Indian River Shrimping Report

Well the Indian River shrimpers were at it again this evening with mixed results.

It was a beautiful clear evening with a half moon that provided great visibility on the river.

My wife, my wonder dog Elmo, and I drove through the preserve area to check out the water level before going to where the shrimpers were doing their thing. The water is still very low on the Indian River, so we decided on taking a boat ride tomorrow to catch fish, if the weather holds.

When we got to the bridge, we saw about 30 people hanging over the railings trying to dip out their limits of shrimp.

I questioned several "regulars" about their success. The general theme was that the shrimp were not running like they were in previous years, however, the shrimp that were being caught were medium to jumbos in size. One gentleman I spoke with, as he was packing up to leave, said that the shrimpers in the boats were doing better than people on the bridge.

I did notice when we drove past the Marine Patrol station, that about twenty boat trailers were parked under the lights. Based on the number of boats out this evening, I can only assume the guy on the bridge knew what he was talking about.

Another shrimper said that the shrimping up north in Oak Hill ICW was a lot better than in Titusville, but that the shrimp were much smaller. He told me that he and his neighbor dipped four gallons last Friday during the tide change but they were small.

There were the usual schools of trout chasing shrimp and small bait fish over and around the shrimp lights.

Not being one to pass up an opportunity, I decided to catch a few.

I pulled out my fishing rod and caught several medium sized trout on a D.O.A. Terror Eye before I decided to call it a night. It was like being in a fish hatchery! Fish were everywhere.

Here are some pictures you might enjoy. I tried to get some shots of the trout swimming over the lights. Unfortunately only a couple were viewable. You can make out several good sized trout in one of the shots.

With any kind of luck I'll have a fishing report for tomorrow. Tight lines!