DOA Shrimp vs. Vudu Shrimp: Winter Redfish Contest (Day 1)
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
The water is cooling down and the shrimp lures are heating up!
Shrimp are more prevalent in our inshore waters than baitfish right now, so a shrimp imitation lure is a great option to catch redfish, trout, snook, and flounder.
Which leads us to the obvious question… what’s the best shrimp lure?
That’s a great question and one that I’m actively trying to answer!
On two of my recent trips, I’ve been testing out the DOA shrimp vs. the Vudu shrimp.
On the first trip, neither were working very well, but the second trip was a different story.
I found a deep hole in a creek on low tide that was full of redfish — it was like shooting fish in a barrel!
But the most interesting part was that one shrimp lure significantly outperformed the other.
Check out the video below to see which one it was!
DOA vs. Vudu Shrimp [VIDEO]
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Setup 1:
- Rod: St. Croix Legend Tournament (7’6″ Medium Fast)
- Reel: Daiwa Exceler 2500
- Mainline: 10 lb PowerPro SuperSlick V2
- Leader: 20 lb Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon
- Lure: DOA Shrimp
Setup 2:
- Rod: 7’6 Lamiglass Custom Blank (Medium Fast)
- Reel: Daiwa Fuego 2500
- Mainline: 10 lb PowerPro Original
- Leader: 20 lb Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon
- Lure: Vudu Shrimp
Winter might be my favorite time of year to fish because of the extreme low tides.
In the creeks, there are usually deeper pockets scattered throughout them, which is where you’ll find fish corralled up when the rest of the creek is dry.
On the second day of this test, this was the exact scenario I found myself in.
I got out of my kayak, walked over to this hole, and was delighted to find it full of redfish and (to my surprise) a flounder.
I had two rods rigged up, one with a DOA shrimp and one with a Vudu shrimp, and to try to make the test fair, I switched setups every three casts.
Which do you think won?
Drumroll, please…
It was the Vudu shrimp!
I caught four redfish on the Vudu shrimp and one flounder on the DOA shrimp.
I think the Vudu shrimp won because it’s weighted in the front (which allows it to sink to the bottom faster where the fish are feeding), compared to the DOA shrimp that’s weighted in the middle (which causes it to sink more slowly).
It’s also got a jointed tail and rattles in it, which provides a little more commotion to catch the fishes’ attention, which is especially important here in this dark water.
I’ll be testing these out some more in different scenarios, but so far, the Vudu shrimp is winning when the water is deeper.
Conclusion
Shrimp lures are really effective in the winter months when there are fewer baitfish and more shrimp around.
So far in this test, the Vudu shrimp has pretty significantly outperformed the DOA shrimp in deeper water, likely because it’s got more action and sinks down into the strike zone faster.
Keep an eye out for more tests between these two!
Have you tried these lures?
Have any other requests for testing out shrimp lures?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you know someone who swears by DOA shrimp, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Add another vote for the Vudu here. It’s been the shrimp imitation go to for me for 2 seasons straight. The DOA is decent under a cork but just not as good as the Vudu and when the Vudu is fished without the cork there is no comparison; it’s Vudu hands down for me as well.
A popular kayak angler in my area (Chesapeake Bay – Alan Battista) did a test on different plastics used for soft plastics he did for his book. He found the make up of the material impact the sink rate considerably. He’ll switch out plastics based on water temps, depth of water and presentation required. Therefore, not only the location of the weight but the plastic could make a big difference. There’s also a guy here who created his own jig heads that make sure the soft plastic drops nose down which also makes a big difference.
Hi Wyatt. How did your Fuego handle a dunk in the saltwater? I have a Daiwa Saltist 3000 and a Penn Fierce 3 3000 (one high end reel and one lower end reel, as you know) that I got at the same time about 3 years ago. I use both for kayak fishing and no issues with either, even with getting quite a bit of water on them every trip (as you well know kayak fishing) just rinsing with water and spraying with Reel Magic….until…..I flipped my kayak and both got dunked. I rinsed off and kept fishing and everything was good for a while but my Penn eventually started really grinding and squeaking and I had to send it in. My Saltist never missed a beat and still works like brand new. That said a lot to me about spending a little more to get a sealed reel for saltwater…..
Anyhow, just wanted to get your opinion. Thank for all the great content! You’re doing a heck of a job.
Wyatt, just an FYI on your dropped gear. Carry a bottle of water, punch a small hole in the lid and rinse! Gets a lot off and saves work once you are back on land
Another feature that differentiates the two is how the vudu weight causes the lure to fall and sit on the bottom nose down and tail up. It works on Specs, too.
I may have missed it. 1/4 weight, what size 4″?
They were both 1/4th oz and the Vudu was 3.5″, while the DOA was 4″
Naaa…doa.all.day for me. Doa may be ugly.in a package and the voodoo,live target etc…are pretty in the package,but in the water none of them look and move like a real shrimp than a doa. They glide just like a live shrimp and despite what someone said they sit up.straight on bottom. I was just showing that to a guy in 2ft of water when a snook jumped out and smashed it. I wasnt ever fishing it. I was just showing someone how realistic they are in the water.
Tomorrow may be a whole diff story. That’s fishing.
I agree! I’ve seen many fish fall for the DOA and I’m still not sold that the Vudu is the best all around. I have more testing to come (in different scenarios as well) , but we’ll see which comes out on top!
Wyatt,
I did notice the color difference between the two lures. The DOA looked like it had red sparkle vs the natural color of the Vudu. Was that just video differences or were you using unmatched colors? Some say color doesn’t matter, but I feel it does indeed. Thanks Wyatt
Correct, I was using a Red Glitter on the water, but had a new pack of gold flake ones on my desk. For the final day of testing, I’ll be using the gold flake as they are the closest color to the currently leading Vudu’s “Golden Tiger” color scheme.
Can you mix different vudu shrimp color-ways in the same tackle box without bleeding issues or anything? Thanks in advance
While I don’t reccomend mixing soft plastics, the DOA and Vudu don’t seen to have negative reactions to each other’s material.
I had purchased a set of Vudu shrimp before this article came out. They sat in my tackle box as I am rather new to inshore fishing and wasn’t quite comfortable using artificial bait. Well that changed today. With no bait fish to be had, I rigged up my Vudu shrimp and used a weighted popping cork and had one of my best days yet. I caught 9 red fish, the biggest being 23”.
That’s awesome! Congrats on the great day on the water Glenn!