But, you can save a little money and have fun trying to cast net your own!
Shrimp are delicious versatile seafood that can be prepared in endless ways. Whether grilled sautéed, baked or boiled, shrimp make for a tasty meal. While buying shrimp at the grocery store is easy, catching your own can be much more rewarding.
Freshly caught shrimp have an unbeatable sweet and bruity flavor. Plus, shrimping is a fun outdoor activity that gets you on the water. In this complete guide, I’ll cover everything a beginner needs to know about how to catch shrimp.
Getting Started with Recreational Shrimping
Recreational shrimping allows fishing enthusiasts to catch shrimp for personal use rather than commercial sale. It’s a popular activity along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern coastal states where shrimp thrive.
Before heading out, make sure to check your state’s regulations. You’ll likely need a fishing license plus any required gear permits. Regulations help manage shrimp populations, so be sure to follow size and catch limits
The shrimping season typically runs April to December depending on location. Summer and early fall are prime times to catch shrimp as they grow to maturity.
Where to Go Shrimping
The best shrimping spots are along coasts and estuaries where rivers meet the ocean. Shrimp thrive in shallow, brackish waters with sandy or muddy bottoms.
Popular shrimping destinations include:
- The Gulf Coast (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida)
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
Local bait shops and fishing forums are great resources for finding productive shrimping locations. If possible, go with an experienced shrimper your first few times out.
Best Time to Catch Shrimp
Early morning and evening are ideal shrimping times, especially on an outgoing tide. Shrimp become more active and feed along shallow edges and flats during lower tides.
Night shrimping under lights is also productive. The lights attract shrimp to the surface where they can be easily scooped up in nets.
Avoid shrimping mid-day when the sun is high. Shrimp tend to move into deeper waters making them harder to catch.
Shrimping Methods and Gear
There are various methods and gear for catching shrimp including:
Cast Nets
Circular weighted nets that are thrown over shallow areas. Effective for catching shrimp that have congregated. Use nets with 1⁄4 inch mesh. Takes practice to master tossing technique.
Dip Nets
A net attached to a long pole for scooping shrimp from the surface. Great for kids and accessing tight areas.
Seine Nets
Rectangular nets weighted on bottom and floated on top. Dragged through shallow waters to capture shrimp. Cover more area than cast nets.
Traps
Wire boxes baited to lure shrimp inside. Let soak on bottom then pull up trap. Check regulations in your state.
Lights
Underwater green lights used to attract shrimp at night near nets or traps.
Accessories
Bait, buckets, gloves, boats/kayaks, etc. Make sure to have required safety gear if boating.
Baiting and Catching Shrimp
Using bait brings shrimp within range of your nets and traps. Good bait includes fish heads, chicken necks, or cat food.
When cast netting, look for swirls on the surface indicating feeding shrimp. Toss your net beyond the swirls and pull it back quickly before the shrimp can escape. It takes practice to get your timing and technique down.
With seine nets, drag the net from your boat or by hand through areas shrimp frequent. Pull the net ends together to trap your catch.
For traps, drop them in promising spots in early morning. Let soak on bottom for several hours then slowly pull up to keep shrimp inside. Re-bait and drop again.
Check traps and cast nets frequently as shrimp can die quickly out of water in warm temperatures. Discard any dead or undersized shrimp.
Handling Your Catch
Once you’ve caught your shrimp, here are some tips for handling them:
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Use a net to transfer shrimp from traps/nets into ice filled coolers. Keeping shrimp cool helps preserve freshness.
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Only keep lively shrimp that are moving. Discard any dead or lethargic ones.
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Size matters! Throw back any undersized juveniles to help the population. Check regulations.
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Don’t keep more than you’ll use. Shrimp degrade quickly, so only keep what you can eat within a couple days.
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Once home, store shrimp in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Place on ice or freezer packs.
Cooking and Eating Your Catch
The reward for all your shrimping efforts is enjoying the fruits of your labor. There are many delicious ways to prepare freshly caught shrimp:
- Boil shrimp with old bay seasoning and eat with cocktail sauce
- Grill shrimp on skewers basted with garlic-lemon butter
- Sauté shrimp in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and white wine
- Bake breaded coconut shrimp for a crispy treat
- Make shrimp tacos or po boys piled high on rolls
Don’t overcook shrimp or they can become rubbery. Cook just until pink and flesh becomes opaque. Eat shrimp within a day or two of catching for premium freshness and flavor.
Invite family and friends over for a shrimp boil feast. Spread newspaper over a table for easy cleanup and dump shrimp fresh from the pot right on the table. Provide plenty of cold beer and enjoy peeling, eating, laughing and reminiscing about your latest shrimping adventure.
Helpful Tips for Beginners
If you’re new to shrimping, keep these tips in mind:
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Research regulations and buy proper licenses before heading out.
