Oak Hill Shrimping Is Still On Fire

If you hit the tide right, Oak Hill shrimping is on fire right now.

When I hit the two fishing piers in Titusville, Fl the other night, the guys were doing OK but most of the comments were about how the shrimp were running up at Oak Hill.

November through May are the best months to find Pink River Shrimp in Oak Hill's Intracoastal Waterway and almost everyone said that when the tide and temperature is "right", now is the time to go shrimping.

Some of the guys I spoke with said that the shrimping is best around a full moon and others said it didn't matter.  The consensus seemed to be that the best time to go is a few days before a full moon until a few days after.  

What they all seemed to agree on is the fact that at Oak Hill, a North flowing, outgoing tide is when most of the "full pulls" are made.  Everyone I spoke with agreed that an outgoing tide is a must and that a Southeast or South wind helps the shrimp run.

Although Oak Hill shrimp are historically smaller than those caught in the Titusville area, the size of the shrimp being caught right now are medium to jumbos.  Most were medium size (see below).

The biggest complaint from the guys I talked to was that they couldn't drink a beer and shrimp at the same time.  I can dig it even though I don't drink.

When I visited the two fishing piers at Titusville, the shrimping was sporadic.

Some of the guys were dipping medium to jumbo shrimp and others had empty buckets. None of the buckets I looked at were full, although some were close to it.

To sum it up, sport shrimping on the Indian River and in Oak Hill is a hit and miss proposition but if you like the taste of really sweet fresh shrimp, pack up your net, lights and family members and give it a shot.

Till next time, Tight Lines

Good Friday Shrimping On The Indian River

I planned on going fishing when I returned home from work this evening but instead spent Good Friday shrimping on the Indian River with some old timers.

It was too late to fish Peacocks Pocket when I got home from work so I decided to hit the fishing piers to see if there was any action with the shrimping community.

I arrived a little after 8:30 pm and the pavilion was crowded as usual for a Friday evening.

Lower Fishing Pier

There were several shrimpers and a few fishermen on the lower pier and almost nobody shrimping on the upper (higher) fishing pier.

The sport shrimpers on the lower pier were not doing too good while I was there.

The sea trout were murdering the shrimp and very few of them were escaping to the surface where they could be dipped up.

I walked the lower pier and only a few shrimpers had any in their nets or their 5 gallon buckets so I took a few pics and walked to the upper pier to see how they were doing.

There were three guys at the corner of the pier who had their lights set out in deeper water.  When I checked out their buckets, none of them had any shrimp to brag about.

As I stood there for a while, it was quickly evident why.  There were at least a couple of hundred sea trout over the light sets ambushing the shrimp as they were swimming into range of the dip nets.

Most of the sea trout  were under the slot but several were at least 15" plus.  The larger sea trout were hanging just outside of the shrimp lights down deep.

I mused to myself, of all the times to not bring my fishing rod with me!

There was a slight current moving the shrimp around but it slowed down to almost nothing around 9:00 pm.

The shrimp that were being dipped up were medium size tonight and no jumbos were in anybody's bucket as far as I could see.

There was almost no wind on the water this evening and it was shirtsleeve weather.  All in all a gorgeous night.

I took several short videos that I later edited into this YouTube video that shows mostly sea trout, a small tarpon and a ladyfish chasing shrimp around the lights.


Unfortunately while I was visiting the fishing piers this evening, nobody was dipping any jumbo shrimp that this area is noted for.

This Good Friday shrimping expedition on the Indian River would have been great if I only had the foresight to bring along a light spinning rod and a couple of  D.O.A. Shrimp.

Well, Tomorrow's another day.

Tight Lines.

Sport Shrimping On The Indian River

Sport shrimping on the Indian River tonight was slow to say the least.

Coming home from my fishing excursion this afternoon, I noticed a ton of people congregating on the causeway bridge and new fishing pier preparing for an evening of sport shrimping. So, I decided to check out what was happening.

When I got to the fishing pier this evening at about 8:30 p.m., there was quite a crowd despite the fact that the shrimp weren't running.

The guys I talked to on the bridge were catching shrimp, but they weren't the historic numbers that the locals here are used to catching.

No one had even close to the 5 gallon bucket limit and most of the shrimpers I saw had only a few shrimp in their buckets.

I decided to walk over to the newly constructed fishing pier and see if anyone over there was doing any better.

I struck up a conversation with a gentleman from Tenn. who is wintering down here. He told me the water temperature was still too cold for the shrimp to be running in good numbers.

The water temp was in the 60s, and according to him, the water temperature should be a bit warmer before the shrimp head to the surface. I was always under the impression that the shrimp didn't run well until the water cooled down.

We talked about the many reasons why shrimp run or don't run and agreed that they run when they feel like it. It's hard to predict mother nature.

Anyway, he told me about some fishermen that recently caught some nice slot size sea trout just prior to the last cold front. One of them was a "gator" trout that was caught around the pilings of the new restaurant.

He also told me about the bull redfish that he saw a couple of weeks ago over the lights. He said he tried everything but they wouldn't bite.

I didn't mention to him that I already knew about the bull redfish. They come in to feed on the small trout and baitfish that are attracted to the lights and the shrimp. They can be caught but they're usually well over the slot limit.

Anyway, I halfheartedly cast a jig a few times without any luck and after taking a few pics of the inaction, decided to head for home.

Here are the picture results of the night's shrimping.

I hope the fishing is better tomorrow.


Tight Lines