All, did a search and wasn’t able to find much info, aside from a couple posts, on shrimpin’ a little further up the Cooper. Has anyone tried any of the areas around Clouter Creek, Yellow House Creek, maybe even up to Bushy Park? I’m just curious because living in the Goose Creek area, getting down to CB, will be too time consuming and I’m looking for somewhere a little closer to home. I’m not looking for your honey holes, just whether or not is it even worth it to attempt to shrimp in these areas. Thanks in advance.
I used to go along Daniel Island and did ok with numbers. However the avg size was smaller. I think the closer to brackish water the smaller the size in general. No science behind this statement however, so I could be FOS
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com | www.summervillesaltwateranglers.com
The first time I went shrimpin’ I shrimped on the banks of the Cooper just north of the confluence of Clouter Creek (south end) and the Cooper. The shrimpin’ was poor, but our bait balls were equally as poor, basically they broke apart when tossed into the water. We did catch shrimp, not many, and they had good size, say 31-35 count.
I guess the only way to really find out is to try, which I plan on because… (see signature line)
- A bad day fishin’ is better than a good day at work!
Never tried the Cooper, but have shrimped up the Wando. Usually caught plenty of shrimp, but they were smaller. The farther from the ocean, the smaller the shrimp are overall.
Jack Taylor
gamecock, maybe you either had old meal or were using too much of it? 50:50 with clay should hold it together.
optiker, you’re right about salinity’s role regarding proximity to the coast and average size. rain events can make or break a shrimp season- crop is looking nice so far though!
Barbawang, no we were just rookies using Baitbinder. Didn’t read instructions and made bait balls ahead of time and not on the boat with a dunk in the salt water. That’s why I’m curious to try it again with correctly made bait balls. I would love to catch a decent size and a good amount without having to travel all the way to the coast. Got a baby on the way due early October and trips from Goose Creek to the VA Ramp would be a lot easier than to the coast.
- A bad day fishin’ is better than a good day at work!
since you live around here, i would just keep a close eye on rainfall amounts north of charleston proper- if we get more than a couple inches in a short time, it will “flush” the creeks and push shrimp down for at least a few days. some will come back up when salinity rises, but many will stay where they end up on their outward migration through the fall.
if things have been flushing, you may be able to find bigger shrimp in relatively bigger water up there- like confluences of major creeks (tiny creek = tiny shrimp)
just tell your wife to wait on having the baby till mid-november!
barbawang - thanks for chiming in (as usual) with the SCIENCE behind our fisheries. You rock
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com | www.summervillesaltwateranglers.com
Barbawang - Believe me if I could, I would. Would love to wait until after shrimp season and Carolina football season if possible. I was discussing with my shrimpin’ buddy the other day, and we are definetly going to try it. Thanks for the info, we will definetly be paying attention to the rainfall amounts because I can definitely see how that can affect.
Also, I second Optiker, thanks again
- A bad day fishin’ is better than a good day at work!
my pleasure- i wish you success, especially since you’ll soon greet a new member of your family, who will undoubtedly appreciate marine crustaceans too!
still looking like this season is gonna be great!