Shrimp

B

Billy

New member
Hey all (Alaskans), Fish and Game says the Shrimp permits are in. They're free and the season opens April 15th, same as last year. I'll be heading in tomorrow. This season can't open up soon enough for me, I'm almost out of last years.
 
Maybe I should get into this? :smilep Last year we sure enjoyed Sundogs shrimpin efforts! Man what a feast! :P ... spoze I got to go get all the perifanilia now... :|
 
Hmmmm...never tried shrimping...don't even know if there are any around here. I'll have to talk to some of the folks here. We sure do love crabbing, though. What kind of gear do you use for shrimp...something like a crab pot with finer mesh?
 
416rigby":qc8kd0jn said:
Hmmmm...never tried shrimping...don't even know if there are any around here. I'll have to talk to some of the folks here. We sure do love crabbing, though. What kind of gear do you use for shrimp...something like a crab pot with finer mesh?
Click to expand...

Sort-of - The typical gear here in the Puget Sound is a trap about the same size as a crab trap - typically about 3' x 2' x 1' . The usual design has mesh "funnels" into which the shrimp swim. In the center is a mesh tube with a trap door on the top. The most frequent bait used here is seafood flavored cat food ("Puss 'n boots Fisherman's platter - people swear up and down this is the best and the of the outdoor stores stock it by the case in shrimp season). You peel the labels off the cans, punch a bunch of holes in them and drop them into the center tube. For spot prawns (THE BEST), the traps are typically dropped 150-250' deep onto sandy bottoms. With that much line out, you need to weight the pots well to keep them in place in strong currents. With a decent fish finder, you can often spot the shrimps - I see them as fuzzy balls near the bottom that change shape on the finder rapidly. Drop the pots, let them soak for 30-60 mins an pull them up. If no shrimp, try a different spot. If good drop 'em down for another hour or so. I don't know what the Alaska regs are but there is a size limit on the mesh in the Puget sound - must least 7/8" ( I think) - check locally before buying crab pots.
 
Here you go on the best shrimping in Washington State..cut and paste from wdfw.wa.gov. We get four half days, 80 shrimp limit per person.


HOOD CANAL SHRIMP SEASON:

The 2005 season will be on May 7, 11, 14, and 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Additional dates and times will be announced if quota is not taken.
 
Not sure if shrimpin is open down Kodiak way, but then there isn't any crabbing again this year up here. Like the man said, check with fish and game.
4 Half days! Wow. Our season opens April 15th and closes September 15th, no limit. There is a 5 pot restriction and a net size but thats not bad at all. We'll have to be careful to protect this resource or we'll be doing the same.
 
Way different method down in the SE/Alabama waters... We drag nets with "spreader boards" on the front as to keep the large "funnel" shaped back open. Then, on the end of the "funnel" shape, there is a catch bag, which is nothing more than an inverted funnel about 4-5 feet long and a bottom circumference of about 4 feet... sort of like a tot sack. After about a 30 minute "drag" at idle speed, you "thrust" forward at about 6-8 mph as to force any and everything that is in the "funnel" into the "bag".. Then you pull in the nets, dump the contents into a "catch box"... watch you toes for those crabs that jump out and go to work in the floor of the boat... kull everything that is not eatable....or collectable... and start the drill over. Now for sure next year I need to work my way back up to the NW corner and do some deep water shrimping. Best of luck on the season!
Byrdman in Bama
 
On the east coast of Florida just north of the space center we catch shrimp at night using lights and scoop them up in dipnets. The limit here is 5 gallons per boat.

A little further north around Daytona they catch shrimp by cast netting them in the daytime.

These spots are only about 20 miles apart but require completely different tactics and technique.

We even have our own club of shrimpers called the internet shrimpers and anglers association. http://www.isaa.cc
 
when i was in the marines in north carolina we would use cast nets in the bay behind the barracks or the i. c. w. on the back of the base. shrimp boiled in beer and water on the deck of the barracks. it was a lot of fun. one sargent threw his net out and it landed on the back of a alligator that we had not seen. the gator starts to roll up in the net and the sargent goes in the water with the net, never put your hand in the loop on the end of the line. It took three of us to hold him and cut the line. That gator was headed for deep water. end of shrimping that night.
 
Shrimped both coasts! Like these 8 or 9 to the pound a little better and shrimp season starts soooooon. I'm already checking my pots, mixing bait -- and salivating.

Dusty
 
I do quite a bit of shrimping in Puget Sound. We target Spots mostly, and use the same "pot" technique up in SE Alaska as well.

You might look at this puller...

http://www.blueoceantackle.com/pot_haulers.htm

It's cool because it attaches right to a downrigger mount.

They sell it here... (although you won't find it on their website)

http://outdooremporium.net

The aforementioned "trawl" technique works okay on the coonstripes, but not too well for the spots.
 
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