SALTWATER SEPT 2006

CAPTAIN JUDY HELMEY
“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”
POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921
912 897 3460 FAX
www.missjudycharters.com

September 11, 2206
SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

Freshies
Sun Fish Family

Family members of the sunfish feed alike at least on most occasions. These pan fish are some of freshwater fishermen’s favorite-targeted species. Although I have seen some of these fish that you couldn’t share a frying pan while being cooked even after their heads were removed. Whatever the case may be, as time marched on pan fish got bigger or fishermen got smarter! At any rate, these fish red Brest, crappies, and blue gill can and do school together. They have enough in common to school and hold together. I have a great report this past week. The anglers involved, whose name I can’t put in print, caught all three pan fish types in one sitting. According to the report, the two fishermen, a husband and wife team had quite a catching week while wetting their hooks. They didn’t use the same bait. The husband used the artificial stuff and the wife used plain old crickets suspended under a float. As I talked to the wife part of the fishing team, I had to ask, “Who caught the most fish?” The answer came quickly, “he wouldn’t change up his bait style!” Now you know the rest of the story.

Good Rains and Full Moon Values

Towards the end of the week we got some much needed rains. This is good stuff especially to those that keep their residents down under. My father always told me that the rains washed the nutrients out of the marsh and down into the creeks, rivers, and sounds. This is a necessary event that helps the marine life to grow. As a child I never understood how muddy water could do anything for a fish’s growth. During this time it’s true, muddy waters are associated with lots of rainfall. On top of this situation we are going to throw a full moon on top of that, which will give us fishermen another type of mix. It’s no big secret that the full moons means higher and lower tides, but please remember, “a fish has got to eat!” With that being said here are a few tips:

During this moon phase the last half of the low to the first half of the high tide is my favorite time to fish. This is when currents are at their slowest speed. I suggest going with bait that has a little more to offer than movement. You going to need to throw on smell to get “for sure action.” Pull out those traditional float rigs for tackle and purchase or catch yourself some live shrimp. The larger traditional float styles can be seen for long distances. This means once you get your float’s pattern set you can let it drift down the oyster rake or structure. Back in the old days, my father always painted the bottom of his cork with flat black paint. He always caught plenty of fish and he always had black paint on his hands!

Another rig that will work is going to be those noisy little popping corks. I suggest attaching about 18 inches of 15 to 20 pound test fluorocarbon leader under this float system. To this leader attach a #6 or #4 sharp kale hook. As this system floats in the current I suggest coming up with your own “popping pattern!” Some fishermen say, “two pops, pause, one pop, pause and repeat!” There is logical reasoning behind this so-called pattern. The first two pops of the cork should get the attention of any fish in hearing area. The couple of seconds of pause allows them a chance to get a heads up. It also allows them time to wonder what other feeding fish are in the same area. The “one pop and stop” sends out the needed directions and the pause allows them to eat. It sounds simple, because it is! Sometimes this free style of fishing works and sometimes it doesn’t. When it does you become the fishing genius when it doesn’t, you certainly don’t have to tell anyone!

OFFSHORE

How to catch Barracuda!

For some fishermen this won’t be a catch title, but what the heck you don’t have to tell anyone that you are reading it. The bottom line to this type of fishing is the fact that it’s exciting to all. The reason being is the fact that most of the barracuda in this area are big and perform many styles of aerobatics. After all this is mostly what a fisherman is looking for, which is a real hard pulling fish along with lots of surface action. If this is the case with you, I suggest that you read on. For you others skip this section!

The first thing I need to get across to the reader is the fact that I don’t use light tackle. The reason being is that this fish, once hooked is hard to control especially in 45 feet of water. I use 60-pound test line and I adjust the drag to “medium tight!” These fish are extremely strong and as I said, earlier do quite a bit of jumping. Once my customer is hooked up I stay at the helm so as to watch the fish’s every move. I always work a fish from my starboard side of my boat. My helm is located on this side. I can easily can see and keep the fish at what I call a “starboard stern to side situation.” My customers get to feel the strong pull of a lifetime! I always keep the boat in a forward slow motion helping keep the line tight. I never leave the helm until the fish is brought to the gaff.

The most requested bait by a barracuda is live or fresh dead Spanish mackerel. Live Spanish mackerel work, because they offer the fish an opportunity to chase and kill what they eat. Fresh dead mackerel offers a shine that can be seen for a distance, which certainly does get a barracuda’s attention. Getting the attention isn’t enough when trying to purposefully hook up one of these fish. This is a fish that normally doesn’t feed due to hunger. It’s more of a group thing with them. In other words, when a barracuda starts to aggressively feed, it puts out a signal, which all of is counterparts home in on. This puts all of those toothy monsters nearby at attention. The first fish to advance is joined by many others.

