How To Catch Slams With FROZEN SHRIMP (And Catch Fewer CATFISH)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
Do you use frozen shrimp for bait?
For a long time, I thought frozen shrimp only caught catfish (and no gamefish), so I completely avoided them.
However, when conditions are tough, you can’t catch or buy live bait, or you need a plan B, they’re an excellent option.
They’re easy to find, cheap, easy to rig, and easy to use.
Plus, as it turns out, if you fish them correctly, gamefish love them!
We recently used them on a tough day and ended up catching a slam, plus a tarpon.
Check out the video below to see how to rig and fish them to get a ton of tight lines and even catch quality fish.
Using Frozen Shrimp For Inshore Slams [VIDEO]
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How To Retrieve Frozen Shrimp
When using frozen shrimp, you want to slowly drag them across the bottom.
I’ll lift my rod tip and move them about 6-8 inches, pause, reel in the slack, and then do it again.
It’s almost like a blend between soaking cut bait and retrieving lures.
Of course, you could just let the frozen shrimp sit on the bottom, but covering more water increases the odds you’ll come across a gamefish before a catfish gets to it.
And since you’ll be retrieving them slowly on the bottom, how you rig them makes a big difference, which takes us to the next point…
How To Rig Frozen Shrimp
You want to rig frozen shrimp just like you would rig live shrimp.
Here are the steps:
- Tear off the tail
- Put the hook through the hole where the tail was and pop it out of the top of the shell
- Make sure it’s streamlined
This will help make your shrimp look natural, which will help you catch more gamefish.
And another thing that will help you get a good presentation to the fish is using the right jig head…
Best Jig Heads For Frozen Shrimp
Since you’ll be dragging these shrimp across the bottom, it’s best if they’re sitting upright.
Jig heads with flat bottoms, like boxing glove style jig heads, work really well here.
On this trip, we were using these Mission Fishin jig heads.
These jig heads also work well with soft plastics, so you can quickly and easily switch between lures and frozen shrimp on the water.
Conclusion
If you need a plan B, frozen shrimp make a great option.
They’re cheap, easy to use, and nearly always available, plus, fish love them!
I recommend rigging them on a jig head with a flat bottom (like these Mission Fishin jig heads) and then retrieving them slowly across the bottom.
Big thanks to Capt. Mark “Hollywood” Johnson from FloridaKeysFunFishing.com for putting us on these fish and opening my eyes to frozen shrimp.
Have any questions about using frozen shrimp?
Let me know down in the comments below.
And if you know someone who’s sick of only catching catfish with them, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Freaking catfish munch munch everything
That is exactly how we fish in Vermillion Bay Louisiana. Even the water you were in looks like our water. I’ve been hitting the Slam Shady pretty hard this year but it’s not nearly as productive as the shrimp.
Could it be the smell makes the shrimp so successful in murky water?
Yes, natural bait gets a huge advantage over lures in murky water due to the fish having to utilize scents to find food (vs. sight like they rely more heavily on in clear water).
Please remember to never ever use frozen/dead shrimp that was not caught in the area you are fishing. Foreign shrimp can/will have diseases not native to the body of water you are in and can cause serious harm to the local shrimp.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Regis.
Luke, great video like always. Never seen this and would love to try it. We fish southeast Louisiana in prime time saltwater/brackish. I would love to join but don’t know if you can help in our area?
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Ryan! We have several hundred members from Louisiana and that number is growing each week, so I’m confident that you’ll enjoy the extra features that the Insider Club membership includes.
Would this technique work with a bottom sweeper jighead? I have a couple of the jigheads you used and some bottom sweepers which I haven’t used yet.
Yes, the bottom sweeper jig heads can work for this type of fishing too… they just won’t be able to switch from soft plastic to natural shrimp like these mission fishin jigs can do.
I think it is very important to use bait that was killed by the freezing process. Another thing I’ve noticed about fresh frozen shrimp, if it has been thawed for an hour or two, and not kept cool or on ice, it may put out a rotten scent into the water attracting catfish to the area, and the targeted fish bite drops off.
Thanks for sharing the helpful tips!
Tks luke, question i have been working the twilight periods both morning & evening, since the fall back on daylight savings time..not much success..in this video fishing can be good on those flats/oyster bars mid morning ?? thanks
Yes, the mid-morning will be getting better and better as the temperatures keep dropping.
As always!! Thanks!
My pleasure Gary!
I hardly ever use bait, but as you mention, it is a good plan B. Where do you recommend buying frozen shrimp? Bait shop, grocery store, other?
Thanks
I mostly just get it from bait shops. But the ones from grocery stores should work too (just will likely cost more at a grocery store).
Luke, I salt my leftover shrimp rather than freeze them (can also salt frozen shrimp). It toughens them up and will stay on the hook much better. Fish even seem to prefer the salted shrimp over fresh or frozen at times. Thanks for the tips. Don
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing the helpful tips.
Fished inshore Fernandina Bch last weekend. The higher tides had the water muddy. Frozen shrimp caught more fish than anything we tried. Reds and Trout ate the shrimp 10 to 1 versus the Slam Shady.
Yes, it’s tough to beat natural bait when the water is muddy… smell trumps sight in those conditions.