SALTWATER APRIL 2006

“Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956”

POB 30771
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31410
912 897 4921

912 897 3460 FAX

www.missjudycharters.com

April 10, 2006

Saltwater Fishing Report!

Freshies Suggestion

“Crappie on the bed time!”

Crappie should be on or near the bed. With that being said, “be prepared to fish shallow!” It’s time to take your bait for a stroll or should I say “a troll.” Your bait depth to take that stroll is going to be in about 4 to 6 feet of water. Go with your favorite jigs and minnows under corks.

Saltwater Near shore

Right off the old dock or shore!

It’s a great time to test all waters. The rule is that “fishing can get real interesting especially at this time.” The reason being is the fact that there are many migrations taking place. So therefore what you catch today might not be there the next. Fish such as Sheepshead, large bull reds, flounder, whiting, and sharks are in the move mode. Their primary goal is to get where they are supposed to stage for springtime/summer. To accomplish this goal they “power feed” their way there! Your bait can be anything from a finger mullet to store brought headless shrimp. There is one rule of the thumb that’s a must at this time of the year. The suggestion is a simple one. When fishing from the bank cast into the middle, stay on the bottom, and give your fish time to take the bait. All the fish that I have named with the exception of the Sheepshead will be head down and in the food-vacuuming mode. Sheepshead is an entirely different feeding fish. They feed vertically on dock pilings and any sort of underwater structure. During this time the large females are migrating to the inshore waters. Where you have any sort of barnacles, green mussels, or oysters you might have a Sheepshead bite. With that being said, “that’s what I suggest using for bait!”

Down and Dirty

Travis Dixon of Hampton, VA shared some of his special fishing techniques with me. He fishes a lot with light tackle and has achieved the ultimate goal in landing large fish while using it. He calls his technique “down and dirty.” Upon hooking up a large fish on light tackle the first thing that you need to do is get control or should I say, “get inside the fish’s head!” In other words get in step with the fish. Unusual tension or pressure causes a fish to act erratically. According to Travis he starts his retrieval with his rod pulling it from side to side. When the fish turns it head or changes direction Travis switches his rod to the other side. By switching back and forth the fish wears out in a calmer fashion. By changing the angle of the rod from one side to the other the fish isn’t as aware of the fact that it being pulled in. However, on some occasions this allows the to fish rest and restore. You know the old saying, “when the fish rests you get a chance to rest!” However, while the fish is resting it’s in the restoring mode!”

Travis has used his technique of “down and dirty” while catching 40-pound red fish on very light tackle. He also uses this style of reeling when he’s targeting and catching tarpon on the fly rod. The bottom line to the situation is the fact that had he not been using the light tackle he might have not hooked up in the first place. Light tackle allows you the opportunity to get interest from smart fish. My definition of a smart fish could be one that has been hooked before or one that takes great stock in observing exactly what it’s going to eat.

My name for this retrieval method “disorienting the fish!” Once a fish feels the outside of the normal they do everything that they can to get away from their present situation. Their natural instincts once hooked suggest that they change direction, which is when this technique works the best. The second they change direction is when you switch sides with you rod position. This allows you to get in extra line in on the fish without them knowing it.

Red Fish and the Tides that move them!

In our area we have to deal with depending on the moon phase about 5 to 8 feet of tide every 6 hours. It has been said that red fish might be the least effected by tides. They are not totally immune, but they survive in both non-tidal and tidal situations. With that being said, lets assume that the fish that live where they have a tide situation “get a lot more exercise than those fish that don’t!” Red fish especially in our area are forced to make daily migrations back and forth with our different tides stages.

After years of logging, watching, and catching redfish I have noticed that they make what I call an “imaginary path,” which they travel frequently with the different tide stages. To know a fish’s moves with the tide you need to be on a “serious fish watcher.” When a red fish evacuates the grass as the tide’s falling they pretty much move first to an area or what we call a “point.” Once arriving at this point the fish then go with the flow of bait/food. I know what you must be thinking, “where do and how do I find such an area?” Pick out an area that has a slough or feeder creek. Fish travel the path of least resistance. So therefore, once out of the grass they push to the deeper water that isn’t going to go dry with the falling tide. I suggest fishing both side of the slough. The easiest way to work a float is to cast up current of the slough and let the out going current move your bait. Once your bait gets into the underwater “Eddy” that is normally formed when the current flows by the slough, your catching options normally get better. The good news is as your bait drifts into the eddy it takes on a more natural entrance. Red fish and flounder can be found staging at these spots. Red fish general when moving will push near the surface. Flounder will stage right on the outside of the eddy waiting for any unsuspecting small fish or shrimp that happens to swim by too close. I suggest fishing a float at mid-depth and a bottom style Carolina rig on the bottom. One way or the other this should cover your catching options!

