FACT: Not all hooked shrimp are created equal…
And having a poorly hooked shrimp, a limp shrimp, or having a shrimp that is rigged for the wrong fishing scenario could be hurting your landing/hooked fish ratio…
But first, let’s talk about the delicious little sea bugs that we all know as “Shrimp”.
If you have ever been saltwater fishing, the chances are good that you have used shrimp as bait before.
Shrimp can catch everything from sheepshead off of the pier, to redfish on the flats, to grouper, snapper, and cobia offshore on wrecks.
Shrimp is that bait that most kids learn to catch their first saltwater fish with, yet it is the same bait that even the most seasoned anglers and fishing guides frequently turn to when they want to catch consistent (and big) fish on live bait.
And out of the countless ways to catch different species of fish in the ocean, the shrimp has remained the most overall used bait (dead or alive) in America.
But did you know that how you hook a shrimp really can have an impact on how many fish you ultimately catch?
Meaning, you should be hooking your shrimp differently depending on how, what, and where you are fishing.
So in this shrimp rig tutorial, we have put together two of the very best “How to hook a shrimp” videos that go over all of the best ways to hook shrimp (dead or alive).
This first one is from our friend
Sam Root (of
SaltyShores.com) and
Capt. George Valverde, and this particular shrimp hooking technique was a new one for me personally. I think you will see that this shrimp rig would be perfect for fishing the Florida flats.
Might be a bit tough to pull off with a circle hook, but for those of you that still use J-Hooks, this method is pretty cool. Check it out.
How To Hook Shrimp With A J-Hook