How Do You Fish a DOA Shrimp - by John Callaghan

An often asked question and one I asked myself when I first began fishing this highly effective lure.

I prefer to use the DOA to probe structure, be it Docks, Sand holes on a Flat, Bridges or Mangrove stands.

I’d like to illustrate, one my favorite situations for fishing the DOA.

Tackle

• Red Bone 7’ medium light action Rod
• Shimano Stradic 2000 Reel
• 10lb Power Pro line
• 3’ of 20lb Triple Fish Fluorocarbon leader

The tackle is light and well balanced which will enable you to fish the DOA with the finesse required to get the best out of this lure.

Knots

I like to double the last 18 inches of Power Pro, using a Spider hitch. The benefits are two fold, greater abrasion resistance and increased line to leader knot strength. For line to leader I use a 3 turn Surgeons knot. To attach the lure I use a Double loop knot, which allows the DOA to move freely.

Lure and Colors

3 inch ¼oz DOA Shrimp

I like to use all of the following colors,

• Nite Glo
• Near Clear with Gold Glitter
• Near Clear with Red Glitter
• Avocado with Red Glitter

The Nite Glo I prefer for low light conditions, the Gold Glitter if I think Reds are around, Red glitter in very clear water and the Avocado for darker colored water.

Venue

The area fished is a Mangrove island  in Little Cock Roach Bay.

The sketch highlights the spot’s features and likely fish holding points. Of course, not all these features will be the same as the spots you fish. However the Techniques will still be relevant.

Approach

This particular spot has water too deep to wade, but if the spot you fish will allow wading then your approach will be even stealthier. When I approach, I like to use the current to drift in slowly and more importantly quietly. There is no point in using a finesse lure if your own noise disturbs the fish. Have your anchor ready to deploy as you approach. I like to lay my anchor on my PFD to reduce noise as I lift it out of the canoe. An extra long anchor rope is also useful in this situation, one of 30ft or more. This will allow you to move further along the mangroves to fish without relocating your anchor, by simply paying out more line.

Boat Positioning

Correct positioning of the canoe is essential to enable you to thoroughly fish the features. Too close and you will spook fish, too far and you will hamper your casting accuracy. I like to Anchor opposite point A on a short rope to begin with.

Casting

The DOA is a very slow sinking lure, so you need to cast up current to allow the lure to drop into your desired spot.   Otherwise your lure will be out of the zone by the time it hits bottom.  I count down at 2 seconds per foot of water.

Another tip for increasing you casting accuracy with a spinning reel is to use the technique we call “Feathering the line” in England. Placing you Index finger against the top lip of the spool when you release the bail arm. You will trap the line against your finger, when you cast you simply lift our finger to release the line. Keep your finger close to the spool and as the lure is about to land, gently dab (Feather) the spool to slow the line. Similar to the how you use your thumb when bait casting.-It takes a little practice, but once mastered it becomes second nature. You will keep your lures out of the mangroves a lot more too.

Fishing the Spot

I like to fish between points A and B first. Often fish will be holding under the groves here waiting for the current to drive bait around to them. After casting upstream I let the DOA sink on a slack line, after the lure hits the water I simply lift my finger form the spool allowing the lure to sink naturally. If you sink the lure on a tight line, it will make the lure sink in an arc and away from the groves.  Casting the lure with a sideways motion keeps the lure lower to the water and will let it land under the mangrove cover without snagging.

Once the bait has hit bottom, slowly take in the slack line until you feel the weight of the lure. This is where the light action of the rod comes into play. A heavier action makes it harder to tighten up to the lure without moving it. When you can feel the DOA, lift the rod tip lightly to flick the Shrimp, up from the bottom. As the bait slowly falls, the current will drift it naturally until it rests again. Wait and repeat, taking up only the slack line and not retrieving the lure. The bait will move along the groves in a slow sweeping arc, the current will actually push on the bow formed in your line and will move the shrimp along parallel to the bank and hopefully into the path of a waiting predator.

After a few casts pay out some more anchor rope to move further along the island.  The deeper, undercut bank between points B and C will usually hold a fish or two. To fish the Slack area you will have to retrieve line. As the current will not be sufficient to move the bait. When retrieving I use the rod tip to move the lure and then reel in the slack. This helps you to slowly move the DOA, rather than trying to reel that slowly. By using this method you are allowing the Shrimp to sit idle, even if only momentarily, which is quite often the time that you get hits. An occasional short jerk will mix it up a little, but always remember to let the DOA sink back to bottom.

Next, cast the DOA to point D.  After the bait has hit bottom, twitch it up and again and the current will make the Lure swim in an arc across the flow, toward The Oyster bars at the rear of the smaller island. This is another good holding spot for Fish. Where they can hold position in a slack current with moving current driving bait pass them. A very useful ambush spot, especially for Snook.

Using the lure like this you are maximizing its potential as a Probing bait, methodically searching all the available features.  For this type of fishing, I think the DOA Shrimp really is hard to beat.

Tips

Learning to fish the DOA can be made easier by casting it into a swimming pool. You will be able to see how slowly it sinks and how it works along the bottom. This will improve you understanding of the lure and help you to visualize what’s going on when you’re actually fishing it.

When fishing the Nite Glo in the dark, I will take a flashlight and shine it onto the just the head of the lure. This produces a luminous glow in the bait, that Snook find irresistible.

A small glass rattle is easily inserted into the DOA, just above the sinker and to the rear of the hook is a hollow that accommodates them very nicely. I especially like to use a rattle around Oysters because the noise reproduces the clicking sound that a Shrimp makes when moving over an Oyster Bar.

Of course there are many other ways to fish the DOA Shrimp, this is just my favorite

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