Shrimp VS. Mullet (What’s The Best Bait For Each Inshore Species?)
- By: Richard Thomas
- on
Shrimp VS Mullet.
Which is better?
Which is the best bait for each species of inshore saltwater fish?
Find out below!!
Shrimp VS. Mullet [VIDEO]
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Time Of The Year
Winter is the right time to use live shrimp or shrimp presentations.
Most of the mullet have moved into larger sounds and bodies of water.
Shrimp of any size is your best bait option for the colder months, even artificial will work!
Moving into spring and then summer is when you want to use mullet or finfish as bait.
During the spring and summer, there are tons of shrimp hatches which overload our waters with millions of shrimp.
This is an ideal time to use finger mullet to target inshore fish.
Shrimp presentations tend to blend into the masses and won’t stand out as a mullet would in spring or summer.
Moving into Fall, mullet are going to be bigger but so are the shrimp as well.
Once those first few cold fronts roll through in the fall, you should use live shrimp.
There are not as many ‘trash’ fish around to steal your bait as there will be in other seasons.
Also, shrimp tend to be a bit bigger during this time and larger meals are exactly what these fish want.
They don’t have to expend a lot of energy to chase down a meal.
Species To Target With Either Bait
When it comes to speckled trout, shrimp is your best bet.
If you want to reel in TONS of trout, then shrimp is the way to go.
But if you want to target bigger trophy trout, then you have to use larger finger mullet.
No matter the size of the redfish, my favorite bait to use to target them is shrimp.
Mainly all year round, shrimp is the way to go for targeting all sizes of redfish.
However, I will switch over to finfish in the springtime in an effort to set my presentation apart when shrimp are extremely prevalent.
To complete the slam, the best type of bait for flounder is finger mullet.
Anywhere in the 4-7-inch range works best.
Flounder are ambush predators and love it when they spot a BIG meal that is easy to get.
The main part of their diet is finfish, especially when the flounder get bigger.
Conclusion
It’s all about analyzing fish biology as well as seasonal trends.
Shrimp works all year round but excels in the colder months.
Mullet is an excellent bait for flounder in particular and is best used in spring and summer when shrimp hatches are everywhere.
What questions do you have about Shrimp VS Mullet?
When do you prefer to fish with either live bait option?
Let me know what you think down in the comments!!
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Shrimp vs anything equals a shrimp winner.
Most of the time!
Who rigged that shrimp???
Haha good question Michael! Definitely not me
What I love about the videos are the perspectives to the science and details. I never thought of the season to live/dead bait. An old captain gave information similar but never as contextual. It makes great forage sense In application. Wh buy dead 13/15 5″-7″whole shrimp in Baltimore, Md then cut in pieces expecting something big to bite. Not wanting to allow the pin fish to eat our whole bait. Will switch up to a little smaller shrimp, take tail off , split shot w 1/0 and see who bites this fall.
Sounds good! Those little differences can make it happen!
So we should be pushing toward the larger lures with regards to shrimp? I prefer the Vudu shrimp myself with a little procure.
I have noticed very little fishing site analysis in Charleston, SC. Can we get the guides locally to help with understanding these Fall conditions?
Only for certain times of year, when the shrimp are larger I definitely like throwing the bigger profiles for sure!
I wanted to know what type of rig was used for the flounder near the end of the video, also good info on shrimp v mullet.
Thanks Robin, so I used what I call a slip
Float. This allows you to adjust your depth as needed when you fish different areas.
If you type in Slip Float in the fishing tips section I have a video explaining how to rig it up.
Good info as always. This last weekend, the finger mullet outfished our live shrimp. Do you think the mullet run coming up may influence fish to shift that direction? Last year, it seemed to work better for me using mullet, but that was because they were easy to castnet during the migration and I didn’t use much shrimp during that time.
James that’s a good point. I definitely do, then usually let summer and late fall when the rest of the shrimp move out is when I’ve seen them switch to shrimp. During this time of year it definitely pays to have both of you can keep them alive
Richard good information on bait and time of year .
Thanks David! Glad it was helpful
Interesting points that seem counter to the “match-the-hatch” axiom we’ve heard so frequently. Generally, I find it very hard to get the target species to bite on live croaker or mullet. Have tried all the rigging techniques taught here. Similar issues with cut bait. For me in the Texas gulf / bay systems, live shrimp, artificial shrimp and paddle tails seem to be the ticket.
Yeah David certain times of year and even certain regions may have this change up
A bit. Generally in the S/E Atlantic Regions this is what I have noticed over the years. The paddle tail is always up at the top though!
In looking at your initial promo photo, it shows hooking the shrimp in the middle of the body. I thought l had learned to lose the tail and hook through the horn or up through the body from the tail. I’m confused.
Hey Tom, that’s just a thumbnail picture of a shrimp and not the way we teach to rig shrimp typically. I usually go through the horn or up through the body starting from the tail.
Ha! I was thinking the exactly the same thing when I saw that thanks for clearing that up. And thanks for the video.
Good stuff Richard.