| St. Petersburg Times Article on Shrimping in Pasco County, Florida |
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This article was originally published in the St. Petersburg Times on April 10th, 2004. The link to the article is below: http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/10/Pasco/A_season_to_savor.shtml Outdoors A season to savor It is shrimping time. Knowing right methods, spots allows recreational shrimpers to take delight in catching popular food. By MIKE SCARANTINO Published April 10, 2004 Shrimp is among the most sought-after meals in seafood restaurants. Catching them for your table can be highly rewarding but takes patience and a bit of easy-to-acquire knowledge. Haulover Canal on the East Coast is a prime-time location for recreational shrimping. "We don't hear much about recreational shrimping on this coast," said Ron Taylor of the Florida Marine Research Institute. During October-June shrimpers flock to the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon areas. July and August find shrimpers working the St. Johns River in Northeast Florida. Shrimping is done predominantly after dark in all of the state. Some people work from bridges, seawalls and piers. Others shrimp from boats, searching the water's surface for telltale flipping sounds or peering into the depths for signs of a run. Using lights is necessary for success. Choices include lanterns, submersible lights and battery-operated clip-on models that attach to the gunwale. These do work but tend to be blinding or distracting to other shrimpers. Submersible lights are the better choice, attracting shrimp like bugs to a light on a hot summer evening. Different colored lights produce different rates of success depending on water clarity. White lights tend to be bright, and in clear water shrimp will shy away from the brightest to swim the edges of the light's circumference. Red, green and yellow lights work well in clear water but will not be as effective in murky water. Shrimpers on piers, seawalls or bridges often use gas lanterns to attract their quarry. The light source is far enough from the water's surface and softens enough to not scare the shrimp. When to go is tough to know. Night after night, recreational shrimpers gather to work the dark. "Some nights produce well and at other times the shrimp are elusive," said Eric Johnson, an avid shrimper and a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fisheries biologist. "There really isn't any way to effectively forecast which nights will be better than others," he said. "You just have to go to find out." One of the parameters for hitting it right is to try the right tidal currents or water movements. Currents carrying water outbound typically produce better. Strong moon phases generate fast-moving water. Johnson prefers full-moon cycles. Shrimp breed in deep, open water. Larvae develop rapidly and, once able to swim, follow incoming tidal currents into estuaries. As they grow larger, shrimp return to open, higher salinity waters to follow their breeding instincts. The species found in Florida - white, pink and brown shrimp - mature in their first year. Total lengths achieved average 5.5 inches for brown and white. Pink shrimp have slower growth rates, about 3.3 inches. The most predominant shrimp caught along the Nature Coast are pink, though a few brown ones may mix in at night. Heading north into the Big Bend region, white shrimp is the majority species and can be captured during late summer into the fall. Recreational shrimpers working Palatka or Green Cove use cast nets and chum that's a mixture of rock salt, flour and shrimp meal fashioned into meatball-sized portions. Bait the area to be cast-netted using 10-12 of these meatballs, then begin netting. When nets are used, deep water can be shrimped. Nets can work for those wishing to shrimp during daylight hours. Shrimp settle into deep water when it is light out. Haulover Canal is a popular spot. Yet 10-15 miles south of there is Riverbreeze, another productive place to dip or cast-net. Dip nets, long-handled and mesh, are used to catch shrimp as they move through the lights. The daily recreational limit for boaters is 5 gallons of shrimp in whole condition per person or per boat, whichever is less. From the shore, it is 5 gallons per person. Put your catch in a live well or bucket of fresh water. It is best to keep the shrimp alive as long as possible. Ice them quickly, then freeze them in plastic bags filled with water for lasting freshness. A night permit is needed to boat in Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. The license is free and can be obtained by calling (321) 861-0667. - If you have a question or comment, call Mike Scarantino, (352) 683-4868. |