I came to this conclusion due to the fact that over the year I have watched schools of these fish lay like logs near the surface. You could throw anything at them, but not a one would consider eating. That’s unless the “signal to attack is triggered!” I will give you an example. As I said, earlier live or fresh day Spanish is the ticket to this ride. While trolling for your bait, lets say, “you hook up a Spanish mackerel, but before you can even reel it in, it’s attacked by a cuda. The second that the hooked fish sends out the universal distress signal the bite switch was immediately turned on!

The normal consensus is that when you have one barracuda there are usually quite a few more in the perimeter of where you are fishing. . I have seen a large barracuda hit and at a smaller one. In fact, my first Georgia State Barracuda record was set when we used a live 7-pound cuda to get the attentions of a sixty-pound plus fish. I do believe in the case of this sixty-pounds plus barracuda that “rouge fish” comes to mind. This is due to the fact most any fish in the area, if they were stupid enough to stay, would have been eaten by the bigger fish in the sea! The barracuda that we caught was so big that we had trouble pushing a five-gallon bucket over its head!! This fish has a long jaw and some of the biggest white teeth I have ever seen in a barracuda’s mouth.

I’m not rigging my bait light tackle mackerel style. I have toughened up my rigs for maximum toothy impact! They are basic rigs with larger hardware. (Hooks, wire, and swivels.) I am using 100-pound test Malin Hard-Wire for leader material. This stainless steel leader isn’t too flexible, which is fine with me. My rig when finish is approximately three feet long. I take an 11/2 foot piece of wire and make a haywire twist. I always back the leftover tail of the twist so as to break it off clean. If you use your cutters to snip the tail it will leave a jagged end meaning when you grab at the leader you will cut you hand. When using gloves the jagged cut end will stick and get caught. It’s best always better having a smooth break. Stainless steel wire when backed out of a twist normally breaks off clean. Practice makes prefect in this case.

Here’s The Barracuda Rig Break down!
Now you have an 11/2 piece of wire leader with a haywire twist at one end. This is going to be the end that you attach to the main line. (Line coming from the tip of the rod) To the free end of the leader you need to attach with another haywire twist an 8/0 to 9/0 “J” hook. Haywire twist loops allow your hooks freedom. This means when a fish hits them they move easy allowing for a more solid hookup. Cut another 12 inches of wire and haywire twist to the hook you just attached to the starting leader. Now add another 8/0 to 9/0 hook. To the second hook add another 12 inches of leader wire. To the end of this final piece attach a 5/0 to 6/0 extra strong treble hook.
End Result of Your Rig
The end result rig should be set up like this: Haywire twist, 11/2 foot leader length, “J” hook, 12 inches leader, “J” hook, 12 inches of leader, and treble hook. It’s true it’s a long scary rig with all of those hooks. However, you must remember that a barracuda’s head and mouth design is made of very hard bone. This rig situation boils down to when one hook doesn’t get them the other ones will. Using heavier leader and large hooks allows you to use a tighter drag offering up a fine pulling rod-bending situation.

Hook Placement
Rigging a Spanish mackerel is simple especially while using this rig. Take you first “J” hook pull it through the bottom of the lip till it comes completely out the topside of the bait’s head. The second hook should be placed about where it lays on the fish. The third (treble hook), which can be considered the stinger, should be placed about 5 to 7 inches from the “V” of the tail. I know that you are thinking, “why put two hooks in the same area?” Barracuda are known for hitting their intended meal quickly. When doing this it seems from my past experiences that they hit the mid section first. Normally they cut the fish totally in half leaving the second “J” hook in one side and the “treble” in the other. When this hit happens, your first move should be to drop back immediately. The drop back makes your bait look as thought it naturally falling in the water column. This is when the barracuda circles around and picks up the spoils. Just make sure you are ready for the second hit, because it going to be a good and solid one.

There are a few things that you need to remember in regards to targeting barracuda with large baits such as a Spanish mackerel. I suggest only using one bait at a time. Your bait should be let out and pulled at least 60 feet from the boat before entering the “strike zone” also known as the “danger lane!”

“Strike zone” also known as the “danger lane!”

This area is where you can expect the hit to take place. Barracuda are known for staging or should I say, “floating like logs on the surface.” I consider them the “enforcers!” The best areas to look for the “enforcers” are around and over any sort of high structure such as shipwrecks. I have noticed over the years that there is a holding pattern, which means all fish have their spots. It seems as long as the fish that inhabit the area doesn’t make any rash feeding moves all is good! In other words, “harmony reigns!”

