How To Pump For Ghost Shrimp

If you didn't know, ghost shrimp is one of the most effective live baits for a wide variety of species in Southern California. Buying live ghost shrimp at local tackle stores isn't an option to me because they are expensive in my opinion. Therefore, pumping for your own ghost shrimp is the way to go. In this blog post I will cover everything you need to know about pumping for ghost shrimp.

First off, you'll need to get a ghost shrimp pump. You can either build your own pump, or buy one at your local tackle shop. Tackle shops usually charge around thirty dollars and is well worth it if you like fishing.

Finding The Ghost Shrimp

My go to pumping location (channel)

A small group of burrows

There are areas all over Southern California that hold ghost shrimp. Most of the time, ghost shrimp can be found in muddy areas located in bays and channels that lead into harbors. At negative or low tide, you want to walk the shoreline and look for those muddy areas. Once you've located possible ghost shrimp locations, you'll want to take a closer look and try to identify ghost shrimp burrows. Ghost shrimp burrows are small holes in the mud that look very similar to ant holes. If you see thousands of burrows along the shore line you will know you're in the right spot. 

Four Easy Steps

1. Place the bottom of the pump directly over the burrow
2. Push down on the pump. Approximately 1" down
3. Quickly pull up on the handle while pushing down on the pump
4. Lift the pump out of the sand and push down on the handle, releasing sand and hopefully ghost shrimp

Helpful Hints

• I like to pump near areas with vegetation (small patches of eel grass) I find these areas to be most productive.
• Pump burrows that are moist or slightly covered with water. You don't want to pump out a dry clump of sand
• Pumping at negative tide is ideal, but low tide is fine too
• If you hear a slurp from the pump, it's a good pump 
• You must have a fishing license to pump for ghost shrimp
• The limit is 50 ghost shrimp per fishing license 

A quick clip of pumping ghost shrimp