High Tide: 11:17 PM (7.8 ft) We left the Claude M. Blanchard, Jr. Landing, (aka Paradise Island Landing) on the Wando River at 3:30 PM. There were more than twice the normal number of fishing boats here because of the new moon, the associated astronomical low tides, and the redfish. Numerous boats were being taken out at the landing, but due to the new moon the tide was lower than many expected. I’ve never seen people struggle so much to take out boats in what was 12 – 18 inches of water. The end of the boat ramp was above the water line, so the boaters were backing their trailers down off the sides of the ramp. Trailers and vehicles were getting stuck in the pluff mud around the ramp. Of course, in our kayaks we were able to throw the boats in and paddle off with no trouble.
There was a strong head wind and it created a challenge getting down river. We looked forward to returning with a tail wind on the return trip. The baitfishes were jumping all around us in the shallows as we skirted the edge of the river. There were many fishermen on the water and they were having a great day catching large Redfish. One boat also reported catching a few Sea Trout. The local DNR officer said the reds love to be caught in the low tide. We saw the local DNR officer towing 2 kayaks up river because they were kayak fishing without PFDs, whistles, or even fishing licenses. We thought that this would be an easy, if not expense, way to get a tow back up river if we got into trouble.
We arrived at Cat Island at around 5:30. This was later than we had hoped, but with the head wind and the changing of the tides near the end of our trip this rate wasn’t too bad. There were about a dozen boats, jet skis, etc on the beach at Cat Island when we arrived. Some even had tents pitched above the tree line. We were a bit disappointed at the party going on at the site we had worked so hard to get to, but we still hit the beach to check out the fossil scene.
We went to the far end of the beach on Cat Island (towards Hwy 41) and began our search. We quickly started finding shark teeth, fish vertebrae, and pieces of stingray grinding plates. With only about 30 minutes to search the beach, we each found a handful of fossils. Of course, Deanna found twice as many as I did with some outstanding micro teeth. We had to tear ourselves away to make the trip back to the landing before darkness set in.
We left Cat Island at 6:30 PM and started back to the landing. The rising tide made the trip back much easier. The shifting winds sometimes came around to the side and front of us. Along the way we saw a boat near a dock on the East bank with a large Redfish they just caught. They were taking pictures of the angler and his fish from every possible angle.
We arrived back at the landing around 8:00 PM. The sunset was phenomenal and we still had plenty of light to get the gear packed up and the kayaks loaded before the mosquitoes started biting. All in all it was a great day out on the water and we had successfully scouted out Cat Island. In the future, we will leave a little earlier to let the ebbing tide help us get down river a little better. We will avoid extreme winds whenever possible and spend more time on Cat Island fossil hunting.
No comments:
Post a Comment