Shrimp Trawling

The tides were perfect Friday evening for pulling our 26' shrimp trawling net. Yet, we had one minor problem.  Someone had thoughtlessly decided to put a 'car' in the way. The Charleston City Police had just installed a new sonar on their Search and Rescue Boat. As they were launching the boat to try out they're new toy, one of the officers looked down at the screen and saw a CAR, lying upside down ten feet below the surface. Hey ... the sonar works! And, works pretty well! He was not only able to tell that it was a car, but one that was upside down!

So, after 4 hours of waiting to launch, we decided that shrimp trawling was not going to happen. We set our sites for the following morning.

So "bright and early" Saturday morning (actually it was pre-dawn so it wasn't "bright" at all, however,  it was quite "early") AnnahBelle and I set out for a spot offshore of Morris Island. And, we hit shrimp! And we hit jellyfish !!!! Jellyfish slime gets on the lines, the net,  our gloves, and the sorting table. When the stinging starts, your skin turns red, and the burning sets in. Oh fun! To combat this we have white vinegar in a spray bottle for just such occasions. And, we drenched ourselves in vinegar to quell the burn. It worked pretty well. We spell relief ... v-i-n-e-g-a-r!


We slipped up into Shem Creek and sold our catch to the wholesaler. The price  just about covered the fuel expenses. As the season progresses, both the amount of catch, the size of the shrimp, and price should increase. Today the shrimp were 26-30 count, which means it takes 26-30 shrimp to make a pound. We ended our day with a dinner of shrimp we had held back from the wholesaler, along with wings of a nice size stingray that we filleted and sauteed in garlic and butter. Bon Appetit!