I used to have great shrimp trios but we did things differently back then than I see today. We liked Bulls Bay and almost always coolered out. We would enter the bay near Garris and drive thru that 30 foot channel for about 3/4 mile then turned left until we were in 6. 1/2 foot of water where we would place our first pole. We would set our poles cross current and our last pole would be in 2,5’. We placed our poles far enough apart that the driver and thrower had time to prep for the next pole. We always set our poles before low tide and baited the poles on slack water on the down tide side then we anchored up. When the incoming swang the boat around it was time to get to work We baited the poles with small balls flattened like hamburger patties. About 6 per pole . The driver would approach the pole and the thrower would yell “ out of gear” and the tide would push us away from the pole. We almost never put the boat in reverse. The shrimp would show up first on the shallow poles later in the incoming on the deeper. We only went when conditions were right, low tide close to sunset poles cross current And many times we caught the limit in 2 passes. As the tide rose the shrimp would leave the shallow poles and we would pull them and keep them in the boat. Bright daylight is difficult The shrimp wouls see the shadow of the net and in one flip of tail they were gone. We found that placing the poles all In The same depth jus didn’t work as well
I agree. When your catching 3-5 lbs a throw. Don’t take a break. The other thing that helps is after the 2 nd run try throwing a little down current from the pole because when you pull the net to the boat your creating a bait trail. The only time I ever did well in the daylight was on overcast days
One thing that I forgot to mention. My poles were 15’ I used 10’ emt galvanized with 5’ of pvc on top. I hammered the bottom of the emt closed Soldered it shut and heated the top until I could easily force the pvc to slip onto the metal pipe. I put my reflective tape on in a spiral so I could spot mine quickly. I also put one of those chemical light sticks on the first and last pole
I would add that you can do well on bright sunny days, but shrimp are the bottom of the food chain, and if there is ANY visibility they will get eaten - so naturally they won’t be in that spot. So unless your water looks like coffee with tons of creamer in it, or billowing sand, with 1" or less visiblility, don’t try in the day or in that spot. If you do find these conditions, you can do very well in the day. I would motor around until I found the absolute worst water visibility then stick one pole in and give it a try. If they were there, I would set out a spread.
When my boys were young, we had one of the most memorable family days in BB on a beautiful October day, almost no wind, hardly anyone around. Easy cooler. Even my youngest who could barely lift the net over the rail would come up with a dozen on a bunched up net. Fun times
