# How to catch Shrimp for personal use?



## RUTMAGIC

What method do you suggest I use to catch  shrimp for my self?
Please now I'm serious, I know the jokes are commimg.


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## deedly

throw net..  as big as you can throw, but check regs for mesh size and diameter


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## SeaNile

Good advice from "deedly" I might add the following: casting a net takes a bit of practice. Learn to do it in the back yard before trying from the boat. There are some very good instructional videos on the net. There is also 1,000 ways to cast a net and every time I go casting
I see someone doing something unique that works well. Stay away from the shell beds unless you have the $s to buy another.
Good Luck and have fun.


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## larpyn

RUTMAGIC said:


> What method do you suggest I use to catch  shrimp for my self?
> Please now I'm serious, I know the jokes are commimg.



use a cast net. 
if you will be in deeper water (over about 20 ft) you will want to run a layer of duct tape or stitch law chair webbing around the bottom edge of the net. that will make the net drift down like a parachute in deep water.
good luck


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## duck chaser

Isn't that illegal in GA?


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## deedly

duck chaser said:


> Isn't that illegal in GA?



YES


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## robertyb

I am pretty sure they changed the law this year to allow netting to be used. Wasn't there an article in GON about the law change?


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## SeaNile

Tapping a cast net is now legal in Georgia. You can buy them tapped and they work really well.


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## crackerdave

robertyb said:


> I am pretty sure they changed the law this year to allow netting to be used. Wasn't there an article in GON about the law change?



Yes.


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## tp1212

watch out for dog pooh in the yard when you practice.. it would leave a bad taste in your mouth


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## MudDucker

They changed the law.  I lobbied against that stupid change in the law.  Our former state senator who now serves on the DNR came up to me in a restaurant last year and informed me of the change.


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## BoxCallWillie

Certain times of the year they Run in groves.
we hang a lantern out over the water and in season when running we dip them with a long handeld shrimp net.
If you catch them when there realy running (term used for
swimming) you can get a 5 gallon bucket full in no time .

Cast netting is going to get you in some problems
that you'd wish you never even tried ...
The run im speaking of about is just before they gather to mate . and it useuly on a full moon different times of the year .  Best to have a boat  for this . It can be done from a pier but you will not get as many .


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## deedly

SeaNile said:


> Tapping a cast net is now legal in Georgia. You can buy them tapped and they work really well.



I stand corrected. I haven't been shrimping since the new regs.


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## Tulip

6' or 8' cast net with 1/2" mesh. Takes some practice to throw an 8' net. Aug, Sept and Oct are best times to get shrimp. In the winter they go deep but are much bigger than in the fall. Went to Shellman Bluff several years ago and was catching HUGE redleg shrimp in 45 to 50' of water. Water was so deep almost ran out of line before hitting bottom. In the fall you can catch em in 12-20' deep. Like someone said need tape or webbing when you go much deeper than 20'. Find a ledge or hole near a creek or in a creek. The shrimp will be in the grass on high tide and as tide comes out they congregate in these holes or ledges. If you are going to throw an 8' net get you some good raingear cause you are going to get wet.


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## larpyn

MudDucker said:


> They changed the law.  I lobbied against that stupid change in the law.  Our former state senator who now serves on the DNR came up to me in a restaurant last year and informed me of the change.



just curious. were you arguing "for" or "against" the use of tape and webbing?
i like using the webbing myself.


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## MudDucker

larpyn said:


> just curious. were you arguing "for" or "against" the use of tape and webbing?
> i like using the webbing myself.



For it.  Where I shrimped, the best shrimp were found in 20-30 foot of water and without tape, it was useless.

My daughter used to love to go and would laugh and giggle at what we pulled up.  Real quality time with her.  When they changed the law, she was real sad and wanted to know why we couldn't go swimpin.  I got all over my representatives and I am to this day not a fan of the DNR and they know it!!!!  My daughter is now too old to want to go swimpin.  Really sad and stupid move by DNR.  There time would have been better spent enforcing the then current limits against local and out of town commercial shrimpers who were making a dozen daily "limit" trips per day with cast nets.


