A noob's guide to Bull's Bay (south)

Saltwater Shrimping
1

So, we decided to go on a little adventure yesterday, since we had good weather and no time constraints Decided to find out how to get to Bull’s Bay.

First, I found a thread on Charleston Fishing, about how to actually get there By road And then, how to get from landing to the bay itself Here’s a helpful link: http://old.charlestonfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=106162&whichpage=1

So, hearing so much about the turkey shoot of shrimp in Bull’s Bay, thought “we should try that.” So, using my iPad and marine nav program, plotted in a safe course from Garris Landing to probably shrimping location.

So, with much anxiety, but knowing we had good weather and lots of daylight hours with which to make mistakes and not have to stress about getting stuck out there after dark So we rolled the dice and decided to try something we’d never done.

So, for all who’ve never been: to get there, you go up 17 through all of Mt. Pleasant, past 41, past Charleston National… to where SeeWee Restaurant is Turn right at that intersection, just past Tractor Supply, and then go down a couple miles, take another right at the Bull Island Ferry sign, and that’s where you put in.

While on this portion of the story, let’s talk a minute about that landing, as it’s REALLY weird. First off It’s just a boat ramp There’s no dock or anything to tie off on and go put the truck and trailer away Perhaps I just don’t know how you’re SUPPOSED to do it, but I’m guessing you just nose in, jump off, and then go get truck because the dock out at the end where the ferry ties up was locked off… and I am too old to go climbing fences.

Anyway, that landing Once you’ve got the boat in, there’s a whole 'nother issue At low tide, that thing is a ditch. Maybe 12 inches of water And I’m being generous And of course, we happened to arrive right at dead low tide. Just as we arrived, this Rastafarian rolled up in a tiny little 14 foot boat, got out to go get his truck, and as he’s walking by my boat, he’s looking at it going “I don’t know”

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First of all, welcome to Garris Landing. If you ain’t plowing mud, you ain’t at Garris. As for shrimping at BB. In years past, the shrimp have been huge and plentiful which is one of the appealing parts of BB. The other appealing part (at least to me) is that you could catch shrimp in the day time. Being from Columbia, it is hard to get down there, shrimp, take the boat back to the boatyard and clean it then head home. Day time shrimping is just so much easier on me. That being said, this year has been a real puzzler. Where are the shrimp we are used to seeing in BB? I know there are a select few that cooler out every time they get on the water but, many seasoned shrimpers are finding it hard to get their quota and no one really seems to know why Bulls Bay has a lot to offer (besides getting stuck) so give it another chance. It also fishes pretty good.

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We got about a half-cooler with I’d say 6 passes on Friday. We tried a new spot mid-bay and all that was there was a pod of dolphins absolutely crushing our baited poles. It was almost comical. We pulled up and headed to south bay. They were really hittin when we first got there, then they moved on. The shrimp are definitely getting bigger if not more plentiful. If you think getting in and out of south bulls bay is tough, try finding your way around the middle of the bay!!

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I agree DFreedom, BB has a lot to offer. I cant speak for this season, I have not made a trip yet. But in past years I cant complane with the harvest. Location is very important no matter where u go shrimping! R fishin!

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t-cat; if you had stayed on 17n about 5-7 more miles then you come to buck hall landing. there you have two floating docks. plenty of parking and a bathroom and the intracoastal waterway. garris is not the best place in my opinion to put in at low tide. good luck next time.

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This made for a funny first time experience. My first trip was really crazy too! First off I was a young man and did things back then like I won’t do anymore, that being said, We went in a jon boat at night with no GPS, no maps, no clue! we were relying on two drunks that my friend knew, They had a real pregnant princess driving them because they lost their drivers licences, (DUI I would expect). You know you don’t always sign on for this kind of stuff it just gets revealed to you as the night slowly degenerates. We get out there in shallow water, miles from land and we set up close to them as we did not want to get lost. They come up and decide they need to “go to the truck” for something??? They said they would be back in a while for us… I have never been so mad in my life! we never saw them again and we had to navigate back to Buck Hall on our own from South BB… WOW I haven’t been with any of them since…

“I fish therefore I lie”

2006 Mckee Craft 185 Bay Classic 150 Yamaha

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BB is awesome. Don’t let 1 bad experience ruin it for you. I’ve bee going there for about 6 years now since I moved down here. My advice is always bring a rod with you because that place holds a ton of drum, trout, flounder, an occasional tarpon, monster whiting, spot, sharks…and MEGA SHRIMP. If you get skunked on shrimp, just start fishing. You likely just went to a dead zone. If you look at a map of the south end there are 2 entrances to the bay, the one further to the south is a great place with some deeper water- try that next time or make it easy & head to Buck Hall. Never go to Garris to put in at low tide.

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I’ve been shrimping the Bay for about 15 years and it has been good to me. I prefer it at night and since I can launch at a private ramp I don’t have to worry about Garris closing or running down from Buck Hall. I have a number of favorite spots - sometimes I have to choose because of wind and waves but generally speaking best spots tend to be near the deep channels or the ocean. Beware the Bay can bite you - plenty of shallow spots at low tide and it can get really rough if the winds kick up. Dark is bad unless you have a GPS or at least a compass - its best to know your way around. Its generaaly not crowded even when it is there is plenty of room. Time restraints have kept me off the water this year but BB remains my favorite.

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quote:
Originally posted by OccamsRaiser

We got about a half-cooler with I’d say 6 passes on Friday. We tried a new spot mid-bay and all that was there was a pod of dolphins absolutely crushing our baited poles. It was almost comical. We pulled up and headed to south bay. They were really hittin when we first got there, then they moved on. The shrimp are definitely getting bigger if not more plentiful. If you think getting in and out of south bulls bay is tough, try finding your way around the middle of the bay!!

Drop some dry ice and you will rid yourself of the dolphins. Wait 5 minutes and shrimp will be there, thick.

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Ok, gotta ask, why does the dry ice make flipper go away?

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Dry Ice? New one to me.