Hood Canal Shrimping, Saturday 5/31

I'm planning on hitting Hood Canal for the shrimping reopening Saturday, if anyone is interested in joining me, it would be fun.

Done lots of crabbing from my kayak, but this will be my first shrimping adventure. Looking forward to tired arms...

- Matt

49 shrimp for one pot soaking for 3.5 hours... will scale up production more next time 

Looks like a hell of lot of leaded line! How many feet down were you?

Good work matt. Like PS said a lot of line. How deep were you soaking?

Z

Nice Matt!
I am looking for some collapsible traps to use from the Yak.
Coonstripe shrimp are here in as little as 130" deep.
does any one have any favorites?
as it stands, I am looking at the Promar tr-503 model from allwatersfishing.com $11.99 each before shipping

Matt,

Seems like a lot of upper body building work.  But those shrimp are oh so sweet.

Were you at OE on Friday around noon.  I though I saw you yak in the parking lot, but I didn't see you inside.

-Allen

Allen,

That was me in OE on Friday, gearing up.

I talked to a nice guy who explained how he had lost 4 of 5 shrimp pots first time he went. I have lost enough crab pots, so took his advice seriously.

So I went all out on precautions. Double buoy, 600 feet leaded line, extra weights in my traps.

In the end I soaked it at 200', and left one of three coils I had made intact (so had 400' of line out).

Are the coonstripe shrimp really small, or are they worth it? Will I catch many with a trap with a 1" grid?

- Matt

http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/projects/msap/PS/masterlist/inverts/coonstripeshrimp.html
 Check 'em out here Matt.
 I have never shrimped before other than throwing a cast net in the ditches around Galveston to Corpus area in the Gulf just for bait for the Redfish and Spec's.
BUT, I love shrimp and so does the wife! (who doesn't!)
I am now trying to work out the logistics of shrimping for them in my area from my Yak.
You have helped me a lot already my Friend I now know I need twice the line as the depth.
 I am looking at the Promar collapsible traps that are 24"x12"x12" when open. SS spring opening and a poly net covering.
 I was thinking...I am dropping a 300"+ of leaded rope (5/8") to the bottom and attaching a trap with sufficeint weight to avoid walking, say put 5#'s of nice fresh shrimp in that trap, how hard is that goona be for an old man like me to pull up?
The reason I ask is not for one trap, but if I am paddling out with and sending down that much rope...could I run a small string of say 6 traps (24"x12"x12") each with a weight of say 3#-5# of lead and a "jumper roap" between the traps. Much like a crawfish line we would set in the s. east Texas or La. swamp waters.
 I just worry about the weight of the combined gear and balancing on the Yak to get it back up!
Thanks for all the help here !

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shrimpreg/shrimpdock.htm
Here is the length of 'em....tasty sized Eh?

I've heard of using spectra line and attaching it to a reel and a shorter boat rod and just reeling their pots in.  I've never done this, but it seems like it would work all right.

-Allen

AHA! Thanks Pole!
Now I have another complete line of thinking here!
 I may have an extra reel or five to use for this.
And, I think I know where to get some rod butt ends that seem to have lost there tips 
Gawd I love this site!
Ya'll ROCK!

I would be impressed if the rod and spectra strategy works. It would be cool though.

Two other comments:

First, you can only have to pots per person.

Second, if it's too heavy to pull the whole apparatus up, one trick might help. I pulled the rope over my kayak and let it and the buoy drift so I only had to focus on pulling and the trap, not deal with the rope and buoy. Then you can collect it after you deal with the trap and shrimp.

- Matt

I looked through the Oregon fishing regs and it doesn't say anything about the number of traps you can have, heres the regs for amount you can keep:

Shrimp, prawns- 20 pounds in the shell  SHELLFISH LICENSE REQUIRED May be taken using traps, pots, or rings. 

Sounds fun, but damn, that's alot of rope to pull. How much wieght do you have in the traps? what's the overall weight, about?

What about some 100 pound spectra with a downrigger. I've never used a downrigger, would it be easy to take the spool off the downrigger and replace it with another one while your on the Kayak? lower the trap unclip line from rigger and attach float. Put a loaded reel on the rigger and lower another trap, then reverse procedure to pull the traps? Just an idea...

Theres another good point and idea for me to try.
Thanks Roy!
One trap is no problem for me to pull, my thought was to drop a string of say 6 traps with one bouey line to the surface. Save a ton of room for the rope!
do those outriggers have interchangeable spools?
I thought they were just a roller hanging over the side and you still had to deal with the rope or whatever your using.

What about some 100 pound spectra with a downrigger. I've never used a downrigger, would it be easy to take the spool off the downrigger and replace it with another one while your on the Kayak? lower the trap unclip line from rigger and attach float. Put a loaded reel on the rigger and lower another trap, then reverse procedure to pull the traps? Just an idea...

Anyone who's used a downrigger on a yak knows how tough it can be, even w/ just a 4# weight. I really don't think it'd be any easier. Might be even harder since most shrimp traps are really weighted down because of the depths shrimp are at. Going down to 200'+ 25-30#'s of weight is not uncommon. Shrimpin' ain't easy!

Z