Using the DOA Shrimp

Kayak Fishing - Jacksonville

The "Mystery" of the DOA Shrimp - By Capt. Mel Berman

How to work the DOA shrimp is a mystery that is easily solved.

There is a distinct divide between those who have figured out this unique bait, and those who apparently are struggling with learning how to make that shrimp look-alike catch fish. For anglers who have mastered this small but effective bait, you will find dedicated and avid proponents. For those who have yet to unravel the mystery of how to catch fish with the DOA Shrimp, it all sounds like a bunch of malarkey.
Here’s a typical email from one of the unconvinced:
"Re: DOA shrimp and TerrorEyz:

I have heard how great these two baits are and I’m sure from the amount of them sold they work. However, for two trips and a total of est. 6 hours of chunking and winding I have naught to show for my efforts. Is there a secret formula for these two baits? I’ve tried going slow and steady, slow and slower, popping cork etc. to no avail. I even tried them tying your loop knot shown on your knot tying 101 page. Can you help or am I beyond hope."
And here was my response:
First of all let me state with all honesty that I have caught the overwhelming majority of fish over the last several year using those very two DOA lures. And more recently, with the introduction of the CAL jigs, have caught a great many fish with this newest of DOA products.
Now I will ask what might seem like an impertinent question, but I mean no malice. Were you where the fish were? I don’t care how effective a bait is, if there are no fish in the neighborhood, you will not catch fish.

My suggestion to you would be to find yourself a nice grass flats, with lots of sand holes and start a drift across them. If the waters are shallow, use the DOA Shrimp, casting along the edges of the sand holes and then reeling slowly back to the boat. You can give it a very slight twitch every so often to emulate a shrimp jumping out of the way of a predator. Remember, the DOA Shrimp is not a jig – it’s an imitation shrimp and should be crawled along the bottom just like a shrimp.

I assure you that, as you drift over a large area of flats, using the technique just described, you will definitely catch fish. Once you do, you should develop a "feel" for this unique bait and gain a great deal of confidence in its capabilities.

If you drift deeper flats, switch to the DOA Terror-Eyz or the new DOA CAL jigs. The Terror-Eyz itself is used like any other jig --you can swim it through the water column and jig it up and down. Most times the fish will strike on the drop.

You can also drift the flats with a DOA Shrimp rigged on a small float or a "Cajun Thunder" cork. Flip it out and twitch. When the Cajun Thunder again sits upright, twitch again, etc. Each time the Cajun Thunder flips upright, the shrimp is dropping slowly to the bottom, which is very enticing to the fish.
Thus it is my sincere hope that with the emailed response, I have cleared up "The Mystery of the DOA Shrimp."

I have been using D.O.A. Shrimp here on the flats of the Florida Panhandle for over a year now, and I just cant say enough good things about them. Out of all the shrimp imitations on the market, this is by far the best there is. The first and foremost reason for this is the baits stunning resemblance to a shrimp. These things are made to look real if a fish sits and stares at it for ten minutes. When looking at other imitations you can see they are just a "characature" of a shrimp meant to only be seen in a passing glance by the fish, and hopefully at that moment that it pops past his head he feels like charging it.

The second reason is its movement. Most shrimp imitations are basically a hunk of fast sinking plastic that you provide the action for by jerking them, imitating a fleeing shrimp. The DOA Shrimp perfectly imitates the actions of a live shrimp. This starts after the shrimp hits the water and starts its descent. Instead of falling straight to the bottom like a hunk of pretty plastic, they spiral slowly toward the bottom like a real shrimp would, almost hovering their way down. Then you're supposed to reel the lure in as slowly as you can stand. This is by far the best presentation for a shrimp imitation for a couple reasons:

1) The slow retrieve keeps the shrimp in the strike zone MUCH longer than a shrimp you work more quickly, and 2) It works on a fish's natural "ambush" instincts and the fish is more inclined to actually pursue the bait.

The fish thinks the slow moving shrimp is plodding along without noticing him, This is better than the shrimp jerking around like most imitations do, because they are imitating a shrimps flight response, and a fish may well choose that he doesn't feel like or have the energy to go chasing a lightning fast shrimp that day, ESPECIALLY if its chilly outside.Now we've hit on another point where these shrimp shine, cold-water performance. The object of working a DOA Shrimp on the bottom is to move it as slowly as you possibly can, which I need not tell you is the only way to go during the winter months when fish's metabolisms are down and they don't have the energy to chase anything too far.

The one feature that ads the most to a DOA Shrimp's usability in almost any situation is the fact that its basically weedless! Most shrimp imitations are made with sets of treble or double hooks, and good luck pulling those through the weeds! The DOA Shrimp is made with a single hook that rides up on top of the bait to keep it out of the grass! This means you can pull it through even the thickest of grass and 99% of the time you wont get weeds on it!The next great thing about DOA Shrimp is that they are impregnated with real shrimp for scent attraction! You may think to yourself "what doesn't have scent attraction these days?" But most of them are made with chemical slurries and menhaden oil and give the bait a "stinky" quality instead of a more natural scent. They actually smell like a shrimp which causes fish to hold on to them longer than they would if they didn't have this real smell. If you really want to test the scent factor go dance one over a crabs head and then let it settle to the bottom a little ways away from it. The crab will go right over to the shrimp and proceed with eating it!Now we have hit on one of it's downfalls, it looks, smells, and acts like a real shrimp so well, that lots of little fish will actually eat the lure off the hook, just as if it were a live shrimp. Pinfish hound these things till they come to the surface for another cast, but they usually can only manage to pull a leg off here and there. The real culprits are the Puffers and Triggerfish. These things will burn a hole in your pocket if you keep casting more shrimp after a couple of them have been destroyed. Once you encounter these little scavengers its time to put away the DOA Shrimp, unless you've got LOTS of money to spend! The worst part is that you hardly ever catch these bait stealers, they usually just bite off the tail making the bait useless. I suggest trying them out in your area to see if you are infested with the Puffers and Triggers in your favorite hole. Remember, those stealers arent around all year long so try it at different times of the year too!Over-all I recommend the DOA Shrimp to anyone doing inshore saltwater fishing, where live shrimp would normally be a good bait. (Basically everywhere) Get out there with one and throw it at all of your favorite spots! Take some time getting used to the lure, and how to work it, and I'm sure you'll find the same success I have with them!