Cabin Fever is GONE!


I would like to take the time to thanks all of the fishermen that contributed to this week’s fishing report! Just to name a few! Captain Matt Williams, Captain Garrett Ross, Captain Tommy Williams, Captain Frank Cullum, Captain Bert Klein, Frank Mathews, and others that wanted to remain a secret!


Inshore fishing report!
Well give a fishermen a beautiful weekend and what will they do? They will go and catch fish! And that’s exactly what they did!





Photo taken by Pam Nichols
As his father Jeff Edge Macon, Georgia is standing at watch on the stern his son Palmer age 10 is showing us a big Happy Birthday Catching smile! Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy Charters is assisting. After having to put his birthday fishing trip off due to cold/rough weather conditions when he finally did go he scored big time! Palmer prevailed by catching this nice black drum! What was he using as bait? Dead old smelly last year’s shrimp! How was it presented? Palmer was using a small traditional adjusted float rig, which was adjusted so that the bait was fished close to the bottom. When fishing this set up normally the cork does lay on its side. However, when a fish takes a bite, the cork responds by moving a bit erratically. This is when you know, a fish is interested and is just about to eat your bait. It’s a cold water situation so give them time to eat! And that’s exactly the move that Palmer made! A Big Happy Birthday goes out to Palmer!



Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy fished this past weekend took Patti and Tommy Sauber Sycamore, Illinois for inshore fishing trip! Captain Matt is holding Patti’s nice black drum! She had a blast catching this fish! And her husband Tommy caught some too, but they weren’t as big or as many! And now you know exactly what this couple was going to talk about over dinner. Captain Matt cleaned the fish and they took them over to the Flying Fish Bar and Grill. Did you know that you can take your cleaned catch over to the Flying Fish and they will cook them and serve them with selected sides! For full details, give them a call 912 897 2009! And who wants to cook anyhow? Go Flying Fish!



Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy fished this past weekend with catching on the mind. Captain Matt Williams took Patti and Tommy Sauber Sycamore, Illinois on one heck of a cold water catching time. As you know, especially if you are a local, the inshore fishing has been hit and miss. And trying to unlock this cold water fish bite can sometimes be a little tricky! Captain matt and I assured both Patti and Tommy that we were going to do our absolute best to find some fish. However, bites much less catches had been on the slim side. Their response to this was....Well, if nothing else we would get to have a wonderful boat ride and get to spend some wonderful time of the water. And with that Captain Matt took them on a catching tour. According to the fishing report received from Patti, she caught 5 nice black drum and also the biggest! Oops, she said, “Tommy caught one!” The visiting couple kept three and released the rest!



While inshore fishing with Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy Charters Palmer and his brother Colton Edge Macon Georgia caught fought and released some fish. Palmer age 10 is holding a nice black drum and Colton age 7 is holding a slot red fish. Did they catch more? Yes, but they released the rest! This fishing team consisted of their father Jeff Edge and his friend Pam Nichols. All parties were visiting from Macon, Georgia! This fishing team is no stranger to fishing the inshore waters with Captain Matt. The fact of the matter is this was Palmer’s 10th birthday present. And he had to put it off due to cold weather and too much snow! (Can you believe snow is part of this report? This is definitely not the norm weather for this area!)


As you can see both brothers had a great time! And guess who is taking them fishing in this summer? That would be me! (Captain Judy) And I am looking forward to this!





For more information go to https://www.lifesparkfishingtackle.com/
There is only one thing left to say, “Pictures don’t lie and neither do the fish! Why? They can’t talk, but they can certainly eat!” Now there you have it!”








Trigger fish could not resist!




How about them spotted sea trout? How did they fair during this cold water temps? Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters is holding up a soon to be released spotted sea trout. After the very cold snap dropping water temps to middle forties, Captain Garrett decided to go on “Inshore Fishing Mission!” His main goal was in search of spotted sea trout! With water temps dropping so quickly, the question was, were the spotted sea trout prepared or not? It is a big norm for this fish especially during the cold months to winter in deep holes. In other words, they nestle down in the mud and become quite a bit dormant. The term mud babies were the nickname given to the trout when the wintering was over. Why? When going into the wintering process, trout land on the bottom belly down, and wiggle until suction develops. Once the belly is stuck in the mud the trout goes into a mini dormant stage. When the wintering stage is over meaning water temps are steady back over mid fifties the trout will come alive and start looking for food. For the first couple of weeks those trout that have been wintering are sporting a ring around their belly. The ring indicates just how deep the trout anchored itself to the mud bottom!

Even though the fish is in a dormant stage they will still hit a worked lure or live bait such as a small finger mullet or mud minnows. This is where the location of the bait is the most critical. When wintering a trout isn’t in the attack mode, but whether it is in the “wake me and maybe I will eat mode!” Sometimes you just have to hit them on the top of their head! Captain Garrett found quite a few spotted sea trout holding in deeps holes. He worked several areas and then decided to just find a spot and work it. As it turned out his plan was a good catching one! He caught and released over a dozen trout of assorted sizes while using single mud minnow as bait.

Eric Campbell Savannah, Georgia was inshore fishing with Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters while he was on his search for a spotted sea trout. The spotted sea trout were caught fishing on the bottom in 12 to 18 feet of water. Water temp was a very cold 45 degrees, but they did find fish and I guess you could say, “They woke up the bite up!”


