School me on Shrimping

[fishngamereaper]

We had 5 limits by 11... Just before the wind came up...I suspect a few people got beat up pretty bad the last hour ..

And a couple idiots where shrimping from paddle boards... . Took em over 20 minutes to hand pull with multiple stops for rest...

[HntnFsh]

We were blessed to get my 87 year old Mom out today. A little bittersweet because I have a feeling it will be the last time.

Got to the launch a little before 5 and the hoards arrived soon after. Then about 7 there was no line. Weird! I was concerned about the weather thinking the wind and rain would make it tough but it ended up being a beautiful morning on the water. Probably a 1/4 of the boats out today compared to the last Saturday shrimp date.

Had about a 1/2 limit in each of the first 2 pots we pulled but made up for it with the last 2 pots having a limit and a half or so apiece. Ended up dumping about a limit and got back to the launch and on the trailer just as the wind got to whipping up some pretty serious waves.

Should have spent the night up there but got home about an hour ago. I'll sleep good tonight!

A little relaxation before pulling pots!

[spoonman]

Pulling  pots and making brats!

It was actually a tougher day of shrimping for us than normal. Didn’t see much life in our normal spot so we moved and found some shrimp but not the usual limit or more per pot that we have been pulling in past years.

[Rob]

Nice!

[PsoasHunter]

Awesome, great pictures and thanks for sharing!  It gives us something to aspire to, because we were far from that professional and relaxed lol.

We learned a lot, harvested some shrimp, and had a great time overall with a few mishaps along the way.

First off, thank god for the strong recommendations on the canal, with the wind we had and the low sidewalls of the boat, we were taking on water all day.  Here's the rundown for those interested.

Got to Potlach boat launch at 5:55, 3rd boat in line, with beautiful weather.  Things were starting out great!  Got onto the water smoothly and started scoping shrimp spots.  We found a great shelf that looked promising at it was still 7:30 am. 

With low tide at 9 AM, we motored further north to Lilliwuap and harvested 3 excellent limits of oysters.  We had our first water in the boat here, as waves were crashing over the transom as I was getting into and out of the boat to get on/off the oyster beach.  My friend has owned this boat for about 3 weeks, taken it on lakes, and doesn't have a bilge pump.  As we're motoring away from the beach, back into the wind, we took some waves over the bow.  Not great at this point.  He's trying to explain to me how to reach under the motor to pull a plug to drain the bilge while were under way, and I "just have to put it back in before we stop".  Not happening.  But I got really good at bailing water with my wader boot and we were back in business. 

[PsoasHunter]

We motored back to our shelf and found we must have a good eye for shrimp spots, because it was now loaded with other boats ready to drop their pots.  We got our pots ready, and I started uncoiling line.  This was brand new line, looking neatly wound from cabelas.  As I start to unwind it, I discover it's not so neatly wound, and my end I was unwinding dove deep into the thick of the coil.  Rookie mistake, prep your lines before you go!  We spent 30 minutes trying to unwind  2 sets of 400 feet of rats nest, in the small bow, while taking water over bow and transom, and taking breaks to bail.  All in front of the many veteran boats.  at 8:55 we finally gave in and motored to a nearby marina to take the problem ashore.  We quickly found many sympathetic kind folks who helped us unwind and re-spool our rope. 

After being the first on the water, we were the last with pots in, at the early time of 10:09 am, when many folks were coming out to pull their first soaks.  Haha, we were just happy we actually got pots in the water at this point.  We were also figuring out, after a few hours, how to drive the boat more effectively without taking on water over our very low boat, which was the biggest knowledge gained of the day.

In our excitement to see how we did and our impatience to stop getting thrashed in the wind, we pulled our pots after 45 min.  I bought pots that are a little harder for shrimp to get into, because they're also much harder to get out of for the shrimp and we were to be pulling by hand.  The bait suggestions worked, we had shrimp in our pots, and the day was looking to be much more of a success.  Also, pulling by hand didn't prove to be the challenge I expected and was a nice workout.  (Though my perspective may have been skewed by earlier trials in the day at this point)

[PsoasHunter]

All in all, it was a great day.  We ended up doing 2 soaks with 2 pots, and I'm glad we didn't bring 4 pots with the amount of difficulty we had getting started.  That was just the right amount to manage for this first trip.  We came away with 103 shrimp for 3 people, we got 3 limits of oysters, we learned a lot, and have some great memories and the drive to come out again with better preparation.  I'm sure there were some folks out there enjoying our spectacle at times, but we also took solace in the fact that a lot of other people were complaining about the wind too and the troubles it was giving them, and everyone we talked to was kind and helpful.

I appreciate all the advice given here, it was spot on and crucial in our day being a success.  It's what I appreciate about this community and I hope I can add more knowledge back in the future.  Pics to follow.

[PsoasHunter]

Beautiful morning.

[PsoasHunter]

Shrimp on!

[blackpowderhunter]

glad you had fun, were safe, and got some shrimp, but holy s get a bilge pump in that thing and i am VERY glad you didnt try to shrimp A7 in that with the weather.
at the very least get a hand bilge for your buddy for taking you out. 
the amount of coast guard calls i heard on the VHF for boats taking on water with an inoperable bilge pump on the opener in A7 was scary.
you'll  learn more everytime you go, and once you get a good routine it becomes a lot easier and more fun.