Harvesting Oysters In The Lowcountry: From Marsh To Table

February 10, 2025
Clay Lucas

Sometimes the fish just aren’t biting. On a recent day on the water this winter in the South Carolina lowcountry, we found ourselves saddled with abnormally cold water temps after a freak blizzard battered the coast in the days prior to our arrival. Snow and ice still sat in shaded corners of the creeks, and howling cold winds swept across the marsh. Despite covering miles upon miles of water, from creeks to river mouths to flats, we hadn’t even laid eyes on a minnow, much less a prized Redfish we were chasing after, fly rods in hand. Unlucky conditions, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. When you are kayak fishing the salt marsh though – you don’t always have to come away empty handed. While the fish may have been scarce, there were no shortage of oyster beds up the tidal creeks we were fishing – and any day you can harvest wild food from the source, come home, and put dinner on the table, is a good day to me.

Anybody that knows me knows that I can put away some oysters. And while fancy singles on the half shell from a restaurant are delicious, absolutely nothing beats harvesting your own oysters, pluff mud and all. They might take a little work and a bit of getting dirty, but the best oysters I have ever had have been the ugly mismatched clusters I pulled out of the South Carolina marsh. Raw or roasted, spending an evening picking apart a table full of plump local oysters with a couple friends and some cold drinks, is pretty tough to call getting skunked!

If you’re interested in harvesting some oysters of your own, you’ll want to first check your local rules and regulations. For South Carolina all you need is your saltwater fishing license, and knowledge of the state shellfish grounds, which are laid out easily for you in this handy interactive map from SCDNR

How To Harvest Raw Oysters

Harvesting from the allowed areas ensures an appropriate water quality for consumption and prevents overharvesting to keep the oyster population healthy. Once you are sure you are in a legal zone, you’ll just want to wait until the tide is getting low and the oyster beds are exposed. Your kayak is an excellent tool for navigating the narrow, shallow creeks and beds at low tide. A good pair of thick soled boots goes a long way for hopping out of your boat onto the razor-sharp beds. Once you’ve found an oyster bed, try and pick out the larger oysters and leave the smaller ones behind to grow bigger. A pair of gloves and an oyster knife or flathead screwdriver are helpful for breaking apart the hearty clusters of shells. A lot of folks will bring a 5-gallon bucket or milk crate to put their catch in. A cardboard box plus the rear tankwell on my Lure 13.5 made for a perfect place to toss a few dozen oysters for the paddle back to the boat ramp.

How To Do An Oyster Roast

Preparing your oysters to eat is fantastically simple – once you get home, go ahead and give them a good freshwater rinse and get rid of excess pluff mud – then you are pretty much ready to go! I’m a big fan of doing a proper oyster roast, given the time. Get a good fire going, and while you wait for it to develop some coals, go ahead and shuck and eat a few oysters raw. I always have to do at least a few this way! A little lemon wedge and a dab of Crystals hot sauce is all the dressing I need, though I savor eating them with nothing as well – they taste like the marsh in the best kind of way. Once the coals are good and hot, place a thick sheet of metal on some cinderblocks over the fire, then toss the oysters on. Cover with a damp piece of burlap, that will help hold in the moisture. Once your oyster shells start to peek open, they should be just about perfect. Shovel them onto an outdoor table and you’re ready to feast!

Recycle Your Empty Oyster Shells

As you shuck your oysters, toss your empty shells into a bucket and save them for recycling. Oyster shells are a crucial part of the marsh ecosystem and provide necessary structure for the beds to replenish and regrow – the state of South Carolina even has a program to return oyster shells to the marsh. Click this link for more details, and to find your local Oyster Shell Recycling Center.

I’m not giving up on chasing that trophy redfish on the fly – but you might catch me calling it a day on fishing a little early so I have time to snag a few oysters on the way back.

Clay