The Best Saltwater Bait

There are a lot of fish in the sea, but anglers who want to use one bait that has the capability to catch many of them choose shrimp. Shrimp are readily accessible to fishermen who want to catch their own, though they also can be bought in bait shops and sporting stores. There are a variety of ways to rig shrimp for catching saltwater fish.

  1. Shrimp

    • The shrimp that saltwater fishermen use to catch fish is the same shrimp that people dip in cocktail sauce at home. Fishermen use live and dead shrimp, though many prefer live specimens because they tend to be more productive. Shrimp can be fished anywhere and anglers use them when fishing from shore, a pier or bridge, or a boat. If you are fishing with another type of bait and not catching fish, make sure to use a piece of shrimp before calling it a day.

    Storage

    • Fishermen have a variety of storage options for keeping their shrimp alive during fishing trips. They do best in clean, cool water, so placing them in a bait bucket and changing the water every hour or so works well. Another option is to put the shrimp in a small plastic foam cooler, and to place that cooler in a larger cooler and surround it with ice. However you store them, do not pile shrimp one on top of another, as this will lead to mortality. Anytime you notice a dead shrimp in your bait bucket or cooler, remove it immediately.

    Rigging

    • Shrimp can be hooked onto plain hooks and jigs in a variety of ways, but many anglers prefer to hook them through the head, which reduces the chances that the shrimp will fly off of the hook. Push the hook point into the shrimp's chin and then push it upward and out of the head. Take care to avoid the two black spots on top of the shrimp's head, as these are its vital organs.

    Live versus Dead

    • If the fish are biting aggressively, anglers can get by with using dead shrimp. They also can use dead shrimp when they are fishing with a jig or other lure that is nearly always in motion. But when the bite is tough, or anglers are fishing a bottom rig that relies on their bait crawling along the bottom, a live shrimp is vital.