Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: bigblue on January 13, 2011, 06:28:10 PM

Title: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 13, 2011, 06:28:10 PM
I have been using whole peeled frozen shrimp coloured pink with procure for steelhead fishing.
I use an octopus hook with an egg loop to hook and hold the shrimp, but have not found a way that is satisfactory.
Any suggestions on a good way to hook it, shrimp size and hook size would be appreciated.
I also heard that some people cut the shrimp to smaller cubes.
In that case, what is a good way to hook them up?


Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: azafai on January 13, 2011, 06:48:35 PM

after looping it tight you can wrap it up with some spider thread.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Matt on January 13, 2011, 07:08:27 PM
I just stick the hook through the shrimp, no bait loop or spider thread involved.  When sticking the hook through, i stick the hook point initially in line with where the backbone would be if shrimp had them, then out the side.  Usually shrimp will stay on a long time like this.  Try not let you shrimp skip violently across the water (or shore if you're being stealthy) as it flip off the hook. 
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: buncranabop on January 13, 2011, 08:36:18 PM
A little bit of copper wire does the trick ;), it can be takin from any household appliance like her hair dryer or that ;D ;D, simply wrap it around your bait and either you line or peferably your hook, depending on your setup.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: DionJL on January 13, 2011, 09:55:40 PM
Hook cross-wise through the head of the prawn/shrimp tail. Once through is all you need to give it the perfect spin. It's caught me all my fish this year.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Every Day on January 13, 2011, 10:28:02 PM
Little piece about the size of your thumbnail on a size 1 or 1/0 Gammy.
Put a little bit of orange or peach wool at the top, this will help hold on the prawn for a long time.
Just simply slide to prawn on the hook up to the wool, should stay on even if skipped across the water top. I only go through around 5 pieces a day doing this.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Geff_t on January 13, 2011, 10:34:36 PM
Hook cross-wise through the head of the prawn/shrimp tail. Once through is all you need to give it the perfect spin. It's caught me all my fish this year.

  Exactly how Dion does it. The spin is deadly.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 13, 2011, 11:09:42 PM
Hook cross-wise through the head of the prawn/shrimp tail. Once through is all you need to give it the perfect spin. It's caught me all my fish this year.

By "Hook cross-wise" do you mean "hooking it through one side of head of prawn tail and out the other side of head" or "hooking it through chin and out the top of the head"? I guess the prawn would be dangling from the bend of the hook?
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: DionJL on January 13, 2011, 11:52:21 PM
Through one side out the other. Yes the prawn dangles past the end of the hook. I normally put a GLX egg above the prawn so that if it does happen to fall off during my cast or drift I will still have some sort of bait. I also like the contrast in colours.

Remember when fishing shrimp/prawns to start your retrieve slow. I've had more than one fish this season hammer my bait after 4 or 5 cranks of the handle.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Matt on January 14, 2011, 12:02:20 PM
have u considered ghost shrimp /sand shrimp (same thing)instead of frozen prawn. the only time i use frozen prawn is to put the  tail on the end of my jig

Sure we have, but driving out to a beach at low tide, spending time pumping bugs etc when steelhead seem to not mind a pink-dyed prawn tail doesn't seem worth the effort.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: azafai on January 14, 2011, 01:04:27 PM
A little bit of copper wire does the trick ;), it can be takin from any household appliance like her hair dryer or that ;D ;D, simply wrap it around your bait and either you line or peferably your hook, depending on your setup.

just a bit of common sense and some wrap of spider thread do much better.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: buncranabop on January 14, 2011, 04:03:47 PM
just a bit of common sense and some wrap of spider thread do much better.
Aah how silly of me, you are a genious.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 14, 2011, 11:59:46 PM
I read sometime back (can't find the article now) that steelhead have "sweet tooth" and adding brown sugar with salt during prawn/shrimp curing will improve their effectiveness. Anyone tried this?
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: buncranabop on January 15, 2011, 06:41:43 PM
Sarcasm would work better with proper spelling ??? "Genius" lol
Ha ha very good ;D well spotted, now correct me if im wrong..... but that was well spotted :D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: therise on January 15, 2011, 07:53:11 PM
Dion, a picture may help explain.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Bently on January 16, 2011, 01:14:58 AM
Dion, a picture may help explain.

Charge him for it Dion  ;D  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: DionJL on January 16, 2011, 12:31:11 PM
Charge him for it Dion  ;D  ;D  ;D

I should, I'm poor right now.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Matt on January 16, 2011, 01:43:15 PM
Like this, but closer to the head if you want to use the whole shrimp.  After I took this pic, I snipped off the first segment at the head for a slightly smaller presentation  IIRC.

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs187.snc3/19480_590378231356_122505749_35152563_6649178_n.jpg)
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Steelhead Fever on January 16, 2011, 04:14:36 PM
Yo thx everyone for all the info on the shrimp set up.
I used shrimp before, im gonna try again I never had much luck in the chilliwack with them.
Question... Last time I died them with rasberry jello powder turned them bright red, I wanna try a pink colour like strawberry jello powder.
Should I be using the pro cure? powder instead of jell o? would it make any diffrence, what do you guys use?
Thx.
Kinda sucks that the river is high n blown rite now but we got time to get ready for 1st cast when the water gets a lil better.
Good luck guys.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 16, 2011, 08:08:59 PM
Like this, but closer to the head if you want to use the whole shrimp.  After I took this pic, I snipped off the first segment at the head for a slightly smaller presentation  IIRC.

