by John H. Hook
The Bay Naturalist
Paranormal on
the Beach...
The Ghost Shrimp
O
f all the common beach
crustaceans that are used for
bait, probably the very best is
the least recognized. Ghost
shrimp very well may be the ultimate
surf bait for pompano, whiting, redfish
and spawning croaker. They are also the
least used. Depending on
your stance regarding the
paranormal, these guys are
very appropriately named.
They are always there but
never seen!
The next time that you
are standing in ankle deep
surf, pay attention to the
small holes in the sand, each
with a mini-volcano of
surrounding sand. There
will be an obvious flow of
water coming out of the hole
but no evidence of what is
making them. While we do
have some surf clams that
will produce a similar mark,
the vast majority of these
openings are the outflow
holes for ghost shrimp. If
you want to get them out of the hole,
forget about digging them up, they have
that angle covered. The rest of the
burrow is a “U”-shaped tube structure
that has another opening in subtidal
water in the first gut. As you attempt to
dig up the shrimp he will just scoot down
the burrow way faster than you can dig.
You’ll get tired and frustrated way before
the ghost shrimp runs out of tunnel.
So, now you know about these guys
and a little grilled pompano is sounding
pretty good. How can you get your
hands on them? Thank the Australians
for inventing the “yabbie pump”. Ghost
shrimp aren’t only found around the
Gulf, they are a successful group with
many species worldwide. The Aussies
figured out that you could suck the little
guys out of their burrows using a suction
plunger made out of PVC pipe. They
are easy enough to build but they are also
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GULF COAST FISHERMAN
available in many bait shops or in the
world’s biggest market, the Internet. The
idea is that you place the PVC pipe over
the shrimp’s hole, which is best done at
low tide, and then pull up on the plunger
to create suction. It usually requires a bit
of an angle, and figuring out how much
and in what direction requires thinking
like the shrimp. It takes a little practice
to get the hang of it, but once you do you
can get all the law will allow (20 per day
in Texas) in no time.
The trick isn’t complete with capture,
though. The darn things are tricky to rig
on a hook, too. They are a little too big
to use whole for most of your targets,
except drum and reds, so using them in
bite size pieces is the way to go if you are
chasing pompano, whiting, or croaker.
Even then, keeping them on the hook can
be a challenge. Once you have that
solved, you are in business. Whether they
are better bait for pomps than plain peeled
shrimp is debatable, but there is
something to be said for catching the bait
that catches your fish.
Some areas may be closed to
harvesting your own ghost shrimp, so
check local regulations. For example,
Padre Island National Seashore is closed
to harvesting ghosties because they are a
valued member of beach ecology. Their
burrows that run through the nearshore
bottom help aerate those sediments for
other life forms and deliver nutrients into
the shifting sand bottom as well. They
are called ecosystem
engineers by coastal
ecologists because they help
create and maintain habitats
that would not exist in their
absence. They are probably
safe from overharvesting as
long as good alternatives are
available at the local bait
camp. They require just
enough of a sweat and time
investment that only a few
fishermen are willing to
yabbie up enough for bait.
Ghost shrimp are not a
common item on our menu,
but on other coastlines
around the world they are
coveted for their unique
flavor. There are some
tricks if you choose to eat
them instead of using them for bait. Like
crabs, lobsters and mantis shrimp, ghost
shrimp decompose rapidly after death.
This renders their meat to a gooey liquid
which is used for soup flavoring but not
worth the trouble of catching them.
Steam, boil or fry them while still alive
and they yield a succulent meat very
similar to a cross between lobster and
Gulf shrimp. Fried, they are typically
eaten shell and all in Asian cultures. The
trick is to fry them just enough to crisp
the shell but not so much as to turn the
meat to rubber.
These beachfront mystery shrimp
have all kinds of potential whether your
interests are culinary, ecological or
simply want to turn a few into pompano
fillets. They are a challenge to find and
capture, but would you expect anything
else from something called “ghost
Photo by Adrick Velasco GCF
shrimp?”
W W W. G U L F F I S H I N G. C O M