Thread: How long is fresh....considered fresh?

Hey everyone....been lurking all year but finally gonna be heading down the week after the fourth. I usually use frozen shrimp but going to switch to fresh dead shrimp after perusing the forum. My question is how long is fresh considered fresh and usable to catch fish? Thanks in advance.

Live or fresh dead, would you be willing to eat it?
That's fresh.

Originally Posted by Canvasback

Hey everyone....been lurking all year but finally gonna be heading down the week after the fourth. I usually use frozen shrimp but going to switch to fresh dead shrimp after perusing the forum. My question is how long is fresh considered fresh and usable to catch fish? Thanks in advance.

That's a great question. "Fresh-dead", to me, are shrimp that have just been taken from the tank as no longer viable. It doesn't refer to shrimp that have been on ice for hours and have started to turn. I actually prefer to use live shrimp and then put them in a separate container in my cooler when they're no longer moving. Mushy, smelly, turning colors = bad. Transluscent and firm = good. "Usable to catch fish"? Pompano, flounder, redfish usually need something pretty close to live. Whiting, bluefish, hardtails, ladyfish - you can catch them with regular dead shrimp, but not turning, usually. Hardhead catfish-- they'll eat just about anything, in any condition. Consider the time-lapse between when you buy the fresh-dead and when you use them -- they may no longer be fresh. And that's why I use live shrimp!

Buy them live, keep them cool in a bait bucket with a bubbler for oxygen. When you want fresh dead, take one out pull it's head off and cut the body into the size pieces you want. That's fresh dead, in my opinion.

Welcome aboard Canvasback!

Don't buy the dead bait shrimp, buy cooking shrimp at a seafood shop.
I usually buy what I think I might use that day, unless shrimp dinner is plan B.

Like Big Dawg said, live shrimp are the freshest dead shrimp once they are no longer swimming around in the bucket.

If you can't get fresh recently dead shrimp, then go to walmart and get a $5 bag of fresh frozen shrimp made for human consumption in the frozen isle. I find that shrimo to work best for most cases.

If its not fresh enough to cook and eat, its not fresh enough for fishing either. Well, maybe good for catfish.
Fresh eating shrimp will last at least a few days when kept well chilled and drained,on ice or in the fridge. Here is what I found online:

The shrimp will stay at 32-33 F. When they start smelling a little bit off (usually by the 5th day), you shouldn't use them. They should smell like the sea, not a strong fishy smell. If they smell bad, or if they are slimy, then don't use them.

USDA recommends only 2-3 days:
Fresh and Frozen Seafood: Selecting and Serving it Safely

Plus one for Finchaser. I've had good luck using fresh-caught, never frozen shrimp from the supermarket. As to price, by the time you throw away the heads from the cup of frozen shrimp, you are paying pretty much the same, and you can cut the market shrimp into three or four bite size pieces. Bite size for the fish, that is---I have nearly taken off my own finger at the second joint while engrossed in eating whole, fried shrimp.