CAPT JUDY'S SALTWATER REPORT AUG 2008

August 9, 2008

Happy Fish Day!

Saltwater inshore, offshore, blue water fishing report, Freshies Suggestions, and “Little Miss Judy’s story! Thanks for reading! Captain Judy

Direct Hot Lines To Catching Fish

During the hot times fishing can be a little tricky at best. Fish are very “finicky eaters” during these times. However, when armed with different methods and techniques fish catching during the “hot times” can be very successful.

As you know I have been fishing a long time for sure. However, when I get home from a long day of seeing only as well as chasing the allusive fish I always wonder why I didn’t try “this or that!” So therefore I thought I would take this week’s fishing report and offer up some already proven “fish catching scenarios!”

Inshore Fishing Catch Scenarios!

Hot Red Fish
In the cold times we talk about red fish being easily spooked. Well, that’s a true statement for sure. Not only are they spooky in the wintertime but also in the “Hot Times” too! So therefore when targeting the allusive red fish it’s still that time to do “quiet watching as well as pointing.” In the red fish’s case it really never a good time to scream “red fish over there!” I am always the one that wants to do that first. I don’t know about you, but “a tailing red fish” makes me want to shout! I know one day I will learn to keep my big mouth shut! I’m getting better “believe me!”

When specifically targeting red fish at this time of the year I have found that they do their best feeding during the early morning time. However, a few things needs to come together for this to happen. I watched just the other morning, before sunrise about a dozen red fish feeding right at the marsh’s edge. The tide was coming in and the water has just starting to flood the marsh. There was just enough depth for these fish to “belly up” to the feeding bar. I watch small baitfish run in cadence every time the red fish rush took place. It was really quite amazing. I’m not so sure whether it was the baitfish that the “reds” were chasing or those newly burrowed down crabs.

The bottom line to this “Red Fish Hot Times Bite Suggestion” is the time factor. The boils down to an early morning incoming tide where the stage barely reaches the marsh’s edge while the sun hasn’t quite made it over the horizon. Another mouth full made possible by Captain Judy’s fish catching theory. In other words “Know sleeping late when going this route!”

Taking a Walk on the Marsh Side

Captain Ray Crawley of Miss Judy Charters has once again showed us that he always has something up his sleeve. In this case, “on his hook!” While out chasing tailing red fish the other day with customer “DUO’s” on board interesting actions had to be taken. Captain Ray found the red fish, but the tide had already coached them up into the feeding marshes. They could see the fish offering up some pretty good tail action.

Captain Ray asked, “Do you mine getting you feet wet?” The reply was simple enough, “where do I get out?” As they slowly stepped out of the boat they started making their quiet move the feeding arena. With the boat bowline tied to his waist Captain Ray’s instructed the terms of engagement. It was suggested to “cast place, retrieve slowly, pause, and repeat.” On the first cast, believe it or not but, the fish took the lure and hard. It was a great first fight with a couple more “tight lines” to follow. The bottom line to this report is “if you don’t mine getting your feet wet, there is fish up there in them their hills!”

Spotted Sea Trout

This is a fish that’s around most of the time, but definitely has its “quirks.” Just looking at this fish’s build you already know that you are dealing with a “predatory fish!” It’s built for “speed killing and feeding.” If you looked in the dictionary for the meaning of predatory you might find this: preying upon others for food..now don’t that just tare the rag right off the bush!

When it’s hot this fish is like all of the other fish in the sea and also us fishermen. They do as little as possible when in need of food. This is a fish that seeks the coolest water that it can find during this time. For gosh sakes I have seen the inshore water temperatures higher than 85 degrees…unbelievable! With all this being said, small fish might feel the same way, because a large fish isn’t going to stage where there isn’t some sort of feeding opportunity. In this case it’s especially smart to think like a fish if you want to catch one!

Always consider fishing away from the bank and away from you boat. This all boils down to fishing all points of deeper water. This plan should consist of stern, bow, and the boat’s side that’s facing the deepest part of the area anchored.

The best way to attack this plan is to have popping corks with leader lengths that will put your bait in the strike zone…During this time trout are normally holding 6 inches up or right on the bottom, which means your bait needs to be kept at this depth.

In the winter, spotted sea trout are known for hibernating. They look for a deep holes in which to anchor themselves right on the bottom. They do this by lying on the bottom with stomach down wiggling until they get some sort of suction. Yes, I am trying get to my point of the hot times. Trout are also known for burrowing down in the hot season. The reason being is it takes less energy to anchor and wait for the current to bring a feeding opportunity. This is why it’s important to keep your offered bait 6 inches off the bottom.