Artificial Reefs

Please meet one heck of a sheepshead fish catching team: Jake Ross, (Garrett’s brother) Kevin “junior” Miller, and Captain Garrett Ross of Miss Judy Charters.
This mess of fish was caught while using purple back fiddlers as bait! (See artificial reef report below!)


Artificial Reefs

What about the black sea bass? Where are they? Well, I know...and big thanks to those that were willing to share these offshore reports with me...


Sheepshead fishing at the near shore artificial reefs such as KC, DUA, SAV, and KTK was good, but not as good as I have seen. There were a few small undersize black fish caught, but no keepers. These are the artificial reefs located in less than 50 feet of water. Water temps fluctuated between high forties to low fifties. It is my belief that when water temps dropped below forty degrees bottom fish such as the black sea bass packed their bags and moved into deeper water.


Normally I would suggest especially at this time of the year that if you wanted to target black sea bass that you would need to fish the next set of deeper artificial reefs. However, fisherman this past weekend fished artificial reefs locate around 55 to 60 feet of water. (J, CCA, and L Buoy) What did they catch? A few legal black sea bass and lots of assorted size of smaller black fish also known as black sea bass. You need to fish a little deeper for these fish. Please see snapper and gulf stream report.


Savannah Snapper Banks

Chyler Ross, Captain Garrett Ross’s daughter is holding up a nice gray trigger fish that she caught while bottom fishing this past weekend at the Savannah Snapper Banks!
Water temperature 64 degrees!




Captain Garrett Ross fished offshore with Aaron Jarrell, his daughter Aeralyn, Chyler (Captain Garrett’s daughter) Darrel, Teddy, and Brandon. (All from Effingham except Chyler and her father Captain Garrett Savannah) They bottom fished with two hook bottom rigs (sometimes referred to chicken rigs) at the Savannah Snapper Bank in about 100 feet of water and had quite a fish catching day. They caught vermilion snapper, red porgy, strawberry grouper, trigger fish, and released many genuine red snapper! Once again we/they/me are reporting the genuine red snapper population has just about taken over the live bottom areas at the Savannah Snapper Banks! But since no one is listening I won’t get on my tackle box, at least not in this report.

Aeralyn Jarrell Effingham, Georgia is holding a soon to be released nice genuine red snapper. Aeralyn caught this snapper while bottom fishing with her father Aaron Jarrell at the Savannah Snapper banks!




Aeralyn Jarrell Effingham, Georgia is holding up her just caught red porgy also known as a Charleston Snapper! Chyler Ross is in the background cheering her on! Nice fish for sure! This is one fish that puts up quite a fight. It starts when it’s hooked up and it fights all the way to the surface.




While bottom fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks Aeralyn Jarrell Effingham, Georgia caught this nice strawberry grouper! And this nice smile is called a “strawberry special!”





Chyler Ross is bottom fishing is at the Savannah Snapper Banks! What is she using from bait? Cut squid and ballyhoo! Did it work? You bet, just like her captivating smile!





Gulf Stream Report



Captain Ken Kennickell caught this tuna many years ago while blue water trolling at the South Ledge! When was it? Just about this time of the year!
Captain Bert Klein “Wake Up Call” fished the south ledge this past weekend. And he had an eye opening day! With water temps ranging from 73 to 75 degrees the team trolled naked ballyhoo for about two hours catching 7 black fin assorted sizes from 20 to 30 pounds. While in the trolling mode they also had limitless hits from 5 to 10 pound class Bonita. While trolling Captain Bert heard on the VHF radio that some caught a couple of dolphin in the 20 plus pound range! After trolling in 180 to 220 feet of water Captain Bert Decided to make way to about 1200 feet of water and give marlin fishing a try. According to Captain Bert all signs were there from birds to baits, but they did not have any hits, runs, or misses.

On the way back home, Captain Bert decided to do a little bottom fishing, so he stopped in about 150 feet of water and gave it a try. He had a live bottom spot that normally holds lots of fish during this time of the year and it certainly did! They caught 4 pound vermilion snapper also known as b-liners, 5 gallon bucket size trigger fish, and some large red porgy also known as Charleston snapper. Oops, I almost forgot to mention....yes they caught, fought, and released plenty of genuine red snapper. Once again, and I know no one is listening! However, I must say, “In our live bottom areas from about 55 feet to 160 feet of water there is an unbelievable serious genuine snapper population!” By the way, this is NO guessing matter, it is fact!


2018 Inshore/Offshore Fishing Clinics
February 24, 2018 Saturday and February 25, 2018 Sunday
On inshore/offshore boats in the water
$135.00 per person for inshore
$150.00 per person for offshore
Time: 8:00AM till12:00 NOON
Snacks and drinks provided by Captain Judy
Place: Miss Judy Charters dock
202 Wilmington Island Road
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 897 4921 for more details!



Freshies Report and it’s a Salty Report Too!


Just do it!

Bill Vanderford!

My long time friend Bill Vanderford invented these lures many years ago. The best news is not only do the freshwater fish love them so do the saltwater ones too! A lure for all seasons with good reasons!
Bill Vanderford says, “The fishing season is on the horizon, so if you want an easy way to catch more fish than ever....the Swirleybird is the answer!” Captain Judy says, “Order some today!”
www.georgiafishing.com/swirleybird-spinners/