Lady Jane Shrimp Excursion

Maybe it was because of the movie Forrest Gump, but I’ve always wanted to ride on a shrimp boat and see how it works. This experience totally fulfilled that goal and exceeded my expectations! The crew was friendly and the young man who led the tour was so knowledgeable. It’s totally worth your time and money. Good for adult groups, couples and families.

This is one of the best adventures I’ve ever been on and I would do it again and again.
Lady Jane is a United States Coast Guard certified 49 passenger steel shrimping vessel retired after years of loyal service to the shrimping industry. She has been painstakingly refurbished for cruising pleasure and is the only shrimp vessel on the entire east coast that has been certified by the USCG to carry 49 passengers offshore 20nm. For $ 40 (worth every penny), you get out on the water while the crew trawls the water. They do this twice, pulling up all kinds of sea life, and take the time to explain everything and passengers are encouraged to touch, ask questions and hold the animals. We set sail from the dock in Brunswick and soon were winding our ways through the inland waters of St. Simons Sound. The marshy surroundings seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun, while a line of seagulls trailed behind us awaiting their dinner.
Captain Larry E. Credle is operator/​owner of Credle’s Adventures LLC «The Lady Jane,» and president of Coastal Marine Consultants, a company that provides expert consults for marine related incidents. He is a marine surveyor and holds memberships in a number of professional societies. The title of Captain comes from holding a U.S.G.C Master’s Rating. Captain Larry has served in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary for many years, holds a number of specialized qualifications and is an instructor. He comes from a family with a rich heritage on the water. The first time Larry was called Captain, he was running a commercial fishing vessel in the family business. He has been active in building and repairing boats from 11 foot fiberglass dingies to hand laid 70 foot vessels. A lifetime of working on the water has prepared him for his current position as owner and master of the Lady Jane.
Our guide — Cliff — was not only incredibly knowledgeable, but has been sailing these waters with his dad — the Captain — since he was nine years old. Talking to him was the closest I might ever come to meeting a marine biologist. A walking marine encyclopedia, doing the work of his father, and his father’s father.
After trawling the water for about 15 minutes, Capt. Larry instructed him to pull it up. Shrimping nets are outfitted with wooden tongues that help keep them open underwater as they dredge the ocean floor. The Lady Jane runs a single net, however commercial shrimp boats are able to run multiple nets at one time by using giant booms which extend from the sides of the vessel and keeps them from becoming tangled underwater. Fish, sharks, sting rays, jelly fish… so many awesome things came out of that net!
Cliff took the time to explain each different kind of fish and interesting things about each of them. Like, if you rub the belly of the blue crab it falls asleep. With a quick tap, it wakes right back up. He told us when shrimp sense danger (using that really long hair in the front) the curl up and shoot back
While we were learning about our catch, John Tyre, USCG Licensed 100 ton Master, was cooking up some shrimp for us to eat. He grew up aboard his fathers shrimp boat, the late Benny Tyre, a well known commercial fisherman. John learned from his dad the in’s and out’s of commercial fishing. He is also a firefighter.