Let’s set up your rig design. When traditional float fishing the good news is that you are able to change your bait depth with a slide of a cork. This design alone allows you to adjust your bait depth quickly without any cutting or adding to your leader. I suggest small thin, but strong tin hooks. YO-ZURI Fluorocarbon leaders work great, because it has superior abrasion resistance. There’s better news, it’s practically invisible underwater. I dropped an 18-inch piece of leader on the boat deck the other day and I had a hard time finding it. I mean I really had to look for it. The best leader to use is one that doesn’t over power the natural movement your bait. Another quality to look for is you don’t want to use one that leads the fish up to the float but whether down to the bait. If a fish has to look too hard it’s too late!

Red Fish Bite This Week

Red fish catches soared this week with fishermen getting to opportunity to catch and release multiple hookups. As the week progressed a bit pattern was formed. On the out going tide red fish seemed to prefer live or fresh dead shrimp. When the tide changed to incoming fish wanted a different menu. It seemed from the reports received that mud minnows were the preferred incoming snack!

Traditional float and popping rigs offered up great presentation to the hungry red fish. Red fish are one of that types that feeds by its nose. Some fishermen prefer doing a little tampering with their bait before casting it out. I call this “bait setup!” Crushing a fresh shrimps head or mashing the body a bit helps a lot in the “getting the smell out” situation. Another good thing to try is “bait scattering,” which is very simple. Keep all of your removed bait parts in a pile. In other words, don’t remove leftover bait parts and immediately cast overboard. You need to wait until you get yourself a about a hand full, then scatter. This is well saved chum, which red fish love!

Artificial Reefs

These areas continue sources for excellent catches of bottom fish. However, we now have other types migrating in. With warmer waters temperature comes the ocean perch, pinfish, rock bass, flounder, sand perch, scup, and triggerfish. These fish just add to the already congested reef population. This boils down to the fact that when one fish isn’t feeding another one will be! You best bait is going to be shrimp, squid, or cut fish. In the whole fish bait department frozen cigar minnows and Spanish sardines normally might get you a hit or two. The important things to remember when bottom fishing is to change up your bait occasionally so that you can keep the bite coming!

Savannah Snapper Banks

King Mackerel and Red Snapper

Wynn Carney along with fishing crew had one of “fact finding fishing days!” According to the report after catching quite a few live baits at one of the artificial reef they made their way to the Savannah Snapper banks. Upon arriving and getting situated they caught large black sea bass. With this bite came a school of blue fish, which kept them busy for about an hour. They decided to live line a blue fish, which resulted in catching 15 plus king mackerel, which as far as my fishing report goes is the first caught for this year from this area. While tooling around in this area they caught quite a few reef sharks. As the day went on they decided to move back in a bit to “Gray’s Reef.” Once arriving to this area they bottom fished and caught quite a few more black sea bass. As they drifted over the live bottom areas at Gray’s Reef Wynn decided to use a little of their hard earned live bait. In the live well they had a few pinfish, which he hooked up one on a circle hook and dropped to the bottom. To his amazement an11-pound snapper took him up on his pinfish offering. The bottom line to Wynn fishing report is the fact that all the live baits that he used caught fish that he didn’t expect. Believe me when I say, “that’s what fishing is all about!” Thanks and Congratulations to Wynn and his fish catching crew!

Bottom Fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks

I consider this area my own personal stomping fishing grounds. After all I have been fishing there for the longest time. (You notice I didn’t give a time frame, because you wouldn’t have believed it anyway!) This area is prefect for those that fish all of the time and for the “some timers.” This live bottom area is located offshore about 28 to 35 miles in about 95 to 115 feet water. There are ledges, holes, walls, scattered live bottom, rocks piles, and sunken wrecks that have many years of old growth attached to them. Any of the above mentioned places hold all types of fish from small to large. As the water temperature continues to rise so does the fish population. For those that have spots that they have fish before now is the time to go. For the “Some Timers” I suggest heading out to this area and just do some bottom and drifting. While doing this keep a pen and paper handy, because when you start catching fish I suggest writing your coordinates down. This will be when you go from a “some time fisher to a catcher!”

