March is wake up month in the world of big shrimping. The run has started in Volusia County albeit 4 weeks late. Brevard is hit and miss, the hot spots are hovering at “Get ready, get set…”, but have not quite hit the “go button”. They are just on the cusp, and all indications are they will have a season as well. Brevard lagged Volusia last year, so this is not of any concern. The place to be is Oak Hill over the last couple of months, perhaps March will be the month of consistency for Brevard. The sizes of the Oak Hill shrimp are impressive.
January-March requires more skill than the Late March to May when we are inundated with a bazillion dinks (under 4 inches). Typically, you cannot pull a bucket without a high percentage of dinks and smalls. The sizes in Oak Hill are dependent on your skill level and ability to blow the big ones up into the upper water column using light. Personally, I am seeing Volusia County buckets of 5-7” inch 3 biters and seeing buckets 4-6 inches with high majority small to medium. The tides decide where anglers choose their locations. If they want an earlier tide they go North towards Edgewater. The favorite place remains Oak Hill from the ramp area all the way down passed Lopez to CM 9a. FWC spent the entire weekend pulling boats over doing full inspections. We have not seen this in nearly a decade. They skipped very few boats.
Titusville pier is off to a slow start but that can change any day, you must go to know. The Brevard hot spots RRB are hit or miss but the locals are saying the run is still at its beginning stages. They predict the run will be fully developed this month, so monitor the intel daily. Melbourne reporting no shrimp. Remember, Volusia County is boater country only and it is tide driven. Brevard is wind driven and is suited for boaters, trappers or plank warriors. This month you will be able to catch shrimp in Volusia on the beginning of the incoming tide. March is normally where the sizes start to get smaller towards the end of the month, so get out there and fill your freezer.
