I can still remember the first time that I went shrimp baiting. It was about 20 years ago in the Cooper River. We had 30 poles, and around a hundred and fifty bait balls. I remember only seeing one other shrimper out on the water. My father and his friend told me that we needed to keep our distance, because they had heard of others being shot at for getting to close, probably because they were shrimping over someone else poles. If I remember correctly we caught about 2 or 3 coolers of shrimp.
Things have drastically changed over the past twenty years. Some of the rules for the 2006 shrimping season include: 10 poles per boat with tags attached, one person on the boat must possess a shrimp baiting license (which can be purchased at South Carolina DNR for $25), and a limit of 48 quarts of shrimp heads on, or 29 quarts headed. So far reports of 1/3 to ½ cooler have been common until the last two nights I have been hearing of more people limiting out. There are reports of small to medium shrimp in the creeks and rivers, and medium to large closer to the mouth of the harbor. So far this year I have not been shrimping due to the busy charter season, and the slow reports that I have been getting. Last year I filled the cooler the first 5 trips, but the shrimp were small. I will take ½ cooler of med- large over full cooler of smalls any day.
Everyone has their own methods, secrets, and equipment for shrimp baiting. Here are a few that have always seemed to help my numbers and comfort during the season. The first is good bait, until this year I have always used 50/50 fishmeal and bagged clay. Two years ago I changed after shrimping with some friends. Our deal was that I provide the boat and the license and he would provide the bait and the beer. He showed up at the house with beer and bait in hand, but these were bait balls unlike any other that I had ever seen. They were premixed and called Bait Binder. These things are the deal; they are made up of 90% fishmeal and 10% binder. A 5-gallon bucket can be bo