Baiting Techniques
Your bait should be pulled so that it’s head is out of the water and scheming across the water’s surface. Have your fisherman hold his rod in an upward direction. (2 o’clock position) While the boat is moving I suggest that my fisherman drops his rod and then lifts it quickly pulling the bait forward. This will make the bait seemly look alive when it jumps out of the water as if it’s trying to escape.

Let’s assume you are rigged up, have your bait at it desired distance from the boat, and you are heading in the direction of the “strike zone.” Here is a list of things that I can suggest doing so that you can get your best chance at a hit resulting in a solid hookup:

One of the most logical approaches it to just pull your bait straight over the wreck. As soon as your bait is over the wreck area curious barracuda come to take a look. On some occasions there is no looking but rather a serious hit, which most likely boils down to a solid hook up. When pulling bait interested barracuda will fall in behind the bait. You should be able to see them, because they normally create a little foundation stream of water into the air in front of where they are heading. Once you point this particular occurrence out to everyone they can help making the angler aware of the approaching fish. Sometimes the fish will hold back and just observe the progress of the pull. However, when you start seeing the fountain of water it means that your barracuda is just about to go into the attack mode!

If the first attempt doesn’t work go with my “stop and drop back method.” Pull your bait till you get it over the wreck then free spool it as if it’s naturally falling down through the water column. The flash of your bait spiraling downward can get a fish to make a pass with serious intentions of attack on the mind.

Even though your bait is dead, this is just a theory, “make it play possum!” This method is also referred to as making the fish think that the bait has had a heart attack. Now, I really don’t know if a fish can have one, but believe me the possum or heart attack so called fall does work. It’s simple, once you get the bait situated over the wreck, let it start to fall, then jerk it, let it fall, then reel it a bit, and repeat the process until the fish become so agitated that it attacks out of sheer aggravation.

Gulf Stream
Captain Mike Counihan Finds His Own Edge!

During the summer months from about the end of June till the end of September the warms waters that line outside of the Gulf Stream are all about the same temperature. When this takes place our so-called “edge” ceases to exist. What we call the “edge” is where the eastern and western water outside of the stream meet. During these temperature break times, fish can be found holding near and around the edge. This boils down to the fact that when fishing the blue water of the stream that you have a place to start to fish. However, during the months of June till the end of September blue water fish can are known for being everywhere from the shore to the as far in the ocean as you can imagine. This concludes your compact, but to the point Gulf Stream lesson.

Captain Counihan and the David Bragg party departed around 2:00 AM so as to make their way to the “promise waters of the stream!” The good and best news about the Bragg Party was the fact that they just wanted to fish and basically have a good time. This was great news to Captain Mike, because when you fish the stream especially at this time you options on some occasions is to fish on the bottom only. Trolling can “other wise be slow” making for a long 16 hour day especially if you have customers with a negative attitude. In this case he had “real true positive fishermen onboard!” The boils down to a charter boat captain’s dream day of fishing! This means, you can pull what you want, change what you want, and not feel you are being judged by every move that you make!

On this particular day there were many boat fishing this area. In fact I heard them from the office marine radio and I got the real scoop as they made their way home. There were a few Wahoo caught in the 20 to 60 pound class range. There were numerous billfish hooked up and quite a few “fly-bys!” My meaning of “fly-bys” in regards to the billfish’s world is a simple one. You can see them charging through your baits, but your can’t get them to commit to any of your “fish taking the bait techniques.” (Been there, done that!)

Captain Mike’s day started slow with in the trolling field. The bad news according to report was the fact that he could have caught as many without putting his baits out. However, his crew of “true fishermen” didn’t once lose faith or even start to move towards a negative attitude. The change up from trolling to bottom fishing was quick. Jeremy, Captain Mike’s brother and first mate quickly changed up, baited the hooks and handed the rods over to the fishermen. The “first drop is always the worst drop!” was screamed loudly and down the sinker along with the bait disappeared. After the bait landed, which was 190 feet down, large big green head black fish jumped on their baited hooks. Everyone fishing had a double hook up. The fish cooler had life and for the first time this day!

Captain Mike knew even though his group would get a hookup on every single drop that the gruesome reeling up of 190 feet would not last long and he was right. After an hour so of “bailing fish” it was time for a change. So therefore back to trolling they-a-went with the fore-most positive attitude!

True fishermen use all they can to find a fish from bait to other types of signs. The one sign that always a good thing especially when fishing the blue water is “low flying, hovering, or feeding birds!” Whatever the phase the birds happen to be in, the bottom line is the fact that where you have birds you probably have fish. Birds must and have proven many times over that they can see down under. In fact these upper feeders (birds) get in step with the feeding pattern of the fish below. I know this sound crazy, but they do! I have seen this first hand many times over. When a bird or birds is performing “low flying” in an area it normally means that fish are present, but not necessarily feeding. From above birds can tell exactly what’s going on and you as fishermen can tell by being a bird watcher! Erratic flying or what I called “in step with the fish,” indicates that you have a fish feeding frenzy going on. Birds will follow every turn, upward, or downward motion that the fish is performing down under. When the birds are feeding it means that the fish are also and the leftovers have floated to the surface. Or the bait that the fish are feeding on has been pushed up. Whatever the case may be this means that it’s your best opportunity for a catching!

