How to Harvest Your Own Shrimp

Shrimp can be harvested through the use of pots, traps or nets.

Similar to fishing, shrimping is an economical way to provide a healthy and delicious meal for your family. Shrimping is also a popular way to catch live bait to use for recreational fishing. Shrimp are bottom-feeding scavengers that can be found close to shore or in deeper water and will eat practically anything. Harvesting your own shrimp requires properly setting up a method to catch the shrimp, including using the right bait.

Things You'll Need

• Shrimp pots or traps
• Weighted retrieval lines
• Shrimp or crab buoys
• Bait
• Fish finder
• Cast net
• Lantern or flashlight

Instructions

Shrimp Pots or Traps

1. Use shrimp pots or shrimp traps to catch shrimp offshore in deeper water. Use pots or traps with several tunnel entrances that narrow as they get close to where the shrimp bait, so the shrimp is unable to exit from the way it entered.

2. Connect weighted lines, which should be several feet longer than the depth you are trying to catch the shrimp, to the underwater traps to keep them in place on the bottom. Add weight to the traps or pots, if necessary.

3. Attach buoys to the weighted lines so you can find them in the water.

4. Add bait to the bait cage in the middle of the traps or pots. Use cans of wet cat food with several holes punched in the sides, so the food slowly seeps out from the can. Make homemade dough ball bait made from items such as salt, flour or corn meal, and shrimp meal or pureed fish if you don't have access to cat food.

5. Lower the traps or pots to your desired depth, such as 20 feet of water. Use a fish finder to try and locate activity on the sea floor, which may indicate shrimp activity. Anchor your boat in a way so that it doesn't drift over the pots or traps. Use two anchors on windy days or if the current is particularly strong. Check every 30 minutes or so to see if you're starting to catch shrimp. Move to another location, if necessary.

Cast Net

1. Use a cast net to catch shrimp close to shore. Choose a spot just along the shoreline or in grassy flats near shore.

2. Spread bait in the area where you plan to cast your net. Homemade dough balls and cut bait will attract shrimp. Toss the bait in the water and wait a few minutes.

3. Shine a light from your boat, or use a flashlight if shrimping from the shore, in the area where you tossed the bait to attract shrimp. If you see activity, cast your net over the area. Use a weighted cast net with a long retrieval line so it will stay in the area where it was tossed.

4. Wait a few minutes and pull up the net. Keep repeating the process until you start pulling up shrimp. Replenish the bait as needed. Move to another location if you're not getting enough hits.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep caught shrimp alive in your boat's live well or an aerated bucket if using as bait. Keeping them alive also makes them taste fresher if you're planning to eat them.

• Check with your local department of natural resources or fish and wildlife department to find out what licensing is required (likely a recreational saltwater or freshwater fishing license) and what the catch limits are for shrimp.

References

• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - Fishing & Shellfishing: Recreational Shrimp Fishing
• Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club, Inc: Shrimping on the St John's River
• fishyfish.com: How to Catch Shrimp Using a Shrimp Trap or Shrimp Pot