Don Kelly

The Ozello Shrimper was invented by Don Kelly, a.k.a. "Kelly" over 30 years ago in Ozello, Florida.

Oftentimes, while night fishing for snook, Don would see the bright orange reflection of shrimp eyes floating through the channels or along the many grass flats of Ozello. Don immediately recognized that these shrimp could be caught and eaten. Never one to pass up a free meal, Don decided to catch the shrimp for his dinner table. Initially, Don ventured out to catch shrimp much like everyone else. He grabbed a small dip net and tried to scoop them all up as fast as he could. With a sore back, few shrimp and a high shrimp mortality rate, Don knew there had to be an easier way of catching shrimp. An inventor at heart, Don turned his motivation for a cheap shrimp dinner into the original Ozello Shrimper.

Don set out to make a better dip net and extended the length to more than six feet in length. He also started dragging a bucket behind him to keep the shrimp alive. Still, he wasn't satisfied. A lot of the shrimp were jumping out of the dip net and the bucket. Plus, the net made a heck of a mess in the mud and tore up the grass flats. So, Don decided to develop a rigid metal cage with a "no-escape" chamber to prevent the shrimp from jumping out and he created a inward sloping lid for his bucket to keep his catch all the way home. The flats fared much better with such a nimble tool. It was a scalpel compared to a dip nets' broad sword.

Chasing Leprechauns (PDF)

Don's invention remained much the same until the early to mid 1990's when his longtime friend Bob Worthington began to bring coworkers from Honeywell out shrimping with him. Many of these friends were space engineers and scientists who worked to create space probes and rockets by day. By night they walked the flats of Tierra Verde together looking for equally strange lifeforms. Along with their friendship and adventures came new ideas and improvements to the trap.

The long pole of the trap became collapsible and more stable. The cage pivoted, gained corrosion resistant mountings and a closing trap door. A second support arm was added for additional stability. Improved lighting was created and longer lasting, lightweight batteries were procured with the help of electronics savvy engineers. Comfort was taken into account and all the equipment created ultimately became easier to use and much lighter to carry.

Culling the Catch on Shore

As you can imagine, "sport shrimping" became much more popular. Originally there were only Don and his close friends out on the grass flats during shrimping season. The most headlights on the horizon you could count was a maximum of 10. Today, it is not uncommon to see 60 or more shrimpers' headlights on any given night. With this rise popularity came a bit of fame for Don and his invention. Florida Sportsman wrote an article about the Ozello Shrimper and then the Tampa Tribune began writing annual reviews of the shrimping season.

This was the heyday of shrimping. The number of shrimpers that came out through the seasons grew large enough to spur annual "Shrimping Festivals" on the shoreline of Tierra Verde, back when you were allowed to park in such spots. Each shrimper and his/her family would arrive with a few "select" bags of shrimp caught during the season as well as their favorite shrimp dish to share. The best recipe was voted on - Dr. Bill Martin's "Fort Desoto Salad" was a winner. Tents were erected along the side of the road and the Gulfport Fire Department, half of whose volunteer firemen were our shrimping partners, brought a fire truck for the kids. Aside from the shrimp, the event's highlight was Don Kelly's dog and leprechaun marionette shows for the children.

Creation of Ozello Shrimper Equipment

Don's original invention was essentially a metal net on the end of a long pole. Being a contractor by trade, Don used the materials at his disposal to create his invention. Plumbing conduit, hardware cloth, pipe fittings and expertise with a blowtorch and pliers created the first.

These initial designs served many of us well but as those in the contracting industry know, some materials just aren't suited to the job. Copper plumbing conduit had three drawbacks: it corroded in saltwater, was electrically conductive and was impossible to store in your car. Combine these with older lead acid batteries that sometimes shorted and you could have a jolting experience each time you put the trap into the water - a story told from experience. It also is fairly hard to explain to people at work why your hands were green for a third of the year. Don didn't mind because he was Irish but the rest of us had several long stories around the water cooler. After they saw you leaving for the beach with copper pipes hanging out your windows, they learned to not ask.

To get around these defects, we decided to wrap the poles in foam core. This gave a more comfortable grip out on the water, prevented unsightly green hands and electrical issues and had the extra bonus of protecting our car windows from the beatings they were taking by the poles rattling around at 55 MPH. This was the queen of upgrades for the Ozello Shrimper in the early 1990's. Aside from dry rot, we couldn't think of anything else that might improve the trap that wouldn't be cost prohibitive. This changed as the prices of technology dropped.

Our Late Friend John

Our battery technology was in serious need of an upgrade. Not only did we have to hold our traps with our right hands to prevent a possible heart attack as a result of inadvertent electrical discharge but the batteries had to be treated very carefully to prevent leaks, were heavy and lasted only a short while. They needed to be kept in a cheap, disposable sack or backpack because they leaked caustic battery acid all over the place. This forced us to transport them in the trunk of our car to prevent damage to the upholstery although even there they could each through your trunk. The average battery lasted about 2-3 hours at the maximum so we ended up carrying two or three at a time out onto the water, a pain in the back.

Bill Martin Circa 1994

The Whole Gang Before a Night Out

We quickly found that our trap wasn't the only or most popular item in our inventory. More often than naught, people also wanted to purchase all of the related equipment for shrimping with the traps rather than assembling the array themselves. People wanted one-stop-shopping. So, we did our best to oblige.

The production of the Ozello Shrimper equipment is still done by hand and by a single person throughout the entire year. Don Kelly, the inventor, makes them personally in his home through the fall and winter month in preparation for the spring season.

Birth of the Ozello Shrimper Web Site

Ozello Shrimpers First Web Site

Our Second Incarnation 2007 - 2008

Future Plans and Direction