A little about the crew: Captain Ryan Howard of Miss Judy Charters, Savannah, Georgia owner/operator of “Crapshoot Charters!”
Wendy Suzanne Savannah Georgia works with Captain Ryan and is the Co-Captain of Crapshoot Charters and assistant property manager at Sore Subject! For more pictures and details about this tournament please see January 31, 2017 Part Two
My first hand synopsis! Inshore catching and baiting up options!
Spotted sea trout bite!
We did manage to get one trip inshore in this past week! The spotted sea trout bite still amazes me for sure...our captains as well as recreational fishermen are having a serious winter bite for sure! With weather temps in the mid fifties it seems that the old trout doesn’t care and they are basically on the move looking for something to eat! And if they find a hook rigged with a live shrimp or a mud minnow or two, it certainly is going to be feeding time for sure! As always if you can get the bite a going you just might be able to switch to the artificial shrimp or mud minnows patterns.
Cold Water Reds!
The red fish bite has also been awesome! If you know where to go you can catch them for sure! Best live bait is going to be shrimp and mud minnows. And of course, we old school fishermen know for sure that anything wrapped in a shell such as a fiddler or rock crab will also work....For those of you that have saved last year’s shrimp, menhaden, or mullet this is also a great bait for the old red fish. I know it is hard for some fishermen to keep any leftover bait. I mean after putting this into the family freezer just might not be a good idea...at least unless you do this: Left over shrimp parts and bodies with fit in a water bottle for sure. After all once place inside the smell stays too! Wherever you do please don’t forget to wash the bottle before placing it in the freezer. Another idea would be to go with a larger lid type plastic bottle so that you could freeze large baits/pieces. Big gulp bottom can hold small mullet, menhaden, and also quite a few mullet steaks. The secret is to not add water, just make sure to tighten cap and let the content air freeze. Believe me once reintroduced back into the water these smell will get the fish’s attention!
We are still having an inshore bite!
Captain Matt Williams Terry Morris Brunswick, Georgia, Jean Harrison, Albany, Georgia, and Pam Kirk, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Jean Harrison Albany Georgia is holding up a nice trophy red fish that she caught while fishing with Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy Charters
It is deep hole dropping shrimp time of the year!
Not a lot of fishermen talk about this, but since this is a fishing report I thought I would share this information with you. How do you know where to start? A good way to find deep holes in creeks and rivers is to pick up a current chart or in some cases your chart plotter will already been loaded with detailed bottom contours.
For those that like casting in the deeps holes for shrimp now is the time of this sport. It’s best to use a 12 foot net, which is modified with addition of duct tape or other materials to enhance performance. Please always check to make sure what you can use and have correct licenses or proper legal net rigging from Georgia DNR. Go to http://www.gofishgeorgia.com/ or/and pick up a copy of the current 2017 Georgia regulations for sport fishing. Most marina’s and tackle stores have them available!
Captain Kevin Rose of Miss Judy Charters
Captain Kevin Rose hones in on the best cold water bait!
It’s all about the old mud minnow!
During cold water fishing times there are at least three ways to rig up mud minnows. And actually, believe it or not, but this is a bait that works all of the time. I call it my cold water, easy to catch, and hardy as heck kind of bait. However, the mud minnow will also work during the warmer water temps and there is an abundance of shrimp in the creeks, rivers, and sounds. It’s a fish’s as well as a fisherman’s nature to want something different. In this case, during plenty of live shrimp’s times, sometimes throwing in a mud every now and then can trigger a larger fish bite!
Photo by Captain Kevin Rose
A mud when rigged on a jig head can work as good as a live shrimp or artificial bait. It’s no secret when going this baiting up route that casting into place, reeling a few turns while relocating the bait, retrieving, and repeating is a good plan. The old mud will definitely do you proud, because once dropped to the bottom this bait is going to get to wiggling. When live bait goes into this mode sand storms are created. And what is so good about a sand storm when it comes to bait? Well, it is kind of like a smoke signal, when the fish see it they are curious and they have a tendency to come to take a closer look see. It is also a known fact that when any bait moves close to the bottom “happy trails” are produced! Who are attracts these happy trails? Those fish that you are targeting! Don’t forget, especially during cold times, to give all fish time to eat!
Photo by Captain Kevin Rose
Captain Kevin is showing us how he hooks up his mud minnow. This bait can be used under a popping or traditional adjustable float. It also can be used with a small weight or none at all. When you go weightless we call going this route “fishing naked!” Please note: I am talking about the bait not the fisherman. You might find it way to cold to fish naked (without clothes) in the winter time. However, I would have to agree sometimes in the summer it does get hot enough to go clothes-less! (Just don’t get caught!)
Photo by Captain Kevin Rose
When using muds as bait and you find that the bite is slow I suggest giving two muds a try! After all they will make more of a sand storm bring on some better biting activity!
Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy charters and his fishing friend Kevin Miller when on a fish hunt!
Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters has been doing a little camping/ fishing this past week! Captain Garrett is holding a nice spotted sea trout! What was he using for bait? Mud minnows under popping corks! Did this work? YES
Making Fish Catching Magic!
You might call this application fish catching magic!
Now here comes the rub....These attractors do exactly what they proclaim, they really do attract fish. And the best news it that they can be added to any kind of jig or bait! So really it doesn’t matter whether you are bottom fishing or trolling (inshore or offshore) adding this attractor attracts a better fish bite! I have added electron fish attractors to all of my bottom rigs. http://www.lifesparkfishingtackle.com/ I know it is hard to believe that these small attractant do work. However, I remember when a lots of different kinds of lures that we thought would not work, but they did.
Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters is holding up a nice red fish! What did this eat? Mud minnows presented under a popping cork!
Offshore fishing suggestions!
If I have said this once I have said this dozens of times over the years! If people only knew that wanted to fish knew all of their catching options for this time of the year I do believe they would take a harder look at cold water fishing! Firstly I don’t think I shouldn’t emphasize too much on the cold water! Yes, the water is cooler, but there is a pretty solid bite to be had! During this time the offshore bite can be pretty darn good. For instance: The sheepshead fishing is awesome and so misunderstood at the same time. For some reason fishermen think that this isn’t a fun fish to catch. Well, let me tell you this...if you are looking to take a short offshore ride to a pretty solid fish bite you have come to the right place. Most of the places that we fish are less than 10 miles offshore, which mean even on a 6 hour trip there is a whole lot of fishing/catching going on! And believe me when I say, “Sheepshead are the poor man’s crab meat, it is so very true!” And I have recipes to share too! Anyhow you ought to give this type of fishing or should I say catching a try!
Another fish that is also a grand cold water fish and that’s the black sea bass, which is as much fun to catch as it is to eat! For the 2017 cold water fishing season this bite can be found, but the ride is a tad bit longer. I believe that Hurricane Mathew churned things up a bit especially during migration time for this fish. So that didn’t come as close inshore this coldwater time as they did in 2016. This is ok, because we still know where they are hanging at least most of the time and this ride isn’t too bad! Actually, this is considered another short boat ride to the fish!
Blue water report West Palm Beach, Florida!
Thad Stone, Savannah Georgia is holding up a nice yellow fin that he caught while blue water fishing at West Palm!
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