[Littlejohn]

I was wondering if any of you guys knew of a place where you could castnet some shrimp for dinner...

I know there is tons of shrimp in the bays and gulf, but, is there an area known to where fisherman can castnet shrimp and put them on ice for dinner.

I know my father did this years ago somewhere in Louisiana. He would stand on a dike and throw his net into a levy area where the shrimp were stacked in...

any area I could do this alon the Texas Gulf Coast????

 

[Bret]

Yeah, There is a place... Just south of Bayside headed towards Gregory on Copano Bay. (Down by Rockport-Aransas pass area) There are culverts that go under the highway. We used to catch them on a changing tide. Be careful to only take your Quart or whatever the limit is now a days.. Old mr gamewarden used to pop a lot of people who were catching more than their limit.
I think that is state hwy 35. Havent lived down there in a few years.

 

[LanceR]

A word of caution...

Texas bay systems are broken down into "major bays", "bait bays" and "nursery areas". Major bays are open for shrimp harvest during regular shrimp seasons only. Bait bays are open generally year-round but you are limited to the quantity that can be kept. Nursery areas are always closed to the harvest of shrimp and it is illegal to keep any shrimp from these bays, whether caught commercially or by recreational anglers using cast nets.

Refer to page 44 in the current TPWD Outdoor Annual or to the TPWD web page (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/fish/shrimpreg.phtml) for specific information regarding a particular bay system.

Lance Robinson
TPWD-Coastal Fisheries

 

[bill]

LanceR question please

Do you know if the Seabrook area is still a protected nursery? I'm talking about the area before the bridge. On second street, the sign only talks about protected grass. (or something similar it is plant life)

 

[Castaway Kay]

Bill, I fish the Seabrook Lagoon alot. Yes it's still a protected shrimp nursury area. I was informed last year by a game warden that had stopped to check me. It is (according to the warden) however legal to take shrimp castnetted from the BAY SIDE of the Toddville road bridge, just not the lagoon side.
I never keep any of them because I don't know how a game warden can discern what side of the bridge you actually caught the shrimp on. When I buy shrimp to fish that area, which is rare, I ALWAYS get a reciept that says I purchased the shrimp and where. Rather have my butt covered JIC.
I have caught shrimp in those little ponds off the levy road across from Dollar Flats though. Nice shrimp too.

Kay

 

[LanceR]

Kay is correct...

The Seabrook Slough and all of Clear Lake (including Taylor Lake and Mud Lake) are classified as "nursery areas". Similarly, secondary bays such as Moses Lake, Greens Lake, Carancahau Lake etc. are also classified as "nursery areas". All of West Bay is listed as a "bait bay" which allows the retention of 2 quarts per person (or 4 quarts/boat when taking shrimp with an individual bait shrimp trawl).

Note the legal shrimping times as they change in April (30 minutes before sunrise to 2:00 pm) to Aug. 14. The rest of the year you can harvest shrimp for bait (or food in the appropriate areas and months) from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset.

LanceR

 

[bill]

I thought so.

I wish someone (gamewarden) hint hint, would skin the people that throw those cast nets on second street. This has bugged me for years to no end. It's not hard to catch them, just showup on a weekend, there will be at least one person throwing if not more. I really love fishing there, but it has got so bad at times I just have decided to move on. The sight of all the dead shad and other fish on the ground has sicken me. I have spoke to the police and even the Chief and have got no real results. I would also not be surprised if there were several people fishing without license.

 

[Castaway Kay]

I've ran into that too Bill

The only difference is I say something to the people, and if they ignore me, I call the gamewarden! I called a couple of old men pigs yesterday because they left shad all over the bridge! I was MAD, and as I walked my line trying to entice a flounder, I kicked the shad back into the water. They were dead already of course, but rather the birds and fish get an easy meal, as opposed to the smell of shad backing in the sun making the overall fishing experience pretty unpleasant for those of us that do care.
I was out there at the tidal pipes one night last week, a guy and his kid showed up to castnet some bait. I was out there talking to Travis, a friend of mine who had been out in his yak. This guy almost rolled his SUV into Travis' brand new Dodge pickup! Then he heads over to the pipes where my fishing equipment was and starts thowing his net. His kid comes running back to us and announces they got HUGE shrimp and grabs his bucket to run back over to daddy.
I yelled over to them both, "you better not keep those shrimp! It's illegal to shrimp here, this is a protected nursury area and it's against the law!"
Then I informed him he wouldn't be able to afford the ticket! He promptly got in his truck and left. I don't think he dumped the shrimp though... probably went over to 2nd street to get away from me.

Kay