# Shrimp for bait?



## Bigjoe (Aug 13, 2011)

When you use Shrimp for bait, how do you do it? Do you tie it in a spawn sac netting or just hook it on naked? They seem to fly off the hook on me whenever I cast.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

I run the hook through the tail part and 'pierce' the line through the tail then bury the hook in the bottom of the shrimp. So the curve on the hook is on the curve of the bottom of the shrimp. Gotta hook it through the tougher parts of the shrimp. It tears through the soft flesh. Another option is to cure them and make them tougher. 


Just try to make the shrimp look like its swimming not a random chunk of meat floating through the water 


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I pinch the end of the tail off then put the hook in the tail and come out the bottom then turn the hook over and go up as far as the hook will reach then bury the hook back in the bottom of the shrimp. a charter captain down in the keys had us hook them this way. and it works pretty good. im pretty much doing the same thing that tehsavage is doing but I pinch off the back fin on the shrimp then lace about 1/2" on the hook before coming out the bottom and turning the hook over then pull the hook up and bury it in the bottom.
sherman


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

Yeah that's what I do Sherman your just better at explaining it. 


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## Siskiefu (Mar 20, 2012)

Get the cooked shrimp  works just as good, firm, and tastes good too! 


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## wertply616 (Jan 19, 2014)

Shrimp for bait lol that's some expensive bait a lot of times giant eagle will sell you the old ones really cheap that's normally how I buy it


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Sometimes you need to watch- if your shrimp is spinning in the current, it can cause problems with line twist.


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## Stealie72 (Sep 4, 2013)

On the expense issue, if you have an asian supermarket near you, you can find a frozen tray of about a pound of raw head-on shrimp in the 30-40/lb size for under $5.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

Marcs frozen dept. 5$ per tray. 


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## wertply616 (Jan 19, 2014)

When I got them at giant eagle the older ones I payed like 175-2 a pound that's not that bad pretty cheap I think


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## Siskiefu (Mar 20, 2012)

ALDI's I think has the cooked shrimp at $5/lb


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

I buy raw shrimp. I then grind it up as fine as I can and mix it in with a small amount of petroleum jelly. Essentially I am making my own pro cure or sent for my lures. Thus far I have found this works better for steelhead than walleye, but I'm still experimenting....much to the chagrin of my wife!

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## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

So whole shrimp with the legs and head and everything to make this work? or the prepared cooked cocktail shrimp??


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

They use whole sand shrimp in the pacific tribs but I've never heard anyone using them here. Just regular cocktail shrimp work fine 


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## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

I just wondered, was thinking when has a steel around here ever seen a live shrimp? lol Its more of a scent thing right?


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## Bigjoe (Aug 13, 2011)

Cool, THANKS guys!! Hope to get out next weekend.


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## steelhead sniper 860 (Nov 6, 2013)

actually shrimp is a very cheap and affordable bait compared to what others use such as worms, wax worms, spawn, shiners. For a big bag of salad shrimp, I get 120-150 pieces which I break in half and use 2 different times for $4.99. 
Not too bad actually way cheaper then night crawlers and waxies.

When I hook the shrimp I do it a couple different ways for different looks in the water. One way I hook it through the tail and run the hook into the thicker part of the meet in the middle of the shrimp as described by others but the key is I make sure to kind of "shred" or minse the end of the meat a little to give it a flaky look. Another way is Ill split the shrimp into 2 pieces in the center, Using the thicker part of the shrimp near the head as more of a round piece like a spawn sack looks, again using my fingers to break the flakes in the shrimp open to give it some texture. Then Ill use the tail the skinny smaller piece and try to present it more as a shiner or wax worm look wheres its long and skinny. once again shredding the end or tip to give it some flake/fiber to it.

Also when casting I dont usually take a full over the head cast because with a noodle rod you dont have to use a lot of force to cast your rig far. a lot of times Ill keep my rig in front of me and do a side pitch cast making sure my bait lands in the water downstream of my bobber so the bait pushes through the hole before rest of my rig, Also by mending my line and slowing my drift for a couple seconds here and there throughout the presentation to give a hungry fish potentially a second or moment longer to take my offering (which has helped my drift/ floating presentation a lot especially in cold water where fish are sluggish)

Hope this helps!


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

racetech said:


> I just wondered, was thinking when has a steel around here ever seen a live shrimp? lol Its more of a scent thing right?



Probably scent and natural instinct


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

How would you guys rank shrimp compared to the traditional baits? I have only used it for stocked trout and it works well (but what doesn't for stockers)


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## Siskiefu (Mar 20, 2012)

KTkiff said:


> How would you guys rank shrimp compared to the traditional baits? I have only used it for stocked trout and it works well (but what doesn't for stockers)


I mean technically steelhead are stocked trout as well 

If someone can correct if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure any organic matter that plops in front of a steelhead it will go and attempt to eat it (ie carcasses).


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## chrism1367 (Aug 11, 2012)

I catch catfish very well on shrimp, channels of course. Biggest I caught was on shrimp

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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Rainbow trout are like carp-they will eat just about anything-doesn't have to be organic. We used to catch them on cigarette filters in WVa stocked streams. You put the hook thru the middle, tear off half the paper covering, fuzz up the end and fish it like a tube jig. Didn't seem to matter if the filter was new or used. The cigarette "smell" actually seemed to add to the catch rate. This was discovered by examining the stomach contents and finding filters inside. I've actually seen flies on internet sites tied to mimic cig. filters.y


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## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

Hit a small trib today and used shrimp. My boy hooked a giant with it, fought it for prob 40 seconds, dads knot didnt hold up Thought i was gonna get my 8 year old his first steel, it looked to be a nice 28+ and fairly fresh chrome color. After tying on a new hook and chunk of shrimp he proceded to catch a 6" sucker lol


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

If you do a google search on shrimp for steelhead bait it will bring up some interesting reads. I read about people using cooked shrimp , raw shrimp , shrimp with egg cure , shrimp with food coloring , one page I say talked about cutting it up into egg size chunks then coloring it with food coloring or egg cure and tying it into sacs like spawn. They use a lot of different or seemingly unusual stuff out on the west coast that hardly anybody uses here.


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## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

All i did was take a piece of cocktail shrimp, tore off the big end and had a piece about the size of a quarter and hooked it. It didnt take long for that steel to take it. And that was just fishing Cowles Creek in downtown Geneva where there isnt a ton of fish to begin with lol It was pretty stained to, im sure that helps the fish probably took it on smell alone.


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