Great pic Matt.
As some smart guy once said, "Seeing once is better than a hundred words"
Next time I do my cure, I will try with the tail on as in your photo.
I think it looks more natural this way.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 16, 2011, 08:23:00 PM
Question... Last time I died them with rasberry jello powder turned them bright red, I wanna try a pink colour like strawberry jello powder.
Should I be using the pro cure? powder instead of jell o? would it make any diffrence, what do you guys use?
Thx.
Kinda sucks that the river is high n blown rite now but we got time to get ready for 1st cast when the water gets a lil better.
Good luck guys.

I use pro cure for both my roe and shrimp and it works well.
For shrimp, you don't need to use much, just enough to dye the color.
I shell the frozen shrimp and put it into a zip-lock bag together with coarse salt, brown sugar and some pro-cure.
Shake it up and let it sit for a few hours, drain it, and it's good to use.
One bottle of pro cure will last a long time under normal use.

Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Matt on January 17, 2011, 01:37:01 AM
I don't feel the need to cure or borax shrimp.  I just throw day's worth of frozen shrimp from a shrimp ring into a ziploc, sprinkle maybe 1/2 a tsp of krill-scented Fire Cure into the bag a put the sealed bag on the dash while driving out to the river.  Once there, through a paper towel in the bag to suck up the moisture so my hands stay clean and maybe add a squirt of shrimp oil.  The cure is there for the dye and the scent, not preserving or toughening the bait.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: DionJL on January 17, 2011, 12:01:42 PM
Adding rock salt will help toughen your bait. Do not use borax.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: milo on January 18, 2011, 02:12:52 PM
I read sometime back (can't find the article now) that steelhead have "sweet tooth" and adding brown sugar with salt during prawn/shrimp curing will improve their effectiveness. Anyone tried this?

I find they like pancakes with maple syrup much better...hard to keep the bait on the hook, though.  ;D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Dave on January 18, 2011, 04:20:38 PM
I find they like pancakes with maple syrup much better...hard to keep the bait on the hook, though.  ;D
Good to see you back Milo, we have some fishing to do. :) Try brining some with Dion's rock salt... add in some Heinz ketchup - gotta be Heinz though.  Leaves a good colour, sweet tasting and you don't need a bait rag - just lick your fingers ;D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 19, 2011, 01:03:07 AM
I find they like pancakes with maple syrup much better...hard to keep the bait on the hook, though.  ;D

Seriously, if you google "steelhead prawn cure sugar" you will find many articles about adding some sugar to sweeten it up.

Below is some of many links which mentions adding sugar to cure shrimp or egg for steelhead fishing:

http://www.fisheyesoup.com/article_details/550.html

http://www.wildriversfishing.com/article6.html

http://www.steelheaduniversity.com/egg_cure.html

http://www.pautzke.com/fireblog_read.php?read=1

I wanted to get some feedback on the subject.


Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: milo on January 19, 2011, 02:17:27 PM
Seriously, if you google "steelhead prawn cure sugar" you will find many articles about adding some sugar to sweeten it up.

Below is some of many links which mentions adding sugar to cure shrimp or egg for steelhead fishing:

http://www.fisheyesoup.com/article_details/550.html

http://www.wildriversfishing.com/article6.html

http://www.steelheaduniversity.com/egg_cure.html

http://www.pautzke.com/fireblog_read.php?read=1

I wanted to get some feedback on the subject.

I know it was a legit question...just couldn't resist being a goof.
Sorry.  ;)

Quote from: Dave
Good to see you back Milo, we have some fishing to do.

Thanks Dave...we'll get in touch soon indeed. :D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Matt on January 19, 2011, 02:17:31 PM
Remember you're only using Procure/Pautzkes cure to dye the bait.  You can fish a cooked shrimp from a shrimp ring without doing anything to it first, just thaw and put on the hook.  You don't need salt to toughen the bait, I don't use it, but it might keep your bait on the hook a little longer.  You could always just buy some Procure bait dye, but most of us already have Procure roe cure (premixed combination of cure and dye) at home already.  Pautzke's Fire Cure already have krill scent as well, which can't hurt.  Shrimp are cheap and rebaiting every dozen casts is find with me, salting the shrimp wouild draw moisture out of the shrimp and they might make it last a couple more casts.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: DionJL on January 19, 2011, 05:10:53 PM
how about the procure with borax
 and how much brown sugar and salt do u use?
I think you are thinking of the coloured borax made by Pro-Cure. Don't use that, it's just borax with dye.

I don't measure anything, I just add until it looks right. Experiment with it; that's how I figured it out.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: Floater on January 19, 2011, 05:33:03 PM
I never add any sugar or any other artificial flavourings to cured shrimp. They are already scented enough you wana keep it as natural as possible. Im sure steelhead know exactly what a shrimp smells like and zoom in on it once they get a sniff.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: bigblue on January 19, 2011, 06:58:02 PM
I know it was a legit question...just couldn't resist being a goof.
Sorry.  ;)

Milo, apology well accepted. :)
I am not sure about pancakes, but I think I will give maple syrup a shot when I do my next prawn cure.
I love to experiment and if it is going to give me an edge, I am game.
Will let you know if I catch any steelhead. ;D
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: milo on January 20, 2011, 09:31:33 PM
Please do.

Maple syrup...mmmmmm.
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: chris gadsden on January 21, 2011, 12:34:13 PM
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/resourcecenter/sandshrimp.htm
Title: Re: How to rig a shrimp for steelhead fishing?
Post by: mikeyman on January 21, 2011, 02:36:56 PM
Wow what is the daily limit on steelhead down there. I checked out the link and there was a couple of pictures of what looked like a slaughter! Isn't one enough?