America!<br><br>OFFSHORE<br><br>I got an interesting phone call the other night from Wayne Vining of West Columbia, South Carolina. He had a few questions about catching baitfish and as we talked he shared a few of his bottom fishing secrets with me. According to Wayne he has been catching quite a few gag grouper while fishing off of Charleston, South Carolina. However he isn't using what we normally consider the best bait for this time of the year. As you all know I prefer the live bait, but Wayne uses diagonally cut menhaden to get his gag grouper bite. I have used live menhaden before, but that was during the warmer months when these fish are plentiful. According to Wayne he saves some of these fish that he catches during the menhaden season for the colder fish bite. After thinking about what we had discussed it did make good sense. The smell and oils that these fish release would certainly get a gag grouper or any other large bottom fish's attention. Makes sense to me and in this case also to the fish! Thank again Wayne for sharing with us your winter plan for getting that big bottom bite!<br><br>GULF STREAM<br><br>I'm so happy; I have finally got something to write about. Several boats made it to the blue waters of the Gulf Stream. It was very rough with seas reaching as high as 10 feet. According to Eddie Perry on the boat "Rockin Robin" our blue water season has definitively started. They had lots of hits and plenty of action. The blue water bite started at 160 feet, which is where Eddie first spotted the yellow fin tuna. They got a hookup, but thanks to the sea conditions the fish is still swimming away from the boat. These fish quickly sounded. Their next action was 630 feet where they found a rip that was holding dolphin from 10 to 20 pounds. These fish were glad to hit Eddie's bait offering of blue/white aliens and blue/white ilander lures. His lures were rigged with ballyhoo using a single 8/0 hook with a short shank. This blue water bite took place in the area of the south ledge. Eddie did remark that he felt that the fish bite would have been better a little more to the southern. <br><br>I also received another blue water report, which comes in even further to the south. Tim Slater of Northeast Florida caught his fish in 800 to 1,000 feet. They had a pretty steady bite on the dolphin and they even managed to bring in a few Wahoo in the 25-pound range. The dolphin caught in this area ranged in weight from 30 to 40 pounds. After the bite slowed they moved inshore to 140 feet of water and caught some grouper and red snapper while fishing on the bottom. All I can say, "this was a full meal deal of a trip"! Thanks Tim for the information! <br><br>GULF STREAM ALERT!<br><br>This blue water report confirms that the fish are holding to the south of Savannah. We had three boats from Miss Judy's Charters go out on the same day. The biggest catches of black fin tuna, yellow fin, Wahoo, and dolphin came from the south ledge and further to the southern. One boat fished to the north finding plenty of rips full of weed, but not too much fish action was had. Most all fish caught south were found in 160 to 180 feet with surface temperatures of around 77 degrees. All Captains confirmed that there is lots of bait at this depth and temperature. You best bet is to look for the little tunny feeding and pull the out skirts for the tuna and Wahoo. <br><br>Please keep the information coming! Combining fishing reports as we did this week helps all of us! <br><br><br>"Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not!"<br><br>My past memory is usually oiled when I am around boats, especially those that are being repaired. At this time of the year there is a lots of repairing going on. I was visiting my favorite boat repair establishment when I saw Frank removing a shaft from a rather large charter boat. He was using a tool that I know for a fact couldn't have been brought from any tool parlor. It got me to thinking about the old days and how daddy use to deal with things. Back in the good old days brute force was about the only machinery that had been invented. My father was a big man and he was also very strong. He was always trying to figure out how to make a heavy and a hard to get to job easier. According to my father he needed to save his brute force for other much more needed activities. <br><br>For instance when he needed something heavy moved such as a boat engine he would just build a portable wooden hoist. On the hoist he would put a block and tackle, which enabled him to lift and move the engine with ease. I have seen many a large gas and diesel engine just swinging from the hoist. When I was young I never thought anything about it as a boat passed producing a 4-foot breaking wake. However, now that I am older all I would be able to think about was that chain breaking in turn dropping the engine, it going directly thought the hull, and immediately sinking the boat right on the spot. It's amazing what a little age will do for you. However my father never seemed to be concerned at any age!<br><br>My father also didn't get concerned with such things as hatches, boat decks, or tops that got in his way. He would just simply take a saw and cut out the desired hole he needed. He called these acts, "round abouts!" It's not what you think. He's not going around an area to get to a certain spot, he going through it. According to my father's logic making patches with wood was easy to do. His idea for covering the hole was a simple one. He would just build a frame around the hole and drop the part he removed back in the hole. I know what you must be thinking, how did he stop the leaks? According to Daddy's logic this also was a simple thing to correct. He would just glue down a piece of canvas top on the entire section. Then he would simply paint over the whole section canvas included making all imperfections blend in together. According to daddy canvas and oil base paint was the universal sealer upper! At least until duck tape was invented. <br><br>Of all the things that he did this by far this was his best. I remember him having trouble removing a prop from my 50-horse power Johnson engine. I watched as he studied and tried to wish the wheel off, but as you figured it didn't happen. So he indeed came up with a plan and again it was a simple one. We taped the garden hose to the foot with electrical black tape, which helped to force most of the water to flow through the lower unit. It was much louder out of the water than it was in the water. He then simply put the engine in reverse and the wheel did in fact come flying off. At this particular time no one was hurt, but one time one of our dogs almost got hit. So every time after that instance it was my responsibility to hang a sheet off the stern so as to catch the wheel. I mean after all you must try to make your work place a safe environment!<br><br>Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!<br><br>Captain Judy<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
on my face today.<br><br>Texas gulf cost fisher.