When using popping corks as your float design 4-foot leaders are about the maximum length that you can use. With that being said, “once the water exceeds the 5 foot depth you will need to go traditional adjustable float style!” The best way to know if the trout have gone into this mode is to take a good look at each landed trout. If there is a ring around the stomach this is your sign that the trout are in the anchoring mode.

Artificial Reef Report
Miss Judy Too!

I fished the KC artificial reef the past week and had a great fish day catching Spanish mackerel. For bait I was pulling a #3 planer with a 2-inch Clark spoon. The bite was good with my customers catching some nice mackerel. The bottom line to this fish day was a simple one: When I pulled over the wrecks, I hooked up immediately, but the barracudas attacked and ate them in seconds. Leaving us with fish head soup making only ..However, when I trolled the outskirts of these areas the bite wasn’t as solid, but we caught fish and didn’t feed the toothy monsters. No matter what this is a lot of fish catching fun for everyone!

King Mackerel Fishing Suggestions

Wip McCuen along with Kevin Broderick and Mark Lofton make a fine offshore fishing crew. The bottom line is that they know their stuff especially when a king mackerel is involved. Without a do, I will get right to the point of what is best done to hook up your bait as well as you big king fish.

The best place to do this kind of fishing during the hot months is their “old stand spot,” which is 300 yards plus southwest of the CCA artificial reef buoy. Once this information was shared with me I got to thinking how many times that I have stopped in the same area to catch myself some bait fish. For some unknown reason rips form in this area, which in turn holds the attentions of baitfish bringing on a much more serious big bite pattern.

Go to the CCA Buoy and…

Go southwest to west, look for rips, and fish…then go northeast tracking east and then west for more bite opportunity!

There is also another good area at the CCA Reef. This spot wasn’t put there its natural meaning no artificial stuff here. If you take heading of due north east from the buoy trolling a little west then east as you making your way northeast you will cross a nice live bottom ridge. This area holds the interest of baitfish and top water fish especially during the hot times.

Now for the part you have been waiting for, which is Wip’s bait plan!

Wip has been using the standard gold hook Sabiki bait rigs to catch Spanish sardines and Cigar minnows. He hooks them up light tackle style and just plain drifts. If he happens to hook up a Spanish mackerel, he leaves that on the hook, and waits for the bigger fish hit, which normally comes in the form of a real large king mackerel! Whatever you do don’t forget you gaff!

Wip’s Gold Mine Suggestion!

After talking with Wip it occurred to me that he had figured out what could be a “gold mine suggestion” for all of us. Once he hooks up a Spanish mackerel on the light tackle rig, which is also a king mackerel rig, he doesn’t touch the fish. This makes lots of sense, because once the Spanish is touched or held the surface of the fish changes. This just sent one more “stay away signal to those that might be watching from down below!”

So let re-cap Wip’s King Mackerel Theory
Wip catches bait the same way we all do and puts them in a live well, which has plenty of water circulation. He hooks these freshly caught extra lively baits up on a standard light tackle king mackerel rig. A standard king mackerel rig is made with 30 inches or less single strand wire, small live bait short shank “J” style hook, and then a small treble hook in tow. This treble hook is sometimes called a “trailer or a stinger hook.” Some fishermen add some sort of small skirt to the leader of this rig. In Wip’s case, he goes natural with no additions. Once he is hooked up and if it’s a king mackerel he lands it. However, if his hook up is a Spanish mackerel, he retrieves it, takes a look, and if its semi hooked up, he lets it swim off. He doesn’t try to re-hook up the now used baitfish, because he doesn’t want to touch the Spanish. By this way these are real good suggestion!

Lets talk about what Wip does when he hooks up his own live Spanish mackerel. He uses what might be called a “ribbon fish rig.” The light tackle rig used when Spanish mackerel is bait does need to be a little longer. You can still go with the first hook being a live bait “J” style hook and the rest in-line hooks should be small trebles. The live bait hook or the first hook should be placed through the top lip. Some fishermen like to put the first hook through the bottom and out the top of the lip, which is also good. However, when using a Spanish mackerel as bait it will last longer if you place the first hook in the top lip only. Some fishermen prefer placing the first hook through the nose area, which also a good location. However, when using a lively Spanish mackerel as bait they will pull free from this set up.

Good size for a short shank live bait “J” style hook is #2, #4, and #6,

Now that we have gotten the first hook or should I say the “leading hook placement” out of the way let talks about those treble hooks that follow. The first thing is that thin tinned treble hooks are better for the bait, but not good for a big fishhook up. They will work, but when hooked up, you need to know what you are dealing with so that you don’t set that drag too tight. I have this old saying, “when the drag set to tight the hook might pull loose and if it’s set to light there not much of a fight!” Boy, the decisions us fishermen have to make!

