A bit of a novice to shrimping. Been out 2-3 times a year for several years but looking for more success this year. Which is better bait binder or meal and clay? Always used meal and clay in the past. Also going out tomorrow during low tide by James Island Yacht club. Think its looking any good? Sorry to sound like such a novice!
I’m an extreme novice! All I can say is try both and see which works best…one pole baitbinder,next pole meal/clay. I’ve only tried Baitbinder and it worked for me but it probably costs more than meal/clay.
I used bait binder for the first time last year and did ok with it. It’s very convienient to use and the problem that I have with fish meal and clay is that I have only been able to find fish meal in 50 lb bags. No more than I get to go uit would take me years to use up 50 lbs of fish meal and if you aren’t careful how you store it it will mold. I’ll probably be sticking with bait binder
BadBob
If you ain’t the lead dog then the scenery never changes
Low tide is at 2pm tomorrow. In my experience, the shrimp are very sensitive to light. You may want to wait until the sun goes down or find some deep holes. I could be wrong though, let us know how you do. Good luck!
Been using meal and clay for 15 years. Last year started using bait binder. In my opinion it is much easier to work with, makes less mess and easier to clean up than fish meal and clay. I make the patties about a 1/4 of the size and I think they last longer. Can’t really say if it brings in more shrimp or not though. Takes up less room on the boat as well. One of the large bags is usually enough to bait poles twice. Small bag baits poles once with 2-3 small patties per pole. Just a preference though.
I was a clay/fish meal guy until I tried Baitbinder. My experience with it was that it worked a little better and was easier to use. You also don’t have to make you bait balls as big and it seems to last in the water longer.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
It could be just a pure coincidence, but I’ve had better success with clay/fishmeal. Baitbinder is WAY easier to use and clean up though. Plus if you aren’t shrimping a lot, figuring out what to do with 50 pounds of clay and fishmeal during the offseason is a real consideration.
Random questions for the crew:
How many patties do you use per pole?
Do you try to toss them really close to eachother or spread them out a little bit? What’s your reasoning for doing what you do?
If you’ve found the shrimp and you’re getting some on every throw (not filling the net but enough for you not to move), how long after the first baits do you wait to put out another bait, if you rebait at all?
2014 Key West 203DFS
1987 Landau
I make 4 Bait Binder patties for each pole and put them in a square pattern in front of each pole…typically I use a 7’ net so I try to place them so I can cover all 4 of them in one cast on each pole…depending on how long the shrimp are there I have not rebaited at all and still coolered out…
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
quote:
Originally posted by bonecrusherRandom questions for the crew:
How many patties do you use per pole?
Do you try to toss them really close to eachother or spread them out a little bit? What’s your reasoning for doing what you do?
If you’ve found the shrimp and you’re getting some on every throw (not filling the net but enough for you not to move), how long after the first baits do you wait to put out another bait, if you rebait at all?2014 Key West 203DFS
1987 Landau
My experience is that if the shrimp are there, 1 softball size bait ball per pole is enough. If the shrimp are slow, 100 balls per pole won’t get them. In past years, I’ve caught many limits on 1 bait ball per pole. Just my experience…
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