A Sad Day

With the weather forecast temps. only being 35-38 degrees for the next week and knowing it is not going to get much warmer any time soon I decided to clean up the boat and put it away for the winter. All of the launching docks have been pulled out at the places that I fish, so we will have to wait until spring. This is a real bummer. Might be able to do a little shore fishing if we are lucky.

That's why I like to take lots of videos of my boating and fishing outings.

On those cold, lousy winter days, it's nice to watch one of the videos and think back "yeah, boy, that sure was a good day. Can't wait for next year!" :mrgreen:

i know what ya mean...This is the first summer I got to use my boat...it was a real bummer putting mine away for the winter. I am looking forward to doing some mods this winter, plus a new paint job.

I feel a little sorry for you guys, BUT I'm going out past the breakwater next week then clam digging the following week! :roll:

wow when you live on the west coast, we tend to forget about the "storing away for the winter".
dino

My boat is getting painted. one month away from it is killing me. cant imagin putting her away all winter. going fishing tomorrow on my buddys boat though! until i get mine done.

Well, I normally keep a boat docked throughout the winter. We get some cold days here in SC, and some nights as low as 15 degrees, but we also have enough warm days in the winter to make up for that. The inshore fishing is lousy here from about the end of December to the beginning of April. But there's still plenty of oystering and clamming to do.

In fact, I'm going out this morning to go commercial oyster harvesting, as the other harvesters can't keep the restaurant caught up, they served 45 bushels last night. Tides are really crappy, it's not making low tides, they're about 2 feet above normal, and that means oystering Copahee Sound-style....that's where you have a helper who sits in the boat, culling and bagging, while one person is out of the boat, reaching into the water and pulling up clusters and tossing them into the boat. Beats having to bog for them in the drains, I would much rather go in there with a foot or two of water covering the beds and do it this way, instead of bogging 200 yards up a drain with waist-deep mud.

PSG,

Where you at in SC?

I'm on the northeast coast of SC, about 1/2 hour north of Winyah Bay.

We went out yesterday, and with my girlfriend culling and me getting oysters, we managed to get 15 bushels.

Then we hit it again this morning, started out with the tide well above 1/2 tide, using a rake to grab clusters in those back drains (man, that's SO much easier than getting out of the boat and putting my arms in cold water) So, we got about 5 bushels before the tide ever got down, then another 10 from a nice oyster bed we found in a back creek that hasn't been worked in several years.

15 yesterday, and 15 today. Probably go again tomorrow and get another 15, and between those 45 bushels, and what the other harvesters have gotten over the last few days, that should get the restaurant caught up. Thanksgiving weekend is always big for the oyster roast. When we did the filming with Larry the Cable Guy 2 years ago, it was the week before Thanksgiving, and the restaurant was busy then!

So you're between Myrtle Beach and Georgetown. I spent a lot of time in my late teens at my Uncle's place in Morehead City, NC. Don't get many fresh oysters here, unless you're lucky. Wish you were closer, I'd hit your restaurant and get a dozen on the half shell for myself.

Morehead City is nice, as is Beaufort, NC. So is the NC OBX, I love that whole area.

But you're right, there's not much oystering there, because there isn't much tide, not like we have here in SC. Most oystering there is sub-tidal, and done with tongs.

Anyhow, if you're ever up this way anytime from October to May and want good local oysters, check out Nance's restaurant. Out of all the restaurants in Murrells Inlet, Nance's probably the best view. You can actually see the harvesters working on the flats behind the restaurant, and watch them bring in their day's catch to the hill. Been that way since 1966. I remember eating oysters there when I was little, long before I moved to the area and actually started as a commercial harvester.

Or, if you want to actually get your hands dirty, let me know, I can take you out to one of our commercial shellfish leases and we can grab a handful of nice singles,bring them back to the hill, and wash 'em up in my redneck oyster washer! We'll even swing by the creek where I took Larry the Cable Guy and got him bogged up to his chest in pluff mud, we've got a sign marking it as the official film site of that show. 8)