Galveston Fishing

A combination of unfavorable conditions and the Christmas lull had anglers looking at holiday activities other than fishing on Saturday.

While there were no fishing reports, we did receive a note from Maurice Higgins, who asked why live shrimp are so expensive and what is necessary to catch shrimp on your own.

Higgins said that he pays anywhere from $16 to $20 a quart for live shrimp and is interested in catching his own bait.

He owns a 19-foot boat and was told that it would be suitable for dragging a shrimp trawl.

The price referenced above is in line with the prices charged by bait camps all around Galveston and, in my opinion, is a bargain.

I do not recall the last time we had a price increase for live shrimp; however, it has been many years.

Shrimpers are on the water just about every day trying to keep up with the demand for their product and many days the boats come up with empty nets.

High fuel prices and tighter regulations have taken their toll on a large portion of our shrimping fleet, including both bay and offshore boats.

From first-hand experience, I can say that shrimping is no easy task. In my early years, I owned a 20-foot bait trawl and would go after my own live shrimp and experienced the frustrations of feast or famine.

For those of you not familiar with recreational bait shrimping, here are some of the basic regulations. Required is a shrimp trawl tag, costing $37.

The trawls are limited to a 20-foot maximum length and the daily limit on shrimp you may retain is two quarts per person or four quarts total for the boat.

Successful shrimping is not as easy as it might appear. Skill and experience are the two keys, and it is physically challenging.

One consideration should be in the time it takes away from fishing. Let’s say that you are going after your own bait shrimp, launch your boat and soon start dragging your net. If you are successful in pulling in a quart or more of shrimp, it is likely you have taken a couple of valuable hours away from fishing.