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Hood Canal Shrimp
By James Schufreider
Go Fishing.com
The Hoods Canal Spot Shrimp sport season generally
opens during the month of May with clear blue skies
and majestic Olympic Mountain views. This lured the
sportsmen and ladies out like only Hood Canal can.
With baited and set pots the fishermen awaited the
first easy limit. By 10:00 am the first shrimp were
in the cooler but the sportsman was caught by mother
nature. The north wind blew in and calm Hood Canal
turned into 3 foot seas before the second pull. The
guaranteed limits turned into a fight for survival.
The small boats retreated and the larger boats
toughed it out. Limits were tough because placement
of the pots and positioning of the boat was a
challenge to any skipper. Still, limits (80
shrimp/person) were possible but probably not the
safest thing to do.
Multiple boat swamping @ boat launches, boats left
high and dry by the out going tide, broken ribs from
being tossed by the waves, and lost gear are what
the first opening was all about. This is truly one
fishing activity that the boater and crew need to be
prepared for and not have any impaired senses.
DEPTH: Didn't matter the first opening, 200-230 ft
worked well and was supported by local knowledge. I
fished 250-300 ft but you need the right length of
lines to fish 300 ft. Double buoys or additional
floatation is important in the Hood Canal because of
the tides. Weighted pots for quick descents and to
hold position is important also. It is not uncommon
for the current to push the pot off the edge.
BAIT: If it isn't "Puss n'Boots" cat food your not
fishing. I usually use cat food, with addition
ingredients with fish scraps as hanging bait. You
need the odor to draw the shrimp in and the hanging
bait to keep them in.
TRAPS: It turns out that trap design is important,
but "quick fisher" style tunnels are a must. The
short fishing time and soaks mandates fast, easy
entry by the shrimp but requires the pot to be
pulled every hour or less. This also allows you to
be sure you are in the right location/depth and to
rebait.
LINES: I like the hard lay nylon leaded line and
will not use the "yellow poly" which 95% of what
everybody else uses. I also use one length of line
for each pot with no knots or weighs because it is
safer to power pull. The yellow poly requires lead
weights to be snapped on during setting and removed
during hauling.
LOCATION AND COORDINATES: Ya sure! Set where
everybody else is. Don't bother going if you don't
have a good depth sounder and don't let go of the
buoy until you feel the pot resting on the bottom.
This can be a high gear lost sport.
This is a very heavily regulated sport in Hood
Canal. I saw two Fish and Game boats, one Sheriff
boat, and one Coast Guard inflatable, don't they
have anything else to do? The Fish and Game also
check every boat at some public boat launches. I
wonder if they made their quotas or limits?
The sport is fun and the Shrimp taste good. Watch
the Weather, know what the tide is doing, and be
prepared to get wet when retrieving your boat. |
