River shrimp

When Louann and I baited the crab traps off the dock yesterday with the leavings from the mangroves we caught Thursday in St. Augustine Inlet we also baited up a couple of eel traps we've got on the dock. It's not that we expect to catch eels, though we do now and again, but rather that shrimp will wander into  the eel traps giving some clues as to what's out there to be caught......or.....ignored if they are too small.

This morning both eel traps had shrimp in them....only a couple.....perfect bait.....too much work for eating. That fits with what we saw in the net earlier in the week and with what you found today.

My guess is that they need a couple of weeks. And if the NWS is correct as to what the next 10 days will bring then we've got a slot of no rain which will help things.

As to the crab traps......yes........we're having crabs Sunday night!

We live on the Ortega. The last few times out we have taken a minute at the train bridge to see if they are running. We have not had great numbers yet but then again I am only throwing a few times before heading out.

Has anybody ever tried to throw a net in deep water? We were out on the river downtown on Saturday and halfway between Main St and Hart Bridge the bottom LIT UP in the same manner as when I am looking for shrimp in shallower areas. When I say LIT UP I mean the river is 60' in that area and from the bottom to 40' was completely full. My assumption is the net will be more of a torpedo if you can even get it down there.

Works well.

I have a sewn in shrimp net but skeptical if that would even make it down there with the current, etc etc.  May give it try this weekend if still marking..

We messed about in the Mandarin/Orange Park area today......actually made it all the way up to Point LaVista on the east shore.

Plenty of shrimp for bait, though, I'd be hard pressed to mess with them for eating.

Fished a couple of docks......

1 red, 3 sheepshead, 5 croakers, 4 speckled trout and about 25 freshwater cats.....plus some "junk" fish.

Give the shrimp a little while longer.

Okay, so I have not tried this particular recipe but I most certainly have eaten shrimp in the shell. Might be a great way to take advantage of the smaller but abundant shrimp hauls.



Why You Should Eat Those Shrimp Shells
They're not just an annoying obstacle to your dinner. They've got their own thing going on.



But wait, you can't really digest shrimp shells, can you?

I'm here to assure you that you can—provided they're lightly coated with cornstarch and salt and deep-fried. If they're crispy, you can crunch through them, and that extra-crunchy layer is prized across countries like Japan and China, places that know how to handle their shrimp. All you need to do is use kitchen shears to slice into the backs of the shrimp to remove that pesky "vein," along with the two especially long antennae (ok, did I just squick you out?) on the heads, and you're in business.

And that's pretty much it. Fry them, toss them with a few delicious seasonings like cilantro and Sichuan peppercorn, and for God's sake, please eat them with your hands.


Hold on. Aren't those shrimp heads usually thrown away before I even buy them?

Well, yes. Head-off, shell-on, tail-on shrimp are what you usually see in the frozen seafood section of the grocery store. But if you're ready for the next chapter in your journey, head over to the fish counter and buy those shell-on shrimp head-on instead. You don't need to eat the heads to appreciate them: think of shrimp heads as the lid of a pot, holding all the juiciness and flavor of the shrimp inside until you're ready to dive in.

Then, when you're ready to eat, just give the heads a twist (and if you want to slurp the delicious juices within, no one's going to stop you).