Pink shrimps river Trent

[Steve Brand]

Has anyone used or had any success using shrimps as bait either pink or brown shrimps shell on or shelled?
I ask becauce In the eighties myself and a few friends fished the Trent at long Higgin and I clearly remember a local guy fishing the stretch who used shrimps as bait and was renowned for catching quality fish and shrimps were the only bait that he used in fact he was known as shrimpy.
Apparently the shrimps that he used were not those used for human consumption but were sold as pet food.
This was at a time when the trent was heavily match fished and this stretch was popular for matches the river at that time ran coloured pretty much all the time with suspended sewage effluent.
I am considering trying natural baits on the trent with cockles, mussels, and shrimps or crayfish tails being the baits I intend using.
Are there still lots of water snails In the trent I recall reeling In when fishing the stick float with these quite large snails impaled on the hook probably three quarters of an inch In diameter.

 

[Paul Cahill]

Worth a try because it's different. I'd guess you might bag a few eels though

 

[Jon Bedford]

My first Trent double was caught on a bunch of hair rigged cockles, only tried them a couple of times but had a few skimmers too, always said I'd try them again but have never got round to it yet.

Got to be worth a go.

Jon

 

[Paul Collins]

I've been using peeled prawns, bought frozen, recently and so far they seem to be an excellent instant bait much loved by Carp, Perch and roach. I'm sure Barbel will love them too.
One guy in my club uses nothing but mussels, he does ok.

 

[David Maddison]

A chap i know adds salt to his prawns and does rather well with carp. I am sure barbel and certainly chub would go for them.

Dave

 

[Nigel Gray]

I've had the odd barbel, as well as loads of chub, eels and perch when salmon fishing using shrimps as bait.

 

[Peter Littleworth]

The eels will love you, chub are very partial to prawns too,barbel should be up for them too, must try them!
peter

 

[Stuart Brookes]

Tried prawns for barbel on the Tees last week and ended up with a nive perch just short of 2lb, no barbel as usual.

 

[Steve Brand]

eels

Worth a try because it's different. I'd guess you might bag a few eels though

I do know there are some eels In the stretch I fish and they tend to be big 2lb + I have caught a couple on 15mm halibut pellets big black slimey beasts that snot your net up big style.
Think It might be worth having an old net set up as a spare for landing these If using any form of fishy natural bait, bought some cockles to try and they certainly have a distinctive fishy smell.

 

[Paul Cahill]

I do know there are some eels In the stretch I fish and they tend to be big 2lb + I have caught a couple on 15mm halibut pellets big black slimey beasts that snot your net up big style.
Think It might be worth having an old net set up as a spare for landing these If using any form of fishy natural bait, bought some cockles to try and they certainly have a distinctive fishy smell.

Horrible things. I'd rather blank than have those buggers eating my bait and tangling up my tackle. I got bitten on the leg by a foul hooked one a couple of weeks ago. Had to yank it off. Pellets and boilies tend to be the best way to avoid them. Worms are a much underrated barbel bait too, but every eel in the county sniffs them out.

 

[Steve Brand]

Eels

Horrible things. I'd rather blank than have those buggers eating my bait and tangling up my tackle. I got bitten on the leg by a foul hooked one a couple of weeks ago. Had to yank it off. Pellets and boilies tend to be the best way to avoid them. Worms are a much underrated barbel bait too, but every eel in the county sniffs them out.

I to have had previous experience with a large eel I used to match fish a lot and the local club had a small pond hardly an acre In size.
This pond was well known to hold large eels and many anglers would hook them and get snapped off on there inadequate gear.
In one evening match I hooked a large eel on a pellet hook bait and I was geared up with a short length of heavy elastic strong pole and heavy rig.
I managed to land the beast and as I recall not much else that night anyway the eel was weighed on its own and went five and a half pound not a bad one.
The big snake scared the scalesmen half to death as I recall they were jumping about and squealing scared stiff of the thing