How much is too much?

Saltwater Shrimping
1

Greetings all,
I have a question that I think might help some other shrimpers too. Since I live a good 3 hours from the coast I am constantly watching the forecasts to see if is worth my time to make the ride down. One of my favorite sites is NOAA Weather which lets you click on a map of SC to get very detailed forecasts. I have found this site to pretty reliable. Here is a link to what I am referring to https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-80.44289&lat=32.43935#.X482GtBKhPY

Now my question for you is, at what wind speed/knots and/or what wave height would you call off the trip. I know there are other factors at play in this decision such as the size of your boat, the shrimping reports, how desperate you are for shrimp, and how willing you are to get beaten up by the waves, etc. Lets assume you are going down to have fun and catching some shrimp is a bonus. I have found that starting at around 10 -12 knots I am not having much fun. For wave height I am guessing around 2 ft, but to be honest I am not quite sure. I probably should pay attention to the wave height more as it is possible to not have much wind, but still have big waves.
I should probably add that I usually shrimp in the St. Helena sound and not way up some narrow creek that is protected from the wind. So I guess this more for you guys who shrimp in the harbor, Bulls Bay, St. Helena sound, etc. and not a small creek surrounded by marsh grass that can protect you.

So what would you say is the wind speed and wave height for you where you would probably not make the trip to the ocean and wait for another weekend?

2

Like everyone thinking of going out I check weather. I use Ventusky and Predictwind. I stay home if they predict 15 mph (13 knots) because the fun stops. Every time I have been to Bulls Bay the wind is at least the predicted and frequently more. Charleston Harbor has some places to hide but production goes down. I never have paid attention to wave height but in Bulls, anything over 3’ tide will make the bay feel like open ocean and I leave. We love to be outdoors on the water and catch shrimp but if it was just for food I’m sure it’s cheaper to buy it off the dock. My 2 cents.

3

Hopefully that posted correctly. Took this last year in North Bulls Bay in early October. Gotta come home to eat your shrimp! Be safe!

I appreciate the info on different sites to check the weather, thanks. A NE wind at 10 mph will feel just as bad or worse than any other direction at 15 mph.

4

We usually shrimp south Bulls Bay and the cut off is about 10 mph, but wind direction is also important because we can sometimes get to where the land blocks the wind. For example, if the wind is coming across Bulls Island that side of the bay might be a bit calmer but you have to cross the bay to get to it. The other factor recently has been the super high tides which made the water run very hard which made shrimping more difficult.

5

If it’s 10 mph or more out of the NE, won’t do Bulls Bay. NE wind makes the bay brutal. Might do up to 12 or 14 mph if it’s out of the NW or SW in the bay.