I’m going to try shrimping from my dock. I’ve had success throwing a cast net to get enough shrimp for fishing during the day, but now I’d like to try to catch some to eat. The dock is on a narrow, but deep creek. A couple of questions:
Is it better to shrimp at night?
Should I just throw cast net, or like in Fla., try using a dip net with lights?
Which tide is best…always caught my bait shrimp at dead low tide with very little current?
Does it make sense to use bait balls or any other type of bait pellets cast out?
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I would use a cast net and bait around your dock.Shrimp move with the tides especially when the water gets out of the grass and incoming.You will catch more shrimp with bait but still need a licence if using bait.
Thanks for the heads up about the license. I didn’t realize I needed a separate one in addition to my normal salt water fishing license. A whole lot less water around the dock at low tide and it concentrates them when they come out of the grass. Never thought about trying during the incoming.
Throw a net. No use using the dip net unless your crabbing around here.
If you don’t have the clay and meal for bait balls get some cheap cans of cat food drill holes in em and put them in a sock with some rocks.
Night shrimping always seems to be more productive, I’ve done ok in the day time on incoming muddy water, but they do seem to spook easier even in muddy water during the day.
Interesting thought on the cat food. I usually bait my minnow trap with cheap cat food and I’ve been surprised by the numbers of shrimp in the trap when I pull it, although usually to small to be of much use. Thanks for the idea.
Fred67, you have me wanting to try this on a few of my poles while shrimping
If you use bait you still suppossed to have shrimp bait license and have at least one pole out. You can free cast anywhere. You could put out some baitballs around your dock but I would go talking about it to much on the net.
J Ford
We always did good using a drop net off a dock.Tie a blue crab with the shell pulled off and a smoked herring in the bottom of your net for bait.
What size drop net you use? We’ve caught a few while crabbing using small drop nets, but most just jump out.
Got me searching the www, this seems like a pretty cool way to improve crab catching too! 
hungry for oysters, now I want some shrimp and crab too!
Our nets were five foot diameter and we rigged up a fulcrum/lever system so they could be pulled up very quickly.You are correct,they will jump out if you’re slow.That one you found on amazon looks like it’ll work,you’re pretty good at that internet stuff.
If you shrimp over bait you need the shrimp baiting license. It’s worth the cost. We’ve been doing that off and on the last couple of shrimp seasons. We’ve had the best luck on the incoming tide in the evening. But they’re usually on the small side. And we use bait binder…wouldn’t use cans of cat food…unless you like to leave trash in your creek:wink:
Hang one off your dock and see how long it lasts in the salt. Remove label, of course.
NN
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Opps… I omitted tie a string to the sock so you can retrieve and properly dispose of the cat food can. Dry dog food and Chicken laying pellets work ok too.
Think it would make it a week DoubleN?