Live shrimps for bait?

[RossW]

"one last thing," as Columbo would say.

I've been watching all sorts of sea fishing stuff on youtube including one video where the angler was tipping his worm baits with live shrimps. I think he was beach fishing for bass and flatties. Anyone had any luck in the NE doing this?... I was fannying about in the rockpools at St. Mary's in the winter with my lad and we caught a dozen of the things in no time.... Any good??

Cheers for any help..

[cod head]

If there on the beaches then the fish surely wont turn there noses up at free food. ive never used them as bait but cant see why they wouldnt catch.

[RossW]

I'm just a bit suspicious about why such an obvious bait isn't used more often. I suppose they would have to be fresh and alive, and they die fast in un-aerated water...

[kayos]

Whole cooked prawns are used to good effect on some charter boats.

[g.ordon]

Shrimp is a top salmon bait in the rivers, threaded on carefully and fished deep it's a killer. Infact one of the best salmon flies is called Ally's shrimp.
Can't see why it won't work in salt water so worth a shot.

[ozzy37]

i fish with cooked and raw (not live) probably more so than worm. pretty much everything will take them, especially flatties and coalies I've found. bouncing them on the bottom down the side of the pier is good for the coalies. also had most my shore codling on them in the winter added into cocktail baits.

[tich]

Prawn,

We use whole cooked prawns off the boat, best bait I'v used for cod(off a boat) first time I went out my mate told me to get 2 pkts of cooked prawn shell on from Morrison s, I thought it was for a sarnie whilst we were fishing, so I made up some cocktail sauce a good gloop of mayonnaise & a drop of tomato sauce ( Its got to be Heinz ) buttered up a few buns and hoyed it all into my sarnie box, thinking we would make a few butties up as we fished,, I wont tell you what he called me, but it was'nt very nice, the prawns are for the effing fish you stupid & used that word again,I thought he was taking the wee out of me,,so I used the bait I had got from Temples ( rag,lug,squid & mackerel ) the sort of stuff you would use from shore.. Well me being Me I had to prove I had got the right bait stuck with it for about an hour, my mate pulled cod after cod in, me! nowt, so I started to use the cooked prawn,, first drop-bang a 4lb cod,I now use nothing else,,, but If the water is a bit cloudy I still take along a bit of frozen squid just to tip off the prawn,,My thinking is the colour of the cooked prawn is important & + the small amount of scent it gives off catches the cod & most other fish that we get off the boat,I think live prawn is worth a go 3 or 4 lightly whipped onto a hook might work off the boat... But its a lot easier popping into the supermarket and getting your bait over the counter rather than trolling a net along the beach and possibly not getting anything, also thers a bonus, If you dont use all your bait have it with a side salad with the fish you have caught,

[Ray.J.]

Used to use live shrimp off the hot water pipe at Cambois (not there now)!
Used on a spinning rod and 1oz weight. Caught quite a few bass on them! They would be used to taking them from around the pipe and in amongst the rocks. They won't really stand up to much of a cast though!!

[codseeker]

seen live shrimp kept in buckets on the holderness coast beaches whilst fishing for hounds ,while we use fresh peeler crab and one single shrimp has fished better than we,ve done

[RossW]

Right, I'm definitely gonna try tipping pieces of rag with live shrimp for bass later in the year. Short casts on a spare rod.... I'll keep youz informed...

[codsquad#1]

Try them under a float in clean water rock ends and piers they are stapple diet for fish so if fished right shoul be deadly