The best size thin tinned treble hooks are size 12, 10 and 8. I think a 1/0 treble is a little big, but it will definitely work in the holding department. You decide what is best for you. I prefer to use about three treble hooks when going what is sometimes referred to as “ribbon fish rig.” The space between the hook should only be inches. The placement of hooks in the Spanish should be along the sides not the top. This set up is going to be the less noticeable application and the baitfish is not too affected by this type of hook placement. When using large baits and small hooks it’s necessary to let the fish eat well before setting that hook! Thanks Wip and crew for sharing these great king mackerel catching secrets!

Gulf Stream Suggestions!

During this time any fish from any so called “ocean sector” can almost be found anywhere. Now that I have made such a broad I guess I should explain a bit. When the waters located west of the Gulf Stream become same temperature the blue water edge basically disappears. The reason being is that there is not constant temperature break. So therefore no fishing edge is formed. With temperatures almost all the same there is quite a bit of blending of fish as well as water. It’s possible to see blue water closer than normal as well as the fish that roam it. I think you get my point.

With all this being said, blue water fishing doesn’t mean at least at this time that you have to ride 65 miles plus from the coast before you start fishing. So therefore now you know what I’m suggesting that you might do here’s a good solid blue/green water-trolling plan. I suggest picking “a start trolling point.” Here’s are a few suggestions:
Trolling plan 1

Taking a look at a current sea surface chart and picking areas where it shows the best temperature breaks and ascertain a good solid starting coordinate.

Trolling Plan 2

Set you trolling lines out in about 90 feet of water and take a heading to your pre-decided destination point.

No matter which plan is picked I suggest pulling baits at all depths. During this time of year it’s not what you are pulling as much as where you pull it. The reason being is that due to the “same water temperature every where “everything is scattered.” So therefore when a feeding opportunity happens fish take action!

When I am in the trolling mode, no matter whether it’s near shore or deep water I always use my same plan when I get a hit. The first thing I do is to write down the coordinates of the “Hit.” Then I come about and make a circle bringing the boat around so that I am heading in about the same direction. While all this is going on I am looking for anything showing on my fishing finder.

Here’s something else I have learned from my many years of fishing…. you can miss you “hot spot” by feet. However, you might catch one side of the bite zone on your fish finder. This means you might mark a partial school of fish! Keep eyes open wide and any marking as light as they might seem are worth investigating. In others words “pull your lines a bite before moving on to a spot that might not be there!” Most fishermen including myself always think that the fish are over there and not under the boat. My father used to say, “ Fishermen that fish off the bank cast their bait as far away as they can. Fishermen that fish from a boat fish as close as the can to the bank!” I suggest to you as well to myself “fish where you are first before making your move!”

Freshies Report
Just Plain Old Fresh water Catching by Jim Brown
Wednesday July 30, 2008

Jim and his fishing buddy Tony Way put in at the Savannah River Clyo Landing at 8:00 AM on Wednesday. A solid fish bite was had until a little after lunchtime. For bait the Duo fished with crickets and worms (pinks). They used the methods that worked for this particular day, which was bottom fishing near “heavy cover.” They caught around 70 fish total, but only kept 52. Their catch consisted of bream, red breast, and catfish.

Since I am always fishing next to structure in the saltwater, I had to ask Jim, “In the fresh water world, what’s considered heavy cover?” His answer was a simple one and well explained. His quick response was “downed trees in the water or what’s left of them, like big logs, and branches.” If you want to catch fish under these circumstances you have to fish “in here!” Jim did offer up a suggestion of using #4 or #6 thin tinned (wire) Mustad hooks. This style hook will normally straighten out if you do hang up at least most of the time! Jim suggests taking plenty of tackle, because you are going to need it for sure! This all boils down to it doesn’t matter whether you are saltwater or freshwater fishing…if you aren’t getting hung up and loosing tackle as well as catching fish you aren’t fishing close enough to the cover or the structure!”

“Little Miss Judy’s Believe It or Not!”

What I know about wine!
Part One!

As you know I’m from the south so at least for the most part of my life there probably was a little drinking going on. Being raised by a father that preferred the hard stuff I didn’t get much education in the wine department. The fact of the matter is I really never saw daddy drink much wine. Wait now, something just popped out of my backlogged memory banks “Morgan David Wine!”

When my father did drink wine it was “Morgan David Wine,” which according to my father was only grape juice with a very small kick. As a child, of course when daddy wasn’t looking I took a taste. Believe me it sure didn’t have a kick like that other stuff that he drank did! Hurricane Peach Wine is next!