Shrimp Report: August 2013

Picture courtesy "Happy Guy" Melbourne bridges
Picture courtesy “Happy Guy” Melbourne bridges

High temperatures and brown river water seems to be the flavor this season. Lately, It has been of concern if the shrimp are safe for consumption. We all eat seafood at our own risk, but I can tell you FWC has not published any reports with any type of caution about contamination with the brown tide issues. What role does August play in the world of Central Florida shrimping? This month is “Go Time” for those in the Big Tree & Highbridge areas of North Volusia County. July has given up some full pulls of these delicate and most elusive white shrimp. The season has started because we are noticing the commercial boats out in the hot spots daily. But, the problem is the shrimp are bait size small at the time of this article. What does this mean? It means the rest of us obsessive compulsive shrimper’s are waiting for the bait shrimp (smalls) to grow up to be cowboys. We are just going to wait a couple of weeks and set some time aside to hunt during a moon event. Be careful when casting in the intercoastal waterway. Remember the ICW is the travel channel for boaters who will not slow down or treat you with respect. Summer shrimping is not as tide dependent as winter shrimping. It really does not matter what tide you decide to chase on. The trick is to cast on the shrimp during the tide change, they bunch up on the outside edge of the shelf. Scallop season opened early and squeals of limits could be heard from Crystal River all the way to my ears. FWC published reports showing Crystal River appears to have the most per square foot for us who have to travel this season. Woo, going be a great scallop season.

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