By Jon Rawl

There’s an unwritten law in the South that one must fish.

And for 52 years, “Captain” Judy Helmey has been an ambassador of salt water angling to thousands of Southerners, Northerners, and other folks from around the world, all of whom have climbed aboard one of the many boats in her Miss Judy Charters fleet.

The Wilmington Island, Ga., native started giving tours at 14. At 56, she continues the family charter boat business begun by her father, Sherman, in 1948.
Captain Judy, as she’s popularly known, has now guided three generations of fishermen to the schools of fish off Savannah’s coast.

“Many of the anglers we now take aboard are the children or grandchildren of people Daddy took so many years ago,” Helmey says. “I’d like to thank all of you for your continued support.”

Despite his death 15 years ago, Sherman continues to influence his daughter when she’s out at sea.

“He had these sayings that I use today,” she says. “Like when you have black flies coming on your boat when you’re in the ocean, that means you’re going to have a northeast wind in three days.”

But is it true?

“It’s very true,” she declares.

He also taught her that every ninth wave is the biggest wave. The one behind it is the smallest one.

Miss Judy Charters offers two types of trips: inshore and offshore.
Inshore anglers try to lure in Redfish, trout, flounder, tarpon, and shark, among other fish.

“Inshore is amazing because you get up in the marsh,” Helmey says. “For instance, where a redfish is feeding, the periwinkle snails will crawl up on the marsh grass and you can look all the way down the grass and see nothing on these weeds. Then if you go a little bit further you might see a bunch of snails crawled up on top of the weeds. That means the fish are there feeding. There are so many different signs.

“Now when you get offshore, that’s a whole ‘nother ballgame. It’s wide-open ocean.”

Helmey’s offshore trips range from two miles to 100 miles out in the Atlantic. The tours range in price from $500-$1,800 (up to six passengers). Along the way you’ll see jelly fish, turtles, sharks, whales, whale sharks, birds, king mackerel, wahoo, dolphin, tuna, grouper, spotted dolphins; and according to the captain, the weirdest fish out there–ocean sunfish. These creatures weigh 500 pounds, resemble sharks, and can fly out of the water.

Her audiences love the beauty and uniqueness of going on a chartered trip. Plus, Helmey and her staff offer a lot of oceanic wisdom and good Southern humor along the way.

But it’s not always fun and games offshore. She’s encountered nuclear submarines, and she’s been in more than one run-in with Mother Nature.
“A regular thunderstorm can turn into something very violently quickly,” she explains.

And thunderstorms produce waterspouts.

“The problem with a waterspout–if you can’t see it, you can’t run away from it.”
When the captain and her anglers bring their catch back to the dock, it gives the Georgian a chance to share with others on land her love of the sea.
Helmey’s the host of Coastal Fishing with Captain Judy, seen on Comcast channels across the South.

And each morning, she calls in to Savannah radio station WBMQ-AM to give a live, colorful fishing report. Two Savannah-area TV stations also air her report.

A true Southerner, Captain Judy knows how to fish, and can drive the boat, too.