Top 3 Shrimp Imitation Lures For Fall & Winter Fishing
- By: Justin Ritchey
- on
What are the best shrimp lures to use in fall and winter as the fish begin to feed more on shrimp in the flats and marshes?
How should you present a shrimp lure to fish in the winter and fall?
Learn the best shrimp imitation lures for fall and winter along with when to use them down below!!
Check it out!
Top 3 Shrimp Imitation Lures For Fall & Winter [VIDEO]
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Featured Equipment:
- Gulp! Shrimp 3″ Translucent (Scooby Color)
- Power Prawn (Original and Jr.)
- Gold Digger 3.5″ Paddletail
- 3/0 Owner Weighted Twistlock Hook (1/8 oz. or 1/16 oz.)
- Z-Man Trout Eye Jigheads (1/8 oz. and 3/16 oz.)
Cold fronts are starting to come through which impacts the bait the fish are feeding on and in turn changes up the lures you throw.
Instead of targeting larger prey like mullet, pinfish, and other scaled baitfish, these predators shift gears and start focusing on crustaceans like shrimp and crabs.
Another result of the cold fronts is there is a decrease in water temperature.
Colder water temperatures and brisk conditions are perfect for throwing shrimp presentations.
A shrimp presentation will cover any scenario you are fishing whether that be on grass flats or up against mangroves.
The top 3 shrimp lures for fishing now in late fall as well as winter are below!
Gulp! Shrimp Lure
This is a tried and true lure for any inshore game fish such as redfish, seatrout, and snook.
A lot of its success has to do with the scent of Gulp! and its ability to trigger strikes.
The lure itself does not have the best action compared to other lures when swimming in water.
If you are fishing right after a cold front comes through in fair conditions where the water clarity is high, this lure will flat-out work.
Finicky redfish might be holding close to mangroves or along the edges of a flat.
By bouncing this lure along the bottom and pushing mud up, you can gain a fish’s attention and trigger a strike.
If you aren’t getting active responses from redfish and the sun is high up, a Gulp! shrimp lure might just be able to convince fish to commit to striking a lure.
Power Prawn
The Power Prawn is the initial go-to lure as far as shrimp imitation presentations are concerned.
The main reason for using the Power Prawn is the large tail on the end of it that catches a lot of water as you are bouncing it along the bottom.
This causes a lot of draft that slows the lure down and keeps it in the strike zone for as long as possible.
Additionally, Power Prawn lures have a rattle cavity where you can insert your own rattles.
If you insert a rattle into the lure, along with puffing up mud and sand, you have the added sound of the rattle to attract redfish.
The fish are on the hunt for shrimp and the shrimp themselves do not want to be noticed.
A rattle draws just enough attention without appearing unnatural to a fish.
Gold Digger Paddletail
Although not a typical “shrimp” imitation lure, the Gold Digger Paddletail provides a similar action and presentation to shrimp lures.
You may not think it imitates a shrimp bouncing along the bottom, but a slight tweak will alter its action.
By simply removing the tail of the paddletail, you create the “Nub” rig.
There is less draft because the lure does not have a tail and as you bounce the lure it hops up and down along the bottom.
It mimics a shrimp darting around through the mud.
The dark color of the lure also creates a lot of contrast if you are fishing in muddy, dirtier water.
If redfish are mulling around and sifting through the mud, they can have difficulty seeing other lures.
With the addition of some Dr. Juice, the Gold Digger Nub rig can attract strikes from fish.
Slowly bounce this lure along the bottom so it stands out and a predatory fish sees and strikes the lure.
This lure can also be used to sight fish for redfish and other species.
The Gold Digger Nub rig will stand out in muddy water and appear like a bouncing shrimp to redfish poking around in the mud.
Conclusion
Every day out on the water is going to be different and it is only in your favor to bring multiple shrimp lure presentations out with you.
Clear water situations are when to go to the Gulp! shrimp, dirty water situations are when you should use the Gold Digger Paddletail Nub rig, and the all-purpose shrimp lure is the Power Prawn.
As the weather changes, you should be thinking about using shrimp imitation lures this winter!
If you have any further questions about shrimp presentations, please ask me down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about winter shrimp presentations, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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I refuse to use Gulp lures because of the lack of durability
To each their own, Richard 😉 Remember: I used to not be a Gulp! enthusiast, and felt their action was lacking compared to other lures. I just recently picked back up trying Gulp! and have to tip my hat to the lure.
Trust me, I’m a very picky angler myself. And even though I still think the Power Prawn and other shrimp imitations out there have better Action, having a pack of Gulp! in my back pocket doesn’t hurt my chances on the water.
I agree about how soft they are compared to what they use to be. I used to use them a lot and would search water with them. Not anymore. Only time I use them is when I’m sight fishing to reds and trout or when I know they are in the area, and they are refusing other lure’s. I will then throw a Jerk Shad. About the only time I use a Gulp shrimp is when I find black drum. I also use the white curly tail Gulp for tarpon.
You guys have it going on. Thanks for EVERYTHING.
Our pleasure, Barry! Thanks for the nice comment!
Great information! I have some of the power prawns, however, how can I order just the ball jigs or rattles. Looked at the ship page and couldn’t find them… thanks
Got you covered right here, Dragon! Here is the link to the ball jigs: Power Prawn Jig Heads – Salt Strong (fishstrong.com)
And our Battle Rattles: Battle Rattles – Salt Strong (fishstrong.com)
I fish a lot of the Georgian marshes but haven’t had much luck with any of the artificials you have recommended. I’m not sure if I am using the wrong artificial in the wrong situation, or am doing a wrong retrieve but I just haven’t got many bites. I have used live bait in the same spots and have gotten slammed by bull reds but I haven’t had much luck with artificials. I have tried using the dr juice scent but nothing seems to work. I used some zman diezel minnowz lures in the summer and those worked wonders (I out-fished my dad who was using shrimp), but besides that one day I haven’t had much interest in the lures I present. Do you have any suggestions to get the fishes interested? The water has terrible visibility but they found the zman lures ok. Any advice on how to get the fish interested would be appreciated.
