Spring is here and so are the allergies for the allergy suffers. But talk about suffering, the Edgewater and Oak Hill area shrimp are micro dinks in size. Another fallen Volusia County warrior, I am one of many who struggle with accepting the season is over. Weather fronts and rain events shut us out of the last premium shrimping opportunities in April-May. The only hopes to catch the brown shrimp remains hit and miss in N. Brevard County (Haulover Canal, and Railroad Bridge) & S. Brevard County. When shrimping in S. Brevard we no longer measure in gallons, we measure in “counts”. Currently, Mather’s Bridge & Eau Gallie Causeway are getting counts 200+ with a high populous being medium to jumbo (5-8 inch range). June is the peak of their season, and it should be in full swing for bridge dipping and trappers.
The summer white shrimp have not made an appearance in South Daytona yet but this can change any day now. Summer shrimping is done during the daytime hours using a cast net & depth finder during the outgoing tide which is favored over incoming tide. The white shrimp are known for their blue & green color tail tips. They start in South Daytona (Big Tree) area and work their way into the St. John’s river finishing their season in the Northern regions of Jacksonville & Georgia in the fall.
They prefer to walk along the bottom vs. swimming like our winter shrimp do. (hence the need for depth finder). You need at least 35 foot of line on your cast net, duck tape the lead lines (both sides, no stringers please) or purchase a sewn in webbing custom made & color dyed “Shumaker Net”.
The Academy of Shrimping is a free educational resource site with over 2600+ registered members. A busy free message board community discussing shrimp reports to equipment needs. Given away $$ thousands of dollars of prizes since 2010. If you post your summer shrimping report you earn tickets into the report lottery (May-Sept) tournament prize pool (Costa Sunglasses, Shumaker 10 foot custom net etc). Soak your winter shrimp gear mono in 2:1 water/fabric softener to retard net rot from saltwater. Stow your lights and change the battery endings if needed.
Captain Lee Noga
Academy of shrimping
www.leenoga.com
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