Jekyll Island and Seining

[WalkinDead]

Update

Wife and I went yesterday to test the feasibility of daytime shrimping. Wind ENE 20+, St. Andrews was sheltered, so no waves to deal with, water temp 79 degrees, bright sunny day. Shrimp were good average size, but it took from 10am to 6pm to fill our 50qt cooler. Fished during slack low tide. Still a bit early, water temp needs to drop some more for good daylight shrimping. No mullet running the beach, so the dolphins left us alone. We were the only net on the beach, and no one fishing to limit our seining.
As long as the wind is from a northerly direction, shrimping at St. Andrews is safe. The tides are higher than normal due to the storm surge, so you will have to wait approximately 1.5-2 hours after the posted high tide to begin, otherwise there is no available beach to land your net. The storms this year have washed a great deal of sand off the beach and the time available for shrimping is shorter due to that, so plan accordingly. There is still some detritus on the bottom in places and you will have to pick your shrimp out of that at times.
Night shrimping still remains the best for getting it done in a short amount of time. Should be able to fill a 50qt cooler in 2-3 hours at night depending on the tide level when you start and the number of nets on the beach.

 

[BigDave2000]

I called Lindsay Auburt at the DNR Brunswick office to get clarity on the regulations. She told me it was 24 quarts of head on shrimp per day. If I'm running a seine with my wife and son, is it still 24 quarts per day?
Eight hours to fill up? That would give the little kids plenty of beach time to play around. Plus the weather is nice for a day on the beach.

 

[61BelAir]

I've never done it, but it sounds to me like it's 24 quarts per license holder / shrimper which would make it 48 total for two people operating the seine. Like 2 fishermen in a boat can have double the individual limit for a species of fish. I hope I'm understanding that correctly.

**AND this turned out to be completely wrong. See the correct information in the post below.**

 

[WalkinDead]

Seining limits

The limit on shrimp for a seine is 29 quarts, heads on. The limit for a cast net is 48 quarts, heads on. If you are using a seine and have a cast net with you, the limit is 48 quarts, heads on. The limit for shrimp with heads off is 29 quarts, per the above rules.
I keep a cast net in my vehicle while seining, just in case they ask. However, I have been checked by DNR many times over the last 10 years and never once have they asked me if I have a cast net with me; even though I had a 50 quart cooler full of shrimp.
In order to actually get a limit of 48 quarts of shrimp, you will need to fill a 60 quart cooler because the water and ice will take up the extra space. I use a 50 quart cooler because it fits nicely on my cart. If I could find a 60 quart cooler that would fit I would use it.
Hope this information is helpful.

 

[BigDave2000]

Thanks for the clarification. Now I have to wait till the kids get home from school and we will be leaving for Jekyll Island.

David

 

[WalkinDead]

Seining and Blue Crabs

For those interested in blue crabs, the wife and I have been catching, and giving to whoever on the beach would take them, 5-7 gals. of blue crabs every trip lately. We put them in a bucket to eliminate catching them over and over as we seine. If you find us on the beach (look for the elderly couple with the home made wooden cart) and ask for them. We would be more than glad to give them to you.

 

[BigDave2000]

I did it all wrong....
Other than doing everything wrong, my crew was less than enthusiastic. I went at the wrong times and wrong part of the beach. So, we have made plans to stay at the same place on the 20-22 Oct. We will try again. I talked to Pops on Saturday, so I will follow directions this next time.

David

 

[WalkinDead]

Seining isn't exactly rocket science, but it helps to observe experienced seiners or at least discuss with them the finer points of seining. If you can manage to go during the week, rather than the weekend, you will have better success.
If you happen to see an elderly couple with a homemade wooden cart, stop by and say hello.
Better luck on your next trip.

 

[GONoob]

What do you do with all that shrimp?! I'm happy with just half a 5gal bucket of shrimp.

 

[WalkinDead]

Save the small ones for bait along with the squid and cuttlefish. Share with friends and family. Put the rest in the freezer to eat till the next season. Helps reduce the grocery bill and they taste good too. We're like Bubba Gump, we like 'em any way you can fix 'em.