Hey Luke! Lots to uncover on this one. It could be so many variables, but it sounds like you’re fishing relatively deep water (excess of 4′ and out to 10′). In those situations, you’ll likely need a much heavier jig head, either 1/4oz or 3/8oz to make contact with the bottom. That might award you more success.
Live Bait and Cut Bait obviously has its advantages in dirty/muddy water. But sometimes I also outfish my buddies who use live bait and I’m using these artificial lures. It’s all about doing 2 things:
Getting noticed in dirty/muddy water is the #1 challenge for so many angler in that type of fishery, but it’s definitely still possible to get bit using these lures in those scenarios!
I’m a big fan of the Vudu shrimp. It catch’s both redfish and trout and it holds up good after a bunch of fish.
That’s also a great lure! I used to use Vudu quite a bit, especially through the winter months. Savage Gear also made their RTF Shrimp this year that is very similar to Vudu, and those work the same way (but don’t include the mesh in between the tail, so they aren’t as durable as Vudu).
The only reason Vudu didn’t make it to the list here is because it’s pre-rigged, and when (not IF) they tear up after a bunch of fish, there aren’t any replacement bodies or jig heads that specifically go with Vudu. The same applies to Savage Gear: it’s kinda one & done, and locks an angler into only using the pre-rigged option that they provide.
Offering versatility with rigging options on lures is very important to me as an angler.
Thanks Justin! Seems the Alabama Leprechaun comes very close to the same look as the Golddigger without the paddle tail. I am sure there is a subtle difference. How do you see them differing?
Good point, Bill. Although Luke absolutely crushes fish on the Alabama Leprechaun, I prefer the Gold Digger Nub offering simply because of it’s size.
My belief is that the smaller the size/presentation, the less a Predator needs to think about whether they want to attack it or not.
*This is more apparent during the Colder Weather months of Fall & Winter when the larger baitfish is less abundant and Redfish start to focus on smaller offerings like crustaceans.
I think the Alabama Leprechaun is a fantastic lure when I’m trying to imitate a wounded baitfish instead of a shrimp (*personal opinion*). Seldom do I find 5″ Shrimp on the flats, so I prefer soft plastics that are intended to mimic a crustacean to be small (2-3″ max).
If you add scent like Dr Juice or ProCure to the Power Prawn what’s the point of the Gulp? I have eliminated Gulp in favor of a heavily scented Power Prawn. I see no reason to purchase and carry both lures…. Plus I can catch multiple fish on the PP… with the Gulp it’s one and done.
Hypothetical situation: You are sight fishing Redfish and offer the Power Prawn + Dr. Juice combination several different times (let’s say 6-7 separate instances in one morning), and the fish seem to spook from your offering.
Then you switch over to a Gulp! Shrimp and go 2/2 on Redfish in a matter of an hour—same presentation/rig as you were using with the Power Prawn, just a different lure altogether.
What was the reason for the success? Was it time of day/time of the tide? Could it have been the Gulp! lure was more appealing than the Dr. Juice/Power Prawn offering?
It’s these questions that keep me wide awake at night, and it’s one of the reasons for making this particular video. Although retired from my Tournament career, I still can’t help but wonder all of the “What If’s” when I’m unsuccessful after a day on the water.
In a nutshell, there simply isn’t 1 Shrimp Lure that can do absolutely everything under the sun. While I will admit the Power Prawn does offer the greatest amount of advantages as a soft plastic offering, there have been times when fish will ignore this lure in favor of another. My hope is that with this video, I can provide some hands-on experience & success with several different lures, while still keeping it concise to 2 or (as opposed to a tackle box full of 10+ different Shrimp Lures).
Thx Justin, my line of thinking is… if I’m spooking fish with a 3 1/2 inch lure, I’m probably going to drop down in jighead size to a 1/8 or 1/16 on light spinning gear.
Great vid. Thanks. Just another reason to not toss a soft plastic after the puffers or trout take the tail off. I’m excited to try the new gulp shrimp in the 4in on the tx eye to see if that subtle click helps
Thanks Chris! I think that presentation is a good idea as well (the Gulp on the TX Eye, I mean).
I guess I just stick with what works for me I used to be a vudu shrimp fan but after hearing Tony Acevedo report on the chasebaits flick prawn and purchasing the one in the jelly color I now have my favorite it’s totally seedless and has a built in rattle that doesn’t come out when a fish hits it plus the jelly color to me and the lifelike qualities that it has with incredible action makes it to me the best shrimp lure out there but that’s my preference as far as lifelike imitations go the only other one that’s better is the live target shrimp but it to me is only a stiff piece of plastic with no action whatsoever to me the power prawn doesn’t even look like a shrimp the tail is to big but like I said this is my opinion I have caught alot of fish on the chasebaits and being stubborn that I am I stick with what works enough said except thanks for all you do oh and although the chasebaits has a fixed weight on the worm hook I can increase the weight by just pinching a single or couple splitshot to the hook shank that does not impede on the action😉👍
We all have our little tricks up our sleeve to get that bite when conditions are tough 😉
My goal in Texas inshore this winter is to get better with artificials. This really helps. Thanks for all the info!
Happy to help, Warren! Glad you like the video.