Siberian Shrimp Patterns Please

Tom Butler

Grandpa, Small Stream Fanatic
Forum Supporter
OK, so you saltwater folks, or whomever, I don't know. What patterns have you got for Siberian Shrimp . 2-3" long body + antenne
Way out of my league here, but the fam likes to fish here in the snake, spots above ice harbor to texas rapids, so I guess I should figure it out. We left our crawdad traps over night, no dads but 3-6 shrimp per pot. I didn't hook anything on my favorite crawdad plug or flies, so I'm wondering.
20230819_102903.jpg
 

Cabezon

Sculpin Enterprises
Forum Supporter
Wow, I had no idea we had legit freshwater shrimp anywhere in the PNW. That looks almost identical to shrimp I've caught by hand and used for bait when fishing for surfperch. Paging @Cabezon ...
Geez, now I'm getting homework... ;)
We have native freshwater "shrimp" in Washington which fall into two groups. First, there are about 12 species of fairy shrimp = brine shrimp (aka, sea monkeys). These smallish (up to 1") crustaceans are common in vernal pools (seasonal pools) and some hypersaline or hyperalkaline lakes. They are filter-feeders and are known for fast growth and reproduction after temporary ponds fill with water and their dormant/resistant eggs hatch.
A second "shrimp" group are the opossum shrimp = mysids. This group includes 1000+ marine and freshwater species (and they are probably one of the major food sources for searun cutts in the winter in Puget Sound). They are called opossum shrimp because fertilized eggs (and larvae and early juveniles) are held in a pouch of flexible plates under the throrax of the female (as is also true in amphipods, isopods, tanaids, and cumaceans = all members of the paracaridean crustaceans); members of this group lack a pelagic larval stage and emerge as miniature adults. In Washington, opossum shrimps are found in Lake Washington, the Columbia River and its reservoirs, among other lakes. Neomysis mercedes are avid predators on small zooplankton, such as copepods and Daphnia; their foraging may lead to competition with sockeye salmon juveniles but they are also a food item for larger trout (especially in tailwater fisheries below reservoirs and there are fly patterns that mimic them).
But the shrimp that @Tom Butler is showing is an introduced decapod (10-legs/appendages, same as crabs, saltwater shrimp, lobsters) shrimp species from Asia, known as the Siberian prawn (Palaemon or Exopalaemon modestus). This species was first recorded in the lower Columbia in 1995. It may have been carried in the ballast water of a ship from Asia. It is found as far as the Snake River in the Columbia River system. It has invaded the Umpqua River and the Sacramento River Delta (Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. They reach 7cm (2.8") and feed on detritus and benthic invertebrates. Their impacts on the Columbia River ecosystem are unclear. You can find a summary of their ecology in the lower Snake River here.
Steve
 
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Jim F.

Still a Genuine Montana Fossil

Jim F.

Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
It worked well for Carp, Pat @Buzzy . . .
 

Jim F.

Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Beats having oral surgery mouth and a cardiologist who has kept me on a short leash since March, lol . . .
 

Tom Butler

Grandpa, Small Stream Fanatic
Forum Supporter
This is great! I really want to figure out how to do this without resorting to bait. And what we figure out here will just translate when we add the boat to the camping mix. Right now it's one or the other, just easier.
My gut just tells me that in areas where the shrimp are prevelant the fish are more keyed to them. Leeches worked, but not as well as bait.
 
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SilverFly

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Geez, now I'm getting homework... ;)
We have native freshwater "shrimp" in Washington which fall into two groups. First, there are about 12 species of fairy shrimp = brine shrimp (aka, sea monkeys). These smallish (up to 1") crustaceans are common in vernal pools (seasonal pools) and some hypersaline or hyperalkaline lakes. They are filter-feeders and are known for fast growth and reproduction after temporary ponds fill with water and their dormant/resistant eggs hatch.
A second "shrimp" group are the opossum shrimp = mysids. This group includes 1000+ marine and freshwater species (and they are probably one of the major food sources for searun cutts in the winter in Puget Sound). They are called opossum shrimp because fertilized eggs (and larvae and early juveniles) are held in a pouch of flexible plates under the throrax of the female (as is also true in amphipods, isopods, tanaids, and cumaceans = all members of the paracaridean crustaceans); members of this group lack a pelagic larval stage and emerge as miniature adults. In Washington, opossum shrimps are found in Lake Washington, the Columbia River and its reservoirs, among other lakes. Neomysis mercedes are avid predators on small zooplankton, such as copepods and Daphnia; their foraging may lead to competition with sockeye salmon juveniles but they are also a food item for larger trout (especially in tailwater fisheries below reservoirs and there are fly patterns that mimic them).
But the shrimp that @Tom Butler is showing is an introduced decapod (10-legs/appendages, same as crabs, saltwater shrimp, lobsters) shrimp species from Asia, known as the Siberian prawn (Palaemon or Exopalaemon modestus). This species was first recorded in the lower Columbia in 1995. It may have been carried in the ballast water of a ship from Asia. It is found as far as the Snake River in the Columbia River system. It has invaded the Umpqua River and the Sacramento River Delta (Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. They reach 7cm (2.8") and feed on detritus and benthic invertebrates. Their impacts on the Columbia River ecosystem are unclear. You can find a summary of their ecology in the lower Snake River here.
Steve


We don't want you getting soft. ;)
 
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SilverFly

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Geez, now I'm getting homework... ;)
We have native freshwater "shrimp" in Washington which fall into two groups. First, there are about 12 species of fairy shrimp = brine shrimp (aka, sea monkeys). These smallish (up to 1") crustaceans are common in vernal pools (seasonal pools) and some hypersaline or hyperalkaline lakes. They are filter-feeders and are known for fast growth and reproduction after temporary ponds fill with water and their dormant/resistant eggs hatch.
A second "shrimp" group are the opossum shrimp = mysids. This group includes 1000+ marine and freshwater species (and they are probably one of the major food sources for searun cutts in the winter in Puget Sound). They are called opossum shrimp because fertilized eggs (and larvae and early juveniles) are held in a pouch of flexible plