freelining shrimp

[tbeak]

I wanted to see what some peoples methods are for doing this. I have fished them under cork, but rarely free line.
do you hook them through the tail, I figured you wouldn't hook through the horn cause it kills them so fast.

[mpg2yahoo]

I wanted to see what some peoples methods are for doing this. I have fished them under cork, but rarely free line.
do you hook them through the tail, I figured you wouldn't hook through the horn cause it kills them so fast.

I never hook by the horns because 99.99999% I just run them through the brain matter and kill them. I like to hook them from the tail maybe a couple of cm's before 1/2 point. This gives them the appearance they are fleeing the scene in a more natural way.

I hook from under to the top like you would do with a soft plastic instead of side to side on the tail.

Works for me!

[OneFishTwoFish]

Head between eye and dark spot on head... Circle Octopus Hook

[tbeak]

MPG, yea i seem to always hit the brain ara too and they die soon. I was fishing with a guide down in Matagorda and that is how we hooked them the way you described

1fish2fish what size circle hook do you use to not hit the brain?

I have recently read here that people free line them with treble hooks too. any input on that

[frankie14]

Head between eye and dark spot on head... Circle Octopus Hook

x2 Octopus hook b/t dark spots under horn.

I have learned that really slowing down with rigging a shrimp this way helps for two reasons: keeps them alive, keep integrity of horn so you don't throw your shrimp on the cast

[OneFishTwoFish]

3/0 is good

Trebles are fine but I hate killing fish that don't need to be. And esp with hardheads/stingrays, one hook is easier to remove than 3

I've learned to slow down with shrimp.... Plus lob your bait dont chunk it

[mpg2yahoo]

3/0 is good

Trebles are fine but I hate killing fish that don't need to be. And esp with hardheads/stingrays, one hook is easier to remove than 3

I've learned to slow down with shrimp.... Plus lob your bait dont chunk it

I usually replace the treble hooks in all my lures with Gamakatsu 1/0 bait hooks because I hate those nasty treble hooks. Plenty of times I have hooked my anchor line, dock line, or other parts of the kayak with those hooks.

If I'm fishing solo I'm forced to cut the line and put another lure because I can't reach those areas. I need to remember that a lure with treble hooks is hanging from the kayak when I return so I don't have an accident.

The only treble hooks that I leave are the ones that come in the 1/8 rat-l-traps. Don't have the patient or desire to change them.

[Johnny5455]

2/0 circle hook with a split shot weight above it about 8"

[Yaklash]

I rarely do a true free-line with shrimp. It has to be a short cast and even then, a jumbo shrimp isn't heavy enough to get the bait very far, especially if you're casting into the wind. But if I am going pure weightless, I'll hook them in the tail; with whatever hook I have. At the jetties is where I've done the most free-lining and I use a #8 treble so if Sheepies come knocking, I have a better chance of hanging them. When hooked in the tail, they do swim more naturally, but not if there's any weight attached.

But usually, when I use live shrimp and am not using a cork, I usually use a split-shot or two to get the shrimp down to the bottom and to give me a little more distance. This I do for pier fishing, fishing the lights or bridge pilings. In this case I use a circle hook or treble in the horn. The only shrimp I will tail-hook on this rig is a really small shrimp; very difficult to not kill the small shrimp with a hook in the horn.

As far as them dying faster when hooked in the horn, if you pierce their brain stem, they die almost immediately. More often it's the vigor with which some people cast them. Piggy perch and croaker can take a lot more abuse than a horn-hooked shrimp. They'll stay alive longer if you cast more gingerly.

[DLopez]

Just some info I've gathered over my fishing years, YMMV...

I used to use live shrimp, but my previous yak wasn't big enough to hold a live well, so I just used a bait bucket in the water... well the bay waters in summer can get up to 90 degrees, and the shrimp never lasted very long in the bait bucket so I ended up paying a lot for fresh dead shrimp... but I was still catching nice slot sized reds with the dead ones as I was with the live ones, so the thought occurred to me, why am I spending so much on live shrimp, only to see the bait stealers grab 'em, when fresh dead seems (for me) to work just as well for my target fish (trout, reds)?

So then I started using only dead shrimp and I haven't seen a dropoff in my catch when I use it. Often times, the dead shrimp saves my fishing day when my artificials aren't producing a thing, I'll sling a dead shrimp under a DOA float rig, and click it like it was alive, and I don't go home empty handed. Anyhow, like I said, Your Mileage May Vary on your success with live vs. dead shrimp...

But I digress... to answer your question about how to hook live shrimp I also hook them through the head, I just avoid the dark spot and they would stay alive for a good while, as well as can be expected after getting impaled on a hook and constantly fighting to get loose... I use 5/0 circle hooks, and obviously if the shrimp is tiny, it's harder to hook them through the head, but I would save the shrimpy shrimp for last.