Shrimp Report

Captain Lee Noga

The shrimp ARE running! Despite the water hovering at above normal temperatures, the shrimp are popping in Titusville. The best advantage in Titusville (Non-Tidal waters) are from passing cold fronts which turn the winds counter-clockwise creating more favorable conditions. From structure to boating, many full pulls have been reported since late December through January. The Titusville Pier have gotten their fair share of full pulls on the Max Brewer Bridge. A lottery system is in place which gives anglers the ability to choose their spot when their turn is drawn. You need to get into the lottery pull to get a spot on the pier at the beginning of the night. I strongly suggest you visit this pier first and observe how it works. The pier supplies electrical power 120v and you need a special plug that is sold at Ace Hardware in Titusville ($15 – mention its for the pier) as well as Home Depot. If you want to see/learn how this pier works virtually, you can see my YouTube video, “How To Shrimp Titusville Pier”. At the start of the year there is tremendous pressure on the Brevard hot spots (Railroad Bridge/Haulover Canal) & Titusville Pier. Weekends are the worst. For the new person, we do not recommend taking on Brevard County until you have gotten your sea legs in this sport. These waters can turn treacherous and dangerous especially when fog or winds rolls in. Haulover Canal has not been news worthy this season yet. My sources have told me they have not done well. Oak Hill in Volusia County had a poor showing last season. This season we are somewhat in a normal pattern. The biggest problem is the warm waters and the catfish & bait fish blacking out the lights. This is creating lower pulls. As the water cools down, this problem should resolve. The Oak Hill sizes are small in the 4 inch range but the larger ones have begun entering our Volusia County waters. Based on personal photos shared with me, the majority of jumbo shrimp have been the summer whites (blue/green) tail ( hint – give those away first, they are not as good as pinks or brownies). Shrimp grow 2 inches a month, so Oak Hillians, grab your hoops and let’s go into battle to fill those freezers. We recommend new shrimpers start in Oak Hill and get comfortable navigating 100 boats at night. Brevard is at full capacity and everyone is anxious to get started. Be kind folks. Please stay away from the commercial boats in Oak Hill, give them 100 yards distance. This is their job, we are there recreating. Join me at Boater’s Exchange Feb 7th for my Cocoa Beach “How To Shrimp” Seminar, free to attend 6:30pm, get their early to get a seat, it fills up. I have some breaking “educational” news that will further give anglers another advantage in shrimping. The new computer driven fishing/shrimping “MacDaddy Smart light™” has hit the market. I will be teaching and releasing more of my “shrimp manipulation” research with Coastal Angler Magazine starting next month & at my seminars.

Captain Lee Noga
Academy of shrimping
www.leenoga.com