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Go with an experienced shrimper your first few times to learn.
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Check tide tables and weather. Plan trips accordingly.
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Bring more ice and cooler capacity than you think you’ll need.
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Use fresh bait and check gear frequently for best results.
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Toss back under and oversized shrimp to sustain the fishery.
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Focus on having fun rather than catching a limit.
Why Catch Your Own Shrimp?
Recreational shrimping is a fun outdoor activity that gets you on the water. It’s also rewarding to catch your own delicious seafood. Here are some benefits of shrimping:
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Shrimp taste amazing when freshly caught. Sweet, firm flesh.
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Provides high quality shrimp for a fraction of store prices.
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Gets you outdoors enjoying nature and escaping stress.
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Shrimp can be caught from shore or small boats.
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Fun activity for families and kids.
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Allows you to sustainably harvest your own food.
So get out on the water and experience the thrill and rewards of catching your own wild shrimp! Follow this guide and you’ll be reeling in shrimp for amazing home cooked meals in no time.
Set Up & Throwing The Cast Net
Typically, you want to start further out and work your way closer to the bank.
Shrimp tend to scatter when they see the net hit the water.
The net I am using in this video is a simple 5-foot cast net.
Since I’m right-handed, I’ll swing across my body and throw the net out from my left.
To start, have the line in your left hand and the net in your right.
Reach across with your left hand and hold the net and line together.
Then, with your right hand, fold over about a third of the net to make a small loop.
Pass that loop and line off to your left hand and slip out your right hand.
You’ve just choked up the net to make it easier to cast and keep it from getting tangled up.
Check the net at this point for any tangles or anything out of the ordinary.
This next step requires you to hold the net in your mouth or between your fingers.
Reach your right arm down about arm’s length and grab the net.
Now at this point, we’re ready to throw the net.
Lean back and twist your body a little to the side as you hold more of the net.
Then, spread your arms wide and twist the net loose so it opens up in a full circle around the shrimp below.
Once you throw the net out, let it sink down to the bottom.
Once the time is up, slowly pull the net back toward you by pulling on the line gently.
Bring the net back into the boat and get a bucket or live well ready to move the shrimp you just caught.
If you know the shrimp are scared or there are only a few left, you can quickly throw another one right after the first one to catch any that are still around.
With a cast net, you can catch a lot of shrimp and then use that to catch a lot of fish!
It definitely takes some practice but throwing a cast net is not out of reach!
What do you do differently when throwing a cast net?
What type of net do you recommend for inexperienced anglers?
Please share down in the comments!!
Finding The Fish Help
Make sure you target the right areas by checking out the three tools below. They will save you a lot of time and help you stay on top of the latest feeding trends and weather forecasts.
These regional plans will tell you exactly what kinds of places to visit in less than 10 minutes. All you have to do is click the video to begin, and you’ll know what to do on your next trip.
This one-of-a-kind software tells you exactly when you’ll be fishing and where the most fish are likely to be feeding. It takes into account the tides, wind, and weather to help you quickly figure out which areas to focus on during the day.
You can use the Insider Community platform to find out what’s biting near you and to meet other members who fish in the same area. You can also keep track of your catches with it, so you can use past trips to help you guess what you’ll catch next.
HOW TO CATCH SHRIMP AT NIGHT- Florida Night Time Shrimping At Its Best!!
How do you catch live shrimp?
Try Catfood! To catch live shrimp for bait you can use a cast net, dip net, or shrimp trap. The cast net is the most effective method. Shrimp are easier to see at night, due to their glowing eyes. Look for shrimp in in shallow grass flats, or use a boat to access brackish areas that shrimp congregate such as near deep holes or bridges and passes.
Can one eat raw shrimps?
While raw shrimp or shrimp sashimi can be consumed safely, raw shrimp is considered a high-risk food because it can harbour harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and various Vibrio bacteria. Although some people consider the seafood used in ceviche raw, it is actually cooked by immersing it in an acid rather than using heat. The acid from the citrus can reduce harmful bacteria but it is not as effective as using heat. The safest approach would be to consume only cooked shrimp from a reliable source. The US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) advises that pregnant women, those with weakened immunity, older adults, and young children are at higher risk of foodborne illness and its consequences and should avoid all raw seafood.
How do you catch shrimp on a boat?
Setting up baited traps is another technique that requires you to check the traps regularly. Another way of catching shrimp is by using a dip net. By boat, raft, or even wading in shallow waters, you can attempt to net shrimp in upper water columns.
How do you catch shrimp in the shallows?
This can be done from a boat, dock, or even while wading in the shallows. A dip net is exactly as it sounds: a small, handheld net that is dipped into the water to scoop up the shrimp. This is best done at night, with a light to help you spot the shrimps’ reflective eyes. Special shrimp traps can be left in the water, sometimes overnight.