Shrimp baiting is a method used by recreational fisherman for of catching shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

. In the 1980s the sport became popular in the southeastern coastal states of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Since then, several local state regulations have been implemented to better regulate catch limits, methods, and seasons.

The technique

Shrimp baiting uses a cast net

Cast net

A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with small weights distributed around its edge.The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. This technique is called net casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as...

, bait

Fishing bait

Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook, or inside a fish trap. Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller bait fish have been used for this purpose...

 and long poles. The long poles are used to mark a specific location, and then bait is thrown in the water near the pole. After several minutes the cast net is thrown as close to the bait as possible and the shrimp are caught in the net.

The bait balls can be made of just about anything a shrimp will eat. The most common bait is a mixture of powdered clay and fish meal

Fish meal

Fish meal, or fishmeal, is a commercial product made from both whole fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the cooked whole fish or fish trimmings to remove most of the fish oil and water, and then ground...

(typically ground menhaden). Other popular baits are flour, corn meal, cat food, and chicken feed. The bait typically includes a binding agent such as clay or Portland cement. The balls range in size from a tennis ball to a softball and are typically flattened out to a hamburger shape.

In addition to "running the poles" from a boat, some people bait from the shore or docks. A permit is required for this, along with the landowners permission. Some people will place a single pole in front of the boat and use three anchors in a Y pattern to hold the boat still. Then they throw the bait out around the boat. Shrimpers have also begun using an auger type pole to hold the boat in a fixed point, and then use their trolling motor to rotate around this fixed point, allowing them to bait in a 360 degree arc the radius of the boat. This technique can be highly effective.

Regulations

In South Carolina, a shrimp baiting permit provides the fisher with ten tags. A tag must be placed on each of up to ten poles. The poles, used to mark the bait location, must be one inch in diameter or less and have reflective tape. The typical setup is to place ten poles in a single row and then drive a boat beside the poles and drop bait balls 6 to 10 feet from each pole. The shrimp will find the bait and begin feeding as the tide caries the bait to them.

External links

• Braswell, Tommy (2003) Beginner's guide to shrimp baiting The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC).
• Peterson, Jenny (2007) Shrimp-baiting season The Journal.