Thread: Fresh dead shrimp

How long can it be kept and be useful bait?

So glad to have found this Btw! Pleasantly surprised at how helpful people on here are! Really helpful for a guy like me that loves surf/pier fishing but have very little knowledge.

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and the answer is.........................2 -3 days if they are in fact fresh when you get them and you keep them iced down.

When the guts under the head turn yellow and red you can pull the 'helmet' off and give them a light rinse and they will be good for another day or so.
Salting in the fridge overnite helps preserve them.

Once the 'joints' betweel the segments of the tail start to turn black they are rotting and time to throw them away.

Welcome Canvasback!
Good luck and hope this helps.

You can put leftovers in Ice cream salt, or any salt for that matter, and salt them down for use anytime. I just put them in a zip-top bag, add salt to cover, let set in my workshop for a day or two, pour off the liquid, remove the shrimp and put them in the freezer. I use salted shrimp for anything, white trout, crocker, whiting, reds, pompano, black drum and tipping flounder jigs. I you are taking a kid fishing, salted shrimp is the go-to bait in my book.

Originally Posted by Mobilebayfisher

You can put leftovers in Ice cream salt, or any salt for that matter, and salt them down for use anytime. I just put them in a zip-top bag, add salt to cover, let set in my workshop for a day or two, pour off the liquid, remove the shrimp and put them in the freezer. I use salted shrimp for anything, white trout, crocker, whiting, reds, pompano, black drum and tipping flounder jigs. I you are taking a kid fishing, salted shrimp is the go-to bait in my book.

Salting bait is a great way to keep it fresh. It takes some time to do it right. I use pickling salt from the Kroger. 2 lbs for $2.00 it takes about that much for pound of shrimp. I head and peel the shrip and if large cut them in half good bait sizes. Dry the any water off them put a layer of salt in a plastic container put in a layer of shrimp................layer of salt............cover with salt. Put it in the fridge, and every couple of days shake it up a little. In a couple of weeks you have cured fresh shrimp that will be a little tuff and stay on the hook better. Some guys say to use some baking soda with the salt and it will not get as tuff. After the curing process it will keep with out ice for a long time. It works great I have a pound in the fridge right now and headed to VB next week.
This also works with clams and squid and sometimes cut mullet or bunker but it is very wet and harder to work with.

Originally Posted by DANtheJDMan

Salting bait is a great way to keep it fresh. It takes some time to do it right. I use pickling salt from the Kroger. 2 lbs for $2.00 it takes about that much for pound of shrimp. I head and peel the shrip and if large cut them in half good bait sizes. Dry the any water off them put a layer of salt in a plastic container put in a layer of shrimp................layer of salt............cover with salt. Put it in the fridge, and every couple of days shake it up a little. In a couple of weeks you have cured fresh shrimp that will be a little tuff and stay on the hook better. Some guys say to use some baking soda with the salt and it will not get as tuff. After the curing process it will keep with out ice for a long time. It works great I have a pound in the fridge right now and headed to VB next week.
This also works with clams and squid and sometimes cut mullet or bunker but it is very wet and harder to work with.

Does it matter to the fish between salt preserved versus unpreserved?

Lots of seafood markets in the area to get fresh shrimp; I just get me a half pound of headed medium eating shrimp, keep 'em iced and give them to someone still fishing as I leave the pier unless I am going back the next day.
If I am going out before daylight (quit laughing), I buy them the afternoon before and keep 'em iced.

Originally Posted by Canvasback

Does it matter to the fish between salt preserved versus unpreserved?

Well they live in salt water and they can't tell the difference. No really, salted can work better than fresh because it stays on the hook better.
A few seconds in the water and its like brand new.

Originally Posted by DANtheJDMan

Well they live in salt water and they can't tell the difference. No really, salted can work better than fresh because it stays on the hook better.
A few seconds in the water and its like brand new.

Good point!!! Thanks for your help!

I have had days where the Pompano were running well but would only hit a piece of FRESH DEAD SHRIMP. There were people around me not catching any and my son and I slayed them. I had a live bait bucket with an aerator keeping the shrimp alive and when I needed a bait I would pinch off the head of a live one, peel it, and put about a 3/4" piece on a hook. Unless something else beat the Pompano to it I would shortly have a nice Pompano. I also find that ALMOST FRESH DEAD SHRIMP work better for all the species than buying the frozen bait cups. When I am down I make a trip out to Billy's or one of the other places on hwy 10 every other day to purchase fresh off the boat shrimp. The last few trips down I have found a guy that docks out on oyster bay and if you will go out between 7 and 9am most days he is sorting the shrimp he caught over night.
It's great to support these local guys trying to earn a living and the fresh shrimp you get from them are also great on the table. It looks like my next trip will not be until late October when I will be at Four Seasons for a week. That is usually very productive for flounder and nice size whiting.