Captain Mike went back to trolling with a “hopeful catch” in mind. About 20 minutes into this trolling episode a glimmer of hope was spotted on the horizon. He spotted some bird activity. As he made his way closer all the equations for making a “fanatic fish day ending” were coming together! Captain Mike watching as dolphins were fining across the water and birds were feeding in cadence with the fish’s activity. Captain Mike couldn’t help, but smile, because he knew in his fishing heart what was about to happen. As soon as he approached a small piece of lone Sargasso weed literally hundreds of dolphin were spotted. His first command was to remove the sinkers from the bottom rigs. As the customers were performing first mate Jeremy was loading 4/0 hooks with squid. Then Captain Mike suggested to loosen the drags and then hand pull out the line so that the double hook bottom rigs could just drift in the current. As soon as the rigs hit the water dolphins hit the hooks. All in the water had double hook up. Rods were bending; customers were reeling, and slinging fish in the cockpit. Captain Mike was on the deck cutting up all bait he could get his hands on. He knew if he didn’t keep a chum going the fish would stray. They also kept the last caught fish in the water. This action always helps keep the attention of the other fish. There were so many fish being brought into the cockpit that Captain Mike had to close the salon door to keep the fish from making their way to the galley. I can only assume that the fish wanted something else to eat!

Dolphins are extremely jealous and when one of their schooling associates “lights up to feed” they have a serious desire to be there. As long as you leave the last caught fish, which is liveliest in the water, the others will stay. This fish is known for being able to suck its intended meal very quickly. It’s also known for spitting it out so quickly that you don’t have time even when seeing it actually happen to set the hook. In Captain Mike case, the fish were in a feeding frenzy! The fish actually inhaled the bait along with the hook. So therefore hook removal couldn’t be quick so the cutting began. As soon as all fishermen onboard lost both of their hooks they started tying a single hook directly onto the line. The fishing frenzy lasted until the group limited out. They kept give or take around 67 dolphins of assorted sizes. They released about 25 back to the wild for seed!

The bottom line to this report is a simple one. The theory that the Gulf Stream fishing isn’t good during this time of the year is questionable especially in this case. The fact is during all time blue water fishing can be “Hero or Zero!” But, if you don’t go you certainly won’t know! All I have to say about this report is simple, “Captain Mike Counihan you rule!”

“Little Miss Judy’s Believe it or Not!”
Running Around like a chicken with its head cut off!

Wayne Gorby and family from Washington Pennsylvania chartered Captain Ken to do a little offshore fishing. Originally the fishing group booked one of our premium 12-hour offshore trips. However, due to high sea conditions caused by the persistence low pressure centered off our coast, plans were changed. At any rate, the Gorby family was happy doing what they could, which in our book is always good thing. And we certainly did appreciate it!

As the family waited to board Captain Ken’s boat “Obsession,” the conversations that we had went wild. I talked about the sea, fishing, and of course lots of catching. They told me about their hometown and weather conditions. According to what I was told “snow happens” at lot there. I had to laugh when they said that, because when it snows here “wrecks happen!”

As we talked our realm of subjects went from fishing to farmhouse happenings. As Mr. Gordy told this story I’m sure without a doubt that my eyes certainly did notably widened! As you know before you eat a chicken it has to be exterminated, which means, “killed.” Everyone, even thought we don’t want to think about it, knows this. The absolute only person that I have ever knew that ate at a live chicken, at least through my father’s eyes, was the old Cuban dictator himself “Castor!” I’m sure you know this saying, “but that’s another story.” Anyway, for those that need to know chicken is cooked before eaten in most regular cases.

According to the story and to jokes that I have been told “once a live chicken’s head is removed the body still walks around headless. We can assume if we dare, that’s it’s not looking, but rather feeling for it’s head. When you see chickens hung up side down when being butchered you assume it for drainage. (I’m being nice here!) Well, according to Mr. Gorby that’s not the only reason. The real true reason behind hanging your chicken upside down before you remove the head is a simple one. It’s keeps the headless chicken from running around and bruising it’s meat on your soon to be “southern fried chicken!” I’m done with this story. However, I would like to thank Wayne for sharing it with me! Please come and see us again soon!

Thanks for reading!

Captain Judy
“Fishing Physic!”