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## MudDucker

Tulip said:


> 6' or 8' cast net with 1/2" mesh. Takes some practice to throw an 8' net. Aug, Sept and Oct are best times to get shrimp. In the winter they go deep but are much bigger than in the fall. Went to Shellman Bluff several years ago and was catching HUGE redleg shrimp in 45 to 50' of water. Water was so deep almost ran out of line before hitting bottom. In the fall you can catch em in 12-20' deep. Like someone said need tape or webbing when you go much deeper than 20'. Find a ledge or hole near a creek or in a creek. The shrimp will be in the grass on high tide and as tide comes out they congregate in these holes or ledges. If you are going to throw an 8' net get you some good raingear cause you are going to get wet.



True this...used to throw a 12 footer and man, that was like work.  Another piece of advise, use a boat with a slick fiberglass bow platform that is easy to wash.  A deck boat with carpet is real comfortable to ride around in, but it is a mess to clean the mud out of


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## irishleprechaun

in SC you could buy a baiting permit (not sure if you can in GA).  You affix the paper tag (limit of 10) on a 10' piece of 1" pvc.  Put a wrap of reflective tape around it (so you can see it at night).  Then I would take clay, water and ground fish meal (dried ground fish you can get at places like goldkist)put them all into one of those big plastic buckets with the rope handles.  Make them into round balls, you could also tie them in panty hose so they stay together longer.  place the bait balls near your poles then cast net until limit is reached.  Back when I was doing it (15 years ago) the limit was one 48 quart cooler of shrimp per day.  I used to eat shrimp every day of the year (nearly).  Sure do miss that...

would shrimp in near the grass in the mud flats on an incoming tide up through high tide and about 1 hour after (if hadn't already limited).  The shrimp would come into the grass from the deeper water to feed.


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## Twenty five ought six

> in SC you could buy a baiting permit (not sure if you can in GA).



No baiting in Georgia, shrimp, deer, all the same.


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## RUTMAGIC

All great advise guys, I live nearer to Florida, 35 minutes from gulf, are the net or scoop laws the same or completely different?


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## hunter_58

Man i would love to go get some shrimp !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## larpyn

MudDucker said:


> For it.  Where I shrimped, the best shrimp were found in 20-30 foot of water and without tape, it was useless.
> 
> My daughter used to love to go and would laugh and giggle at what we pulled up.  Real quality time with her.  When they changed the law, she was real sad and wanted to know why we couldn't go swimpin.  I got all over my representatives and I am to this day not a fan of the DNR and they know it!!!!  My daughter is now too old to want to go swimpin.  Really sad and stupid move by DNR.  There time would have been better spent enforcing the then current limits against local and out of town commercial shrimpers who were making a dozen daily "limit" trips per day with cast nets.



i applaud your efforts. i wish i could get motivated to do more when it comes to stuff like that. 
we as sportsmen need to be more proactive when we see a wrong being done. with that said  i will be the first to admit that i haven't done my part. the older i get the closer i am to being more involved in that kind of stuff. it's all about priorities. it wouldn't hurt to skip a weekend fishing trip to go to a public hearing on hunting/fishing related issues. i need to do more for sure. good job mudducker


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## potsticker

Start with a 8 footer cast net and work your way up, when tides are moving, a 8 footer is great because you can throw it and retrieve it fast. Those big 10 and 12fts will get carried by the tide and have a tendency to snag on everything. Note: when casting the net, dont loose any teeth!


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## Confederate_Jay

Here's my .02 cents.   Go with someone who has done it.    It's a lot of work.  You are going to have to hit the tides right, if you can find the shrimp,  you are going to get wet and muddy,  if you hang up your net on a shell bed or snag you'll probably lose or or ruin it,  your back and legs will tire out quickly throwing the net if haven't done it before.  You'll make a lot of  throws where the net won't open up ( unless you tape it).  

 Right now shrimp are just too cheap for it to be worthwhile to me.  You can find good sized shrimp for around $4.00-5.00 lb, just come to the coast and buy what you want, get a couple extra quarts and go fishing instead. It's a lot more leisurely and you'll  probably enjoy the coast a lot more that way.


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## RUTMAGIC

I think your right, all that work I need a beer. I just wanted to try it out once in my life time. I've heard of some big shrimp being caught when you do it yourself.


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## crackerdave

Is it legal to use a seine net for shrimp in Ga.?


