OMG! January has gone epic in Oak Hill. If you can believe this, some members of the Academy already filled their freezer and using the remaining season to be selective. Good grief, I have yet to drown some mono and folks are already topping off their tanks. This makes for a crabby me. Don’t be alarmed, we have several great shrimping months ahead. Oak Hill is still moody and forcing the use of a frame net or several dippers to get that elusive 5 gallon bucket. The sizes are averaging 4 to 4.5 inches mixed in with some nice summer white shrimp and of course the coveted sweet pink and brown large to jumbo’s. Any Oak Hill reds (local myth) you wonder? THERE IS NO SUCH SPECIE of shrimp! It is the pink ones we all love. Haulover and North Brevard reports have been inconsistent in December and early January but full buckets are being pulled. Those areas are wind driven and are heavily influenced by fronts dropping in. Getting out there ahead of a front on a good positive flow (+3000-4500) tends to yield a good bucket. Don’t worry about barometers rising and falling. Just do not go out on the river during strong North winds blowing 10+ mph. Full and new moons 4 days before and 2 days after tend to create strong runs due to the strong current. Please do NOT handle mantis shrimps with your bare hands as they tend to break thumbs. They snap their tails at the speed of sound. It is a good idea to have BBQ or crab tongs to remove by-catch (mantis shrimp & cannonball jellyfish). As of this January the reports out of Titusville pier have been disappointing. Cheer up, they can only get better. When it comes to shrimp lights, the award winning MacDaddy hybrid series remains the top selling light for 2014, the popular collapsible frame net choice is the Shumaker heavy duty (24lb mono) collapsible frame net with the 20 foot sock (Yes, same artistian that makes the custom cast nets). Congratulations to LumaSea Underwater Lighting for the 2014 Academy of Shrimping Lifetime Achievement award for the technological development of the MacDaddy hybrid triple mode shrimp light (all green, all white or green/white at same time). Buyer beware of the MacDaddy bootlegs, their watts at the battery clip test out lower than they advertise. Nearing 3000+ members, the Academy remains Florida’s on-line teaching institution for all things shrimping, its free and we love to teach new members. Join our family at LeeNoga.com.
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