Artificial Reefs

Captain Kathy Brown of Miss Judy Charters is holding a nice soon to be released spot tail bass. This fish was caught in about 55 feet of water while working a rip. It is that time of the year where all offshore fishermen get the chance to hook into one of these strong fighting fish. Please remember all spot tail bass also known as trophy red fish and as stag bass have to be released back to the wild. No keeping in federal waters! When in the catch and release mode everybody involved gets a work out!




We are seeing some signs of improvement in regard to the bottom bite located in about 60 feet of water. The artificial reefs such as the J, L, and CCA are holding few nice size keeper black fish, triggerfish, flounder, and ocean perch.

Savannah Snapper Banks
The offshore fishing team of Cory Childers his sons Dylan, Jacob and their grandfather Randy Cochran Cartersville Georgia booked a snapper bank fishing trip. It was a beautiful sunny day, but it turned out to be one of those very rough sea conditions day. However, this fishing team is no stranger to the ocean or the fish that swim in it. So we headed out and yes we caught some nice fish!




Dylan Childers Kingston, Georgia is not a stranger to inshore/offshore fishing. Dylan and his family have been fishing with our company since he was a small child. Captain Kathy Brown of Miss Judy Charters is holding up Dylan’s just caught soon to be released genuine red snapper. We have been releasing genuine red snapper pretty much since 2010. The federal movement informed us fishermen, but forgot to send a memo to those big toothy wonders down under. All that is left to say to those down under is “Bon appetite!”


Randy Cochran Carterville Georgia has two types of table fare hooked up. The top fish is a gray trigger fish and on the bottom hook is a black sea bass also known as a black fish. Randy’s grandsons Jacob and Dylan are showing their approval!



Jacob Childers Kingston Georgia and Captain Kathy Brown of Miss Judy Charters are both showing up grand fish catching smiles. Jacob caught this nice genuine red snapper on a small piece of cut fish. Once released it quickly headed back to the abyss!




Randy Cochran Cartersville Georgia is holding up what is better known as a double header genuine peanut red snapper pair.. Yes, my fishing friends we have been catching all sizes of genuine red snapper. And if I had stayed bottom bumping in this particular spot we could have caught doubles just about every time we dropped. I try to do the right thing by staying off the genuine red snapper bite. However, since populations are growing and a lot of spots are covered with these fish, this is not an easy task!

Corey Childers Kingston Georgia is watching is oldest son Dylan fighting a big shark. Jacob (Corey’s youngest child) and Jacob’s grandfather Randy Cochran Cartersville are standing by with eyes wide open. Dylan going to catch it, his father is standing by if needed, and Jacob with be the first to yell to his brother, “It’s another big one Dylan!”

Corey Childers Kingston Georgia is fighting a big shark! Corey has had it to boat several times and we all have had a good look at it size. Now we are trying to get a better picture and set it free!


Shark, Shark, Shark, Shark, and sharks!!

Jacob Childers has a big fish on and Captain Kathy Miss Judy Charters is assisting. Jacob has a great reeling method and it works too! When one arm gets tired he just switches to the other. And when they both get tried he doubles up. Does he ever get tired enough to give up! Absolutely Not!

Randy Cochran Cartersville, Georgia Corey Childers and his son Jacob Kingston, Georgia and Captain Kathy Brown of Miss Judy Charters. Where does Kathy live? In the sea! Now this is what I call a 6-er! What does this mean? All fishermen had on two legal keeper black sea bass!





Gulf Stream and some pretty interesting procedures!
I caught this Mahi Mahi (aka dolphin!) many years ago at the Savannah Snapper Banks. It hit a ballyhoo that was rigged on a three hooks (6/0 hooks in a line rig). The great thing about this rig is when the fish does get a good bite of your bait it gets hooked for sure! And we sometimes pull this rig when moving from spot to spot. We set the reel on a medium drag, turn on the clicker, and it’s almost fool proof. You noticed I said “Almost fool proof” so not every time! Captain Kathy Brown gaffed it and threw it in the cooler. After a few minutes of flopping around in our closed cooler, everyone looked inside and this is what we all saw! Now you see it too!

This is how we rig a three hook rig on ballyhoo! Back in the day I had many a fisherman tell me that three hook rigs such as this would not work on blue water fish. Their claim was that a Mahi Mahi can quickly taste or feel metal near its mouth. On many occasions I have reeled single hook rigged baits that look like they have been stepped on! It is true them Mahi Mahi have their own built in metal detectors. I have to agree this is a true bit of information about the blue water fish bite. However, the thing about the three hook rig is normally when a fish hits it, it’s a triggered hit, not a calculated one! So there you have it! What does this mean? Metal detector is off!



This is how a three hook rig works when the fish is determined to be committed!
It’s time to make preparations and to start looking for that special almost calm 24 hour fish day! Here are some sites that will show you the way http://sstcharts.com/ (has free surface water temps charts for the east coast) http://windalert.com/map#29.62,-82.02,6,1 (a great site that shows current buoy readings, offers 5 day wave and wind prediction) http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=41008 (This site is a oldie but goodie! I offer more information on water temps, wave heights, and seconds between them!) I hope this helps!
Thanks for reading! Captain Judy