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## kountryboy

yes u can legally use a seine net as long as it meets the mesh
requirements


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## MudDucker

larpyn said:


> i applaud your efforts. i wish i could get motivated to do more when it comes to stuff like that.
> we as sportsmen need to be more proactive when we see a wrong being done. with that said  i will be the first to admit that i haven't done my part. the older i get the closer i am to being more involved in that kind of stuff. it's all about priorities. it wouldn't hurt to skip a weekend fishing trip to go to a public hearing on hunting/fishing related issues. i need to do more for sure. good job mudducker



Thanks, but I didn't give up any weekends.  I just wrote mean letters and harassed several politicians


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## hortonhunter22

i seen some guys doin it under the panacea bridge down on the ochlocknee bay one time.  the were sitting out there after dark with a light and a castnet.  they didnt murder them but they had quite a few.


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## larpyn

MudDucker said:


> Thanks, but I didn't give up any weekends.  I just wrote mean letters and harassed several politicians



you have done more than me then 
i was hoping you would have some kind of story about camping out on the capital steps or something while heating up a can of beans on a sterno can  holding "web the nets" signs or something exciting and sacrificial. 
oh well, the letters must have been enough


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## Georgiagator

went to Jaykle Island and saw people using sain nets they had a bruch using them


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## Rick Alexander

*one more tip*

no matter how tired you are of throwing, don't forget to tie the line to your wrist so it won't come off when you cast.  Don't ask me how I know.

$55 chaching.  Suddenly you realize - hey I coulda just bought $55 worth of shrimp and been done with a lot less effort.  I'm so cheap I dove in after it and got it back.  Man that water is cold in early October.

One more tip - don't chew whilest casting or after a while the chaw begins to taste a bit like shrimp poo.  Thank my cousin for that little tidbit.

It was fun though.  Super cool to see what came up with the nets and entertaining watching an amature (me)attempt to get that little torture device (8' net) to cooperate.  I should have learned and practiced before I went but - what's the fun in that.


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## RJY66

I usually go shrimping a few times a year and try and catch my own bait shrimp when fishing for trout and reds.  

Throwing a net is work, but a bunch of people I see work harder than they need to.   First thing, don't buy a high dollar Calusa or Excalibur net for shrimping.  They are good products but waaaay too heavy for shrimping.  They are designed for offshore fisherman to use to catch bait fish, not for shrimping.  Luckily the cheaper, lighter nets are the way to go.  If you destroy one on oysters, it is not so expensive, plus they are much lighter.  I would not go any heavier than a pound of lead per ft of net....3/4 would probably be better if you can find it.  A calusa net for instance is 1.5 lb per foot so an 8 foot net weighs 12 pounds!  

About oysters.  Of course try and avoid them, but if you get on some do not panic and start yanking the net.  You will certainly just tear it up.  If you are in shallow enough water, get your boat over the net and try and gently pick it straight up....grab the horn and pull it up as best you can.  If you don't cut the tuck lines, you can tie up any holes with mono fishing line and keep on going.    

You don't need an 8ft or larger net to catch all the shrimp you want.  I use an 8, but there is a trade off.  The 8 footers take longer to empty and reload than say a 5 or 6 ft net.  Then again, one shot with the 8 footer is worth two with a 5.  Also, the larger the net, the harder it is going to be to pull in.  I used to shrimp with an old guy who was a machine with a 5 foot net.  He could really get it in and out.  We would shrimp a tide and he would catch just as many as I would with my 8 footer.

I have not tried the net taping.  It was illegal for a long time.  I just cast along the marsh.  I would like to catch some of the larger shrimp available with the tape nets, but you have to go in the right spots or you will kill yourself pulling up a net from deep water trying to find them.  I would have to learn that game.  

Go to calusa.com for a good video on how to throw a net.  I can do it a couple of ways but I like this one the best.  Just don't get one of their nets for shrimping......it will work the crap out of you.  Whatever method you use, don't fight the net.  Those leads will open it up for you once you get the hang of it.  Cast net throwing is NOT hard.  Anyone who can throw a frisbee can do it!  

One last tip....if you go and catch a few mullet, do NOT throw them back if they are decent sized.  Split them down both sides of the backbone and pull the backbone and the guts out.....butterfly them.    Leave the scales ON!  Put those babies on a charcoal fire skin and scales side down and cook for about 10 minutes, basting the meat side with butter and lemon juice.  After 10 minutes, flip em over and sear the other side just a bit.  Eat the meat away from the skin and scales and just toss it when finished.  That is the way the "Florida Crackers" used to do it and man is it good.  That is the best tasting grilled fish I've had....better than grilled salmon to me anyway, and a free by product of shrimping!  Only eat them fresh....they don't keep well at all in a freezer.


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