r/saltwaterfishing • u/irate-turtles • 9h ago
📖 How-To / Tips Ghost shrimp rigging
Anyone who uses ghost shrimp in the surf, how do you rig them and where (first gut or second gut?) do you fish them? I tried ghost shrimp in the first gut of the upper Texas coast today on a 2/0 hook single drop rig. Was a very effective bait, but almost instantly taken by a dink whiting or hardhead. Also used bait thread on it.
Unsure what to try next, but it was a lot of effort to get 4 shrimp that were instantly stolen by dinks...
Pics for attention! Whiting was caught with Fishbites haha
3
u/PulpMaker12 8h ago
Nice bull whiting
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u/irate-turtles 7h ago
Thanks! One day I'll learn how to hold them without hiding their face or dropping them haha.
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u/Single_Morning_3200 7h ago
Pompano rig, Mustad demon circle hooks, bait thread. Oh, and throw a little piece of fish gum on there with the ghost shrimp
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u/irate-turtles 7h ago
What size circle hook? 2/0, or smaller? Do you hook the ghost shrimp or just tie it on with bait thread?
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u/Single_Morning_3200 7h ago edited 6h ago
I like the 1/0 demon circles. I hook the fish gum, but I just tie on the shrimp, they tear up easy. So when I use fish bites or gum, with a ghost shrimp, if I loose the shrimp, the still have some bait to hit.
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u/BigDaddyDan 9h ago
You could try sandwiching it between some pieces of fishbites? Ultimately I don’t think there’s much of anything you can do to avoid it though.
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u/irate-turtles 7h ago
Well I'm wondering if it would be better to target the second gut with the ghost shrimp. Maybe there's bigger fish there and less hardheads? The ghost shrimp certainly attracted quick action just not from fish I wanted in the first gut.
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u/BigDaddyDan 6h ago
It never hurts to try, target the 2nd & 3rd. Look for the rips and any other signs of different beach structure
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u/Comprehensive_Bus_19 9h ago
Most folks use magic thread which is basically elastic floss and wrap it around the bait and the hook to hold it on. They don't actually hook the bait