Recreational shrimp trawling
Michigan Fishing
Jan 1, 2023 22:52:59 #
Mgiven
Loc: Michigan
I was curious if you can drag a shrimp trawl with a recreational fish license in Alabama coastal waters. Does anyone do this down that way on the gulf coast?
Jan 1, 2023 23:52:39 #
Here are the regs, I personally wouldn't do it because I don't know the waters there. One wrong drag can cost you a LOT of money. Use a cast net, you can catch enough shrimp with a taped net and then some. I use one here in Maryland and catch all I need in about an hour.
https://www.outdooralabama.com/saltwater-regulations-and-enforcement/recreational-shrimping-regulations
https://www.outdooralabama.com/saltwater-regulations-and-enforcement/recreational-shrimping-regulations
Jan 2, 2023 07:51:15 #
UncleRob what general area do you shrimp? It's something I'd like to try..
Jan 2, 2023 15:24:01 #
Many years ago, here in Louisiana, you could as long as the net was 16' or less. I had one and used it in Vermillion Bay. I now use a 'cast net', and catch almost the same, plus I can use it in some freshwater to catch bait.
Jan 2, 2023 18:14:14 #
Flytier wrote:
UncleRob what general area do you shrimp? It's something I'd like to try..
Main stem of the bay below The Little Choptank.
Jan 2, 2023 18:20:23 #
Harris T. Fudpucker wrote:
Many years ago, here in Louisiana, you could as long as the net was 16' or less. I had one and used it in Vermillion Bay. I now use a 'cast net', and catch almost the same, plus I can use it in some freshwater to catch bait.
You can still use a net that's less than 16', but there are areas that are off limits. I know if you oops into one of them you're gonna get hammered with some pretty stiff fines. If the USCG is watching you and you drag too fast or too long, you'll wish you were never born.
You can collect plenty enough shrimp with a 6' net in a few hours, I know, I do it in the summer here in Maryland. I collect a 5 gallon bucket, take them home, process them.
Jan 2, 2023 18:35:56 #
Thank you UncleRob. I have since got rid of my rig and now use an 8' cast net. I'm sure the guy around here do not drag in the bayou leading out to the bay. Too many gators!!
Jan 2, 2023 19:11:26 #
Harris T. Fudpucker wrote:
Thank you UncleRob. I have since got rid of my rig and now use an 8' cast net. I'm sure the guy around here do not drag in the bayou leading out to the bay. Too many gators!!
Apparently there are quite a few places that are off limits there now. Unless I had a really good map with GPS coordinates for the out of bounds areas, I wouldn't risk it.
Jan 2, 2023 21:01:43 #
Mgiven
Loc: Michigan
Thank you unclerob those are the details I was looking for. I've got a cast net but thought trawling looked like something I'd like to try.
Jan 2, 2023 22:04:34 #
Thanks fir the reply Unk. I'll have to see if I can work that out zomehow.
Jan 3, 2023 20:36:35 #
The last thing I want is for someone going out for a good day to get some cheap shrimp and it end up costing them north of $1500 in fines. I looked up some of the federal fines and they start at that amount.
They make cast nets for deep water with plastic panels on the bottom that open up and stay open as they fall in deep water. If I did it more than the 2 trips I do a year I'd invest in one.
They make cast nets for deep water with plastic panels on the bottom that open up and stay open as they fall in deep water. If I did it more than the 2 trips I do a year I'd invest in one.
Jan 4, 2023 12:15:00 #
Mgiven
Loc: Michigan
Yes sir those fines are steep. Do you do stakes and bait balls when cast netting?
Jan 4, 2023 17:10:38 #
Mgiven wrote:
Yes sir those fines are steep. Do you do stakes and bait balls when cast netting?
No, I blind cast over soft bottom that I found with my sonar. I can fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 10 casts with my 5' net. I use duct tape on the bottom on both sides of the net.
Jan 4, 2023 17:46:24 #
Mgiven
Loc: Michigan
I see, thank you. I was watching some videos when they did that bait technique. My wife has relatives in bayou la batre that are ex shrimpers in the area so I have some good plot lines for trawling but cast net would definitely keep us in shrimp at that success rate.
Jan 4, 2023 19:21:20 #
Mgiven wrote:
I see, thank you. I was watching some videos when they did that bait technique. My wife has relatives in bayou la batre that are ex shrimpers in the area so I have some good plot lines for trawling but cast net would definitely keep us in shrimp at that success rate.
I would speak with them then and find out when they are in shallower water. You'll catch more when they're in shallow water. When you retrieve the net, slow and steady with small jerks on the rope will make them pop up out of the mud like the tickle chain on a trawl net. Keep a knife on you, if something pulls hard on that net, let it go. I dropped mine on a gator in NC once, I was not happy, he just swam out from under it and I lived to fight another day.
I've never tried baiting them. I'll tell you another trick an old timer taught me and that's to use a flounder carcass. I use them for that and for collecting minnows. I've netted shrimp in Florida, North Carolina and Maryland. I found another spot that I'll try out about August that looks promising.
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