We have been catching quite a bit of vermilion snapper while fishing this area. This is a great fish to catch, but sometimes can put the move on you. Vermilion snapper are known for schooling is a certain population sequence. The larger vermilion fish hold and feed over the smaller ones. The secret to catching only the larger ones is to keep your bait in their strike zone. When you dropping your bait I suggest stopping about 30 feet before reaching the bottom. This can be ascertained by judging the line depth on your spool or my by counting when you go into the drop mode.

Vermilion snapper normally school in the water column and move along with the delivered food source. During this time of the year thimble jelly fish, at least that what I call them, are everywhere. I have noticed that vermilion snapper loves their jelly and they don’t put it on toast. They take it straight up! I’m not suggesting using jellyfish for bait. It’s just that if the bait source that they are feeding on moves they take to feeding on the free gliding jellyfish. The bottom line to this report is “jellyfish are doomed to roam with no place to call home!” So therefore if you find a school of vermilion and they just seem to have moved from the ledge you are fishing I suggest looking the immediate area over before leaving. We have been using small pieces of cut squid and fish as bait!

New Tips From an Old Bag!

Smaller fish or I probably should say, “younger fish” have a tendency to take the bait fast and quick to the point. A larger fish or I should probably say, “an older fish” takes a better look at their proposed meals. When you think about what you just read you might come to this conclusion. Younger fish are quicker to take a bite while older fish are slower to take and a lot more conscience of what they eat. All and every bait that you use should be thought about. . If you are just fishing for any thing that bites then use whatever you have as bait, but if you have a select fish in mind I suggest you give it some thought.

Things to do with live bait

Live bait is “hands down” your best choice. All fish like a challenge when it comes to eating. It gets their “eat juices flowing!” So therefore live bait works. However, when there is too much bait there are things to do to prompt a big fish to hit it. Small fish also known as bait, school up together, because they instinctively know that there is “safety in numbers!” With that being said, “you need to do something to your bait to make it stand out!” So therefore I suggest clipping a fin or removing part of the tail. The affect it has on it’s counter parts will be good for you making it very bad for your bait. I call this putting you bait in the “spot light technique.” Consensus is “if you all act the same you won’t get thrown out of school.”

Small fish love a quick meal and large fish are attracted to little fish. Take your live bait and loosen up some of the scales, which is going to bring on a small fish feeding frenzy. Now the signals from this introduce feeding frenzy will bring on a better chance of a bigger bite. Here are some suggestions on how to hook up that live bait. There is under the lip hooking, through the upper back by the dorsal fin, in the tail area, through the top of the eye sockets, and through the top of the head.

Gulf Stream

This area is heating up and so are the fish! It’s still one of those situations for a “Hero or Zero” affair. Lots of boats made it to this area this past week. Some caught lots while others didn’t find much. The bite is still scattered with areas having more action than others. Your main blue water objective especially at this time of year is to look for temperature breaks, feeding birds, fish slicks, weed lines, and bait balls. These are areas that can hold fish or are caused by fish! One way or the other a hookup could be in your future!

Top Producer

Mike Semenach along with fishing crew had a pretty good day at the Gulf Stream this past week. They caught what might have been a record breaker black fin tuna. The current record for the second or at least the posted one is 38 pounds 10 ounces. The black fin tuna that Mike caught would have tipped the scales at over 39 pounds. According to the report not only did they catch tuna, but also Wahoo. They landed a total of three Wahoo. They weighted in at 12, 25, and 41 pounds. The also caught a 10 pound king mackerel and had lots of little tunny hook ups. Most of the fish were caught at the Triple Ledge and the live bottom areas around it. Mike also reported that there was an enormous amount of bait holding at all depths in this area. As you can see from this report, “where you got bait you get fish!” Thanks Mike for calling me and personally delivering the blue water fishing report, because it’s always a pleasure!

Island Cracker
The “Cracker” also known as Marlin took the ride to the “South Ledge” this past week. After beating his way to the blue waters he offered all that he had and found lots of bait, but little in the way of large fish. However, being the fisherman that he is they made the best out of this “no bite day!” Fishing is strange; sometimes they jump on your hook, just chase your bait, or plain miss the whole entire plan. This is where a fisherman has to pull out his “tricks of trade.” The “Cracker” did just that. He marked lots of fish on the ledge, but couldn’t get them to take anything that he was pulling across it. So therefore he came up with what I called “the Cracker drop!” It’s simple, but well thought out. He took regular trolling sinkers and attached around a 6-foot monofilament leader. To his leader he added a feather type lure. He found that when he stopped on the ledge, the sinker would take the lure down, once it was deep, he put the boat in gear, which moved the lure that caught the fish. In other words trolling was out and dropping was in! You can’t trick the old Cracker so if you are a fish I suggest not trying! Thanks for the report!

