The Shrimp Are Still Running In The Indian River

A friend of mine told me the shrimp are still running in the Indian River and that the regulars were getting up to a couple hundred shrimp a night.

There wasn't anything exciting on the boob tube so I decided to take a ride down to the new fishing pier and check out the shrimping activities.

Since it was Monday evening, I didn't expect to see many people out and about but boy was I wrong!



When I parked at the pavilion near the fishing pier it was about 11:45 p.m. and the place was loaded with people.

Some were shrimping, some were catching crabs and many were fishing for the sea trout that were competing with the shrimpers.

I brought one rod and my trusty Nikon and took these pics of the evenings festivities.

There was a steady wind blowing from the south and it was hard to spot shrimp under the lights but despite the challenge, several of the shrimpers I spoke with had several dozen large to jumbo shrimp lining their 5 gallon buckets.

I took some more pictures and decided to try my luck on the sea trout that were just above the lights. Occasionally you could see them dart out from the depths to snag a shrimp or small bait fish from the surface.

I tossed a Creme paddletail swim bait, a Lazer eye jig, and a D.O.A. shrimp at the fish with no takers. Finally I changed over to a Johnson gold spoon and that did the trick.

I discovered that when I cast just outside of the shrimp lights and brought the spoon in about a foot under the surface, the trout couldn't let the lure alone.

I caught five fish in about a half an hour and missed three more.

All the fish were undersize and released but they were still fun to catch.

I finally got tired of messing with the trout and left the pier to the shrimpers at about 1:30 a.m.

Hope to get out tomorrow and catch a red or two.

Till then, Tight Lines!