Thread: Grass Shrimp!!

Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

Great report Butch and great jig Keith. Guys Keith is the up and coming jig tyer to put your trust in. He ties some very good colors and does custom colors if you want.

Ronnie, thanks for the kind words. Coming from you, whom I consider a master tier, may be the best compliment I ever receive.

Originally Posted by gabowman

Have any of you guys ever paid much attention to what the crappie you caught are eating? Well, if you have and you seen brown mush in their bellies then theyre feeding on grass shrimp. That's a GREAT bait this time of the year that congregates the crappie to a particular part of the lake when theyre there. I dont see many whole shrimp but I have seen them in the throats of a crappie a few times.

This is very educational. I feel like I know a lot about the shad and herring movements and habits in our lakes being a striper fisherman at heart. But I know absolutely nothing about grass shrimp. You mentioned certain parts of the lake where they congregate. Can you elaborate a little more on that? I assume the first thing would be the presence of vegetation for the grass shrimp to live in. But the fact you are long lining in 15 feet implies more open water in my mind. Are they more back in the creeks and coves than off the main lake?

I have seen the brown masses you are talking about in crappie, hybrid and white perch belly's this time of year. I honestly assumed they were mayfly larvae. I even powder coated a few jigging spoons brown and tied brown feathers on the hook to imitate the may fly larvae this time of year. Haven't tried them much but the perch do seem to like them.

Usually the tell-tale signs whether grass shrimp is in a particular creek is the brown in crappies bellies and the shed "skins" floating on top of the water where the shrimp are at. It doesnt take green vegetation for the shrimps to be there. I honestly dont know what draws them unless they just hatched from out of the mud in a certain part of the lake. I find fish feeding on them in the same areas as I usually fish pre-spawn and post-spawn in depths of water @ the 10'-20' depth of water ranges. And usually it's the beginning of May when I notice theyre there. I fish as much as I can during the month of May and once the water surface his 80* at first light I'm done fishing until the weather/water cools off again in the fall. By this time of the year alot of the parts of the lake I enjoy fishing (20' deep or shallower) is lacking oxygen and the fish are headed towards deeper waters back onto the brush to avoid the heat and hunting cooler water.

Now.......probably none of what I just stated holds any truth to it since the night bite says everything I just said is a lie, but it's my reasoning for what I do and when I do it and it works for me!

We use to catch our own. Tidal waters where there is a lot of grass. A large dip net with a fine mesh like you would use for minnows does the trick.

I’ve caught them before to add to my aquarium. Used to be a member in an aquarium club and we did things like that couple times a year. Very cool to watch shrimp in a tank. I upgraded to cherry red shrimp though and now have no shrimp.

Originally Posted by gabowman

Usually the tell-tale signs whether grass shrimp is in a particular creek is the brown in crappies bellies and the shed "skins" floating on top of the water where the shrimp are at. It doesnt take green vegetation for the shrimps to be there. I honestly dont know what draws them unless they just hatched from out of the mud in a certain part of the lake. I find fish feeding on them in the same areas as I usually fish pre-spawn and post-spawn in depths of water @ the 10'-20' depth of water ranges. And usually it's the beginning of May when I notice theyre there. I fish as much as I can during the month of May and once the water surface his 80* at first light I'm done fishing until the weather/water cools off again in the fall. By this time of the year alot of the parts of the lake I enjoy fishing (20' deep or shallower) is lacking oxygen and the fish are headed towards deeper waters back onto the brush to avoid the heat and hunting cooler water.

Now.......probably none of what I just stated holds any truth to it since the night bite says everything I just said is a lie, but it's my reasoning for what I do and when I do it and it works for me!

That's interesting. I've seen the floating "skins" I think you are talking about. I mistakenly assumed it was something from mayfly larvae, not knowing what they were. Interestingly I have mainly seen the brown "skins" floating in the mid lake big water at Murray in July and early August on the wind blown sides. Usually when I see them, there will be loads of herring around and of course that brings the stripers.

Grass shrimp are largely algae eaters and my understanding is as the water warms algae grows on the bottom and I seem to find them on humps more than flats but I'm sure the same holds true for back waters. If you find them crappie will be nearby and a tied jig can put crappie in the boat.

Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

Grass shrimp are largely algae eaters and my understanding is as the water warms algae grows on the bottom and I seem to find them on humps more than flats but I'm sure the same holds true for back waters. If you find them crappie will be nearby and a tied jig can put crappie in the boat.

So when you say you "find them on humps", how do you know you found them? What are you seeing...something on the depthfinder or are you seeing the floating skins mentioned above?