Hey Tsubaki
 

I got your replies, thanks for the info. I guess I'm good to go and as far as the route goes I plan on leaving from Ft. Mac public ramp. Pretty much a straight shot.

Oh, I was looking at something else, not a straight shot.
I plan on running out through Hell Gate make a right and on to Odingsell. Is the dock up Wassaw Creek? Any tips or goodies for my route?

Give me a little time to get a few a maps together to show you some hazards.

Here are some old NOAA maps of the location showing the normal bars and stuff.
Coming from Ft McAllister downstream to Hells Gate.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...McAllister.jpg
Hells Gate and the bars at Delegal and Adams Creek.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w.../HellsGate.jpg
This is Little Wassaw/Pine Island, Ossabaw Sound and Adams Creek to Odingsell River.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...PineIsland.jpg
This is the bar at the mouth of Odingsell.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...dinsellBar.jpg

Basically look for the bars coming from Ft McAllister toward Hells Gate. Be EXTRA sure to follow the markers through Hells Gate, it is a huge mud flat with a NARROW channel through it.
Once past Hells Gate, you have a lot of options depending on the weather and or tides.
Option 1 would be to go straight to the R"12" marker (note the sandbar to the north of it) then to the R"10" (note the bar to the south of it) and on to the G"9" and G"7" can (also note the bar South of these two cans). Cut due North from the G"7" to the Southern tip of Wassaw (note the narrow channel and bar at the mouth of the Odingsell River.
Option 2 would be to go to shoot ENE to the channel between the bar at the R"12" marker and the bar that dumps out at Delegal Creek toward Adams Creek. Keeping in deeper water but well away from the shallow water of the bars in Ossabaw Sound and Little Wassaw/Pine Island flats, on to the G"7" can and then Odingsell.
Option 3, if the sound is very rough, take Adams Creek (note the mud flat just before it), then to Odingsell, up to Wassaw Creek.
Once in Wassaw Creek it will be the first dock you come to.

Best thing to do, is plan a day to run each of these routes so you can get familiar with them depending on the situation needed.
Forgot option 4.
You could forego all of these and run straight to Bradley Point down the South Channel, then all the way to the R"4" bouy, then cut to the G"5" and G"7" cans, to Odinsell. IF the waves ain't bad, they usually are.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...adleyPoint.jpg

Better shot of Bradley Point.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...dleyPointa.jpg

One saving grace for this hunt are the tides being near high when you are planning to arrive and leave.
Wednesday it is high at 8:23AM with an 8.4 foot tide and Sunday it will be high at 12:05PM with a 7.8 tide.
So hopefully with this, the sand bars shouldn't be an issue.

I'll try to color some of these routes on the pictures.
And sorry about most of the pictures being crappy, couldn't fit everything needed and get good zoom too, not to mention NOAA wasn't cooperating.

Here's some of the same pictures painted a little.

The usually impossible shot past Bradley point.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...leyPoint-1.jpg
From the marker past Hells Gate and different routes.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ellsGate-1.jpg
3 routes from Hells Gate to the dock.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...neIsland-1.jpg
And the bar at the southend of Wassaw to the dock.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...nsellBar-1.jpg

Good deal! If I can't get there with a GPS and all your pics I guess I don't deserve to go.

Ya'll have fun! Good pics Tsubaki!

bradford, the way the tides are that trip, you could come from the Wilmington to the dock pretty easy, we usually got an extra smoke pole. Just need all the stuff to survive for about a week.

Sounds like a great time, but the ol' Rude needs a stator.

blue, you might wanna hit Adams Creek instead of running the sound the whole way. On Wednesday it's supposed to be 20kt winds from the NE and up to 5 foot seas.
Once in Adams Creek, you will notice PVC poles with NWR signs on them in the edge of the marsh every so often. Keep them to your right as passing other creeks, if you ain't sure just look farther ahead for the next pole. It will be easy to confuse the correct route at high tide.
In case of fog, mouth of Adams Creek 31'52'38.3 x 81'03'22.1

Thanks Benny, one of my boys has H1N1 and we are kinda freaked out,,,,still planned on going and all gear is ready just waiting to see if mother in law is coming to stay and help.

Perfect timing.

Dang, hate to hear that blue. Seems everyone at least knows somebody that has contracted it. Hope everything works out alright.


Well you missed a strange hunt but perfect weather.
Temps low 70's to low 40's, 15mph winds, moonlit nights with no clouds or rain, bugs were tolerable.

The total number of hunters was the second lowest since keeping records, 20. But the success rate was 100%.
The strange part was the harvest ratio. Out of the 20 taken, this is how it broke down.
A 200lb boar hog with 2" cutters (first hog taken in over 30 years)
A 3 point
2 does
And a combination of 16 others that were spikes or button bucks.
The largest deer was 93lbs.
The biologist was dumbfounded and had no answers for the almost identical harvest for each hunter, normally it's a good mix from yearlings to deer weighing near 135lbs (the record is 141lbs).

I ended up with two spikes weighing 88 and 78lbs, missing a doe and seeing 5 others but had no good shot.
Didn't have any pictures worth while, this is all I got.
The camp and meat in the cooler.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...saw1109002.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...saw1109003.jpg
Getting to take a REAL shower after 4 days will be a treat! Those bucket baths get old quick!
Think about the hunt in December, the 10th - 12th.
Even though it's a gun hunt, you can still hunt with the bow.
Hope everybody turns out well at your house!

AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first thing I said to my wife on Thursday morning was "man they have some PERFECT weather!" She listen to me moan and groan all weekend about not going but at least Henry, my youngest, fever has stabilized.

I'm glad you guys had a safe hunt and great weather. Any other hog sign other than the big one killed?

The resident manager has tried for three years to get that sucker, he told me "you don't want to know how many of your tax dollars went toward trying to kill him".
He was telling me that he shot at him using a 20ga with buckshot at 25 yards and apparently missed. The guy that killed him normally leaves a day early, he only gutted him and put him in the cooler. I told Peter (the manager) to give his phone number and have him call once he capes him out and to look for buckshot in the shield. Sure enough there was some there, healed over and no good penetration!
They are very concerned about having a (any) hog population on the island, due to the turtle nests and ground nesting birds. They have enough problems with the coons. Pete is very diligent about killing the hogs on other hammocks within the refuge. I think he said he has dispatched around 35 this year on one of the neighboring hammocks to stop their progress toward the main island.
Because this one has been eating good for so long on stuff other than marsh and snails, he should be edible. Any of the others away from the island shouldn't be fit to eat.
The hog sign I seen on this trip was about 1 1/2 miles from where I figure this guy shot him. Pete does not think there are any more but I find it hard to believe. They are like coyotes, if you see one there is usually at least 5 or 6 more.
Think about the hunt in December, hope the weather is as pleasant as this trip.

Very cool Tsubaki, very cool. Cannot even imagine hunting in such a place with warm weather.
Very cool

willy, one year during this same hunt, it was so hot I had to hunt in shorts, snake boots and the orange safety vest.

Stink probably would have went nekkid..............
well maybe the thong, snake boots and the hunter orange.

I look good in a camo thong, I will fit right in, by the way where the h@ll is Stink Man anyhow

I will be at the gun hunt.

Well this trip was uneventful for us as far as shooting anything. But trying to get there and back alive was a bonus (as usual).
Packed the boat and was ready at 8am on Wednesday, figured I might as well crank the motor to make sure it would run. It would spin over but not fire. After pulling the plugs and drying them off 3 different times, I realized it was oil and not gas keeping them wet. I ended up disconnecting the fuel bubble and draining ALL six carbs that was full of oil. Once I did that, checked the filters and primed it, it cranked up ran fine with the exception of it smoking, letting it clear the cylinders of excess oil.
At 9:30am, off down the road we go. 2 blocks from the house, something didn’t feel right with the trailer, so I stopped to check the wheels. They were contacting the fenders, got TWO broken springs.
Removed the fenders and pulled it back to the house, off to the hardware store for springs and hardware. After replacing them and eating lunch, it’s now 1:45pm and I’m bolting on the last fender, the Civil Defense horns go off all over the county. We now are under a tornado watch, what else can go on today?? By about 4:30pm seems all is clear, figured we would not have enough time to get to the ramp, get to the island, set up camp, etc before dark. Well this might be a sign not to go today, so we leave Thursday morning.
We got to the island at 9:30am set up camp and were off to do our (now) couple of days hunting. If you haven’t been there, it would take too much time to explain all the little stuff that just didn’t mesh. Temps ranged from 35 to 70 degrees with one full day and night of rain and 15 to 20kt winds the whole time. We did at least see a couple of deer each but had no good shot opportunity.
While talking to the resident manager and telling him of our first day’s problems, he let me know it could have been worst. A father and sons group (from Atlanta) almost bought the farm, they had attempted on Wednesday to get to the island, swamped their boat, lost everything except the guns that were in floating cases. I felt better about listening to the signs and not going till Thursday.
Numbers for this hunt was about 50 hunters and about 25 deer taken ranging from a 130lb 9 point (my cousin took with a smoke pole), a 122lb 11 point and ranging on down to some near 25lbs.
We left the island about 10:30am Sunday to the welcome of 70 degrees and fog with a visibility of about 100 feet. Seemed to take forever to get through the sound and up the intracoastal where at one point we met a couple of snowbirds heading south. The 40 foot or so boat was throwing about a 3 foot wake (which was no problem) but the yankeejackassSOB behind him in his 30 foot or so boat was throwing a 6 foot wake, which we could not see till we were on top of it. Water washed over the bow, up the windshield, up and over us, gee thanks asswipe, we haven’t gotten wet the whole trip.
Guess it could have been worst; at least we did arrive and return without any REAL problems. Sorry about no pictures except the springs and camp. Just had too many distractions this trip.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...i3/1209003.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...i3/1209002.jpg

That's how it goes! First your money then your close,,,,,I guess it wasn't in the cards for me this year because my youngest, Henry, got fever and snot and so I unpacked again......

Glad to hear you made it back safe. Try again in 2010!

What kinda boat was the family of boys from Atlanta in?

I'm trying to find some mention in the news, but can't.
Hearsay; was in a 15' boat and sank in Green Island Sound.
I believe the resident manager was notified by a local charter captain who did call them by name.
The first year I met them, their trip was also epic. It rained all the way from Atlanta, had two blowouts on the trailer and ran out of propane half way through the hunt. We had plenty and donated a couple of bottles.

Excellent report as always Tsubaki.

Glad nobody drowned! Thank God they had guns!

Your springs look better than mine! LOL! Probabaly should think about changing them out.