 

[BigDave2000]

I'd like to go during the week, but between work, football practice, band practice, and gymnastics, we stay busy during the weekdays....
Maybe I'll duck work one day soon.....
We will be out this weekend, gonna try it again.

David

 

[caughtinarut]

I'd like to go during the week, but between work, football practice, band practice, and gymnastics, we stay busy during the weekdays....
Maybe I'll duck work one day soon.....
We will be out this weekend, gonna try it again.

David

I know the feeling. The good thing is that there will be less people as the water gets cooler but the weekends will always have more. Most of the time people are polite. I know the last time I went on a saturday there were quiet a few seiners but we each took our turn and caught shrimp. Now....some of them were not too happy with some of the shark fishermen that had let their lines drift way down the beach. That is the part that is aggravating. Fish but don't take up the entire beach.

 

[WalkinDead]

Unfortunately, it's a public beach. Most of the fishermen will work with you if you ask politely. The shark fishermen are a different story, since they kayak their baits way out, it's difficult for them to reel in and let you pass. You just have to work around them. This isn't usually too difficult.
Since my wife and I shrimp the entire length of the beach, there is always room somewhere; you may just have to walk a ways to find a long stretch of clear beach. Most of the people fishing don't go that far down the beach.

 

[WalkinDead]

Asian Tiger Shrimp

Sometimes you catch a BIG shrimp.

 

[Quailbriar]

What will be the best time to try to seine on Jekyll tomorrow , Sunday and Monday based on tides? Anybody had any luck this week. Hoping to give it a try this week end if my wife will hold one end of the net! Thanks for any advice!

 

[WalkinDead]

The tides are very high this week due to the full moon. If you are heading to St. Andrews to seine, you wont need to get there until noon. You can seine both the outgoing tide and the incoming tide and into the night until the tide reaches the point you have no room to pull your net onto the beach. The same applies to the north beach also, should you go there; however, there is much less available room to seine on the north beach due to the slope and obstacles in the water.
My wife and I went today for a short time to catch bait for fishing. We got there about an hour before low tide and seined long enough to catch enough bait to fish with. The shrimp were good sized, but not plentiful due to the bright sunlight.
If you begin seining at noon, you should do fairly well as long as you seine the entire length of the beach. If you seine one area over and over you will not catch that many. It's best to seine a new spot each time to maximize your catch. The short time we were there today, we managed to catch a 5 gal bucket of blue crabs along with the bait and shrimp.
Hope you find this information useful.

 

[caughtinarut]

The tides are very high this week due to the full moon. If you are heading to St. Andrews to seine, you wont need to get there until noon. You can seine both the outgoing tide and the incoming tide and into the night until the tide reaches the point you have no room to pull your net onto the beach. The same applies to the north beach also, should you go there; however, there is much less available room to seine on the north beach due to the slope and obstacles in the water.
My wife and I went today for a short time to catch bait for fishing. We got there about an hour before low tide and seined long enough to catch enough bait to fish with. The shrimp were good sized, but not plentiful due to the bright sunlight.
If you begin seining at noon, you should do fairly well as long as you seine the entire length of the beach. If you seine one area over and over you will not catch that many. It's best to seine a new spot each time to maximize your catch. The short time we were there today, we managed to catch a 5 gal bucket of blue crabs along with the bait and shrimp.
Hope you find this information useful.

Were there many people seining when you were there?

 

[Quailbriar]

Walkindead. Thanks for your help. I'll post if we do any good.

 

[WalkinDead]

There were two groups of people fishing and one other seine. The water temperature will keep most at home this time of year. Those with wet suits have an advantage in this respect. Should have mine sometime this week.
The size of the shrimp is much improved and I want to take advantage of that, though the numbers are down somewhat. Still plenty of blue crabs to be had, though. I've been wondering when the mullet will begin showing up, they are typically here by now.

 

[Scallen]

Season and net?

Is the food shrimp season still on? Also, the wife and I have a 50' 5/8" mesh net that we bought for seining bait shrimp. Is that legal for food shrimp? We have our chest waders from trout fishing in the mountains and thought we might give seining a try - mostly for bait actually, as only I eat them.