By Capt Robert Moore
Water LIFE Staff
Last week, at one of the local boat
ramps with a fishing pier near-by, a very
courteous gentleman came up to me and
asked if he could have any live bait I had
left over from my trip. I replied “sure” and
dipped my bait net into my live well and
offered him the last couple of dozen shrimp
I had left. He quickly replied “Oh no, I
meant live bait, as in shiners!”
He began to explain that he had run out
of the live bait (shiners) that the previous
boater had given him and he needed more
so he could continue to fish. I asked him
what he was catching on the shiners and he
replied “nothing lately, but last month we
caught almost everything we wanted on
shiners.” I explained to him all I had was
the shrimp and he half heartily took them.
By the time I returned with my truck and
trailer to load my boat I noticed the same
man holding a nice redfish he caught on the
shrimp I had given him.
This story pretty much repeats itself
everyday. Not just at this particular boat
ramp and pier, but among lots of anglers
throughout the southwest Florida area.
Fishing with baits such as whitebait,
greenbacks, pinfish, etc., has pretty much
become a way of fishing for most of us,
including myself. The one exception for
me is that I stow away my cast nets during
the winter months. With a few different
tactics, I can usually catch more fish
inshore during the colder months using
live shrimp than live shiners.
The number one reason for this is simple.
Our fish are used to warm water. They
get 8 months of it throughout the year.
Then, the water temperature falls from the
repeated cold fronts we get during the winter
months. This drop in water temperature
begins to slow the metabolism of most
inshore species like redfish, snook and
even trout. Chasing down frisky live bait
requires too much energy. So they begin to
eat things like crabs and shrimp that
require very little effort to catch and digest.
My change in tactics are also very simple.
I fish slow and on the bottom, almost
the exact opposite of when I am fishing
live bait such as shiners.
My favorite method of getting a shrimp
on the bottom is with the use of a jig head.
I simply tear the tail off the shrimp and
then thread it backwards onto the jig head.
The head of the shrimp is facing the opposite
direction of the head on the jig.
Most times I prefer a ¼ ounce jig head.
I find that a ¼ ounce works well in most
conditions and at depths up to 6 feet. If you
are fishing deeper, then you need to adjust
the weight accordingly.
My retrieve is simple – bounce it very
slow a few inches off the bottom. Very
slow, to me, is defined as every 20 seconds
or so. Most of my strikes occur while the
bait is sitting on the bottom.
This is just one of many techniques that
work well while fishing with shrimp.
The best technique is the one that works
for you, so try giving your cast-net a break
and make a stop by your local bait shop.
You might just be surprised how successful
you will be with just plain ol’ live
shrimp.
Tight Lines –
Capt. Robert Moore can be reached to
book a trip or for fishing information at:
at www.captrobertmoore.com