Tuna, Wahoo, and Engines

Captain Ed Stabell along with his fishing partner “Robin” had a very interesting day at the Triple Ledge this past week. About 10 miles in from the Triple Ledge in about mid 60-degree water they saw a tuna jump in a nearby weed line. They stopped and trolled for a few minutes, but no hits, no birds, no feeding slicks, so that pushed on out. Upon arriving to the ledge they found 72-degree water. They set their trolling spread out and immediately got a couple of knockdowns. They caught two little tuna and then had a big screaming hit, which resulted in landing a large Wahoo. The good news was the 60-pound plus Wahoo didn’t fit in their cooler. So they started the process of folding it up so that they could ice it down. The bad news is that as soon as this happened one of their engines pickup something that plugged the saltwater in-take. The moral of this story is a simple one. “Fish hard, catch quickly, because you never know what’s going to happen!” I hope everything is OK with the boat! Thanks so much for the report!

From Captain Judy’s Helm

I didn’t get this report direct from the fisher, but I heard that a boat had billfish hookup. According to the chatter on the radio the blue looked to have weight in at about 200 to 250 pounds. It seems that they had the fish on for almost an hour, got it to the boat, correctly identified it, and the bill became wrapped, which resulted in a premature release. The good news is that the bills are here! The bad news is that they know exactly what to do with them!

“Little Miss Believe It or Not!”

Bananas, Bad luck, and Boat

Firstly, I would like to comment on the fact that “bananas” on a boat doesn’t bother me or my ability to get my best shot at catching fish. However, over the years I have seen the presences of bananas on other boats cause quite a bit of mayhem! I remember one occasion, during a big blue water tournament where someone hid a banana on this big sport fisher. The anglers, owners, etc didn’t know about the banana being on the boat until the morning departure to the blue waters of the Gulf Stream. Upon finding that there might have been a prank played of a banana being hid on their boat they spent the entire day looking, not objectively fishing, and as you can imagine lost the tournament. On their way home and after the worst day of fishing “a single banana” fell from its hiding place. It has been placed, where it should have been found firstly on the deck of their tuna tower. However, as I said this was on the way home way after the total tournament day has been ruined. The half smashed banana was immediately thrown overboard. This act eased tensions and on the entire ride home plans were made on how they could get back at the person who did the deed! The un-knowing hidden banana and the assailant who did it had ruined their entire day! For those that don’t understand I know this sounds very confusing. For those that do I’m sure conversations are raging. Whatever your feelings may be on the banana thing, believe me I’m not going to try to change your beliefs. I have a few of those strange beliefs myself!

Here are a few things that I have heard over the years about boats gone bananas!

Back in the old days boats that carried bananas as cargo had to haul them alone. You can’t carry any other fruit too close with the likes of a banana. The reason is simple. Bananas cause your fruit to ripen much too quickly. Although an arrangement of apples, oranges, grapes, and bananas make a great colorful arrangement I suggest taking a quick picture and then separating the long yellow fruit for the group. If you don’t your other fruit parts won’t last long! They will be ripening before their time!

Another back in the old days belief was that “bananas had worms.” These worms crawled out and then into the ship bilges where they introduced themselves to the ship’s wooden hull. In other words, these supposed worms eat at the hull or maybe the stuff between the wooden planks, or too much ale was consumed when this tail was spun!

Another tale was the fact that where you have bunches of bananas you likely had lots of deadly biting spiders. It was said that there was an account of a ship along with its dead crew that had drifted ashore. The assumptions were that they had been attacked, bitten and killed by the biting bananas spider monsters! Although I have never seen a “banana spider” or even know if one exists. However there is one thing for sure in regards to this particular story. “Dead men can’t or won’t talk!”

I would like to say, “some of this information is fact and some is fiction.” As a child I heard and privy to so much information that I really don’t know what to believe, but facts are facts. If the presences of a banana are bad luck especially when it comes to catching a fish I suggest using what you think works for you, your boat, and your crew! However, please remember a banana is just a fruit that has been misunderstood for many years!

Here’s My Line Now Bite My Hook!

Captain Judy

Fish Physic!

Thank You,
Captain Judy
Miss Judy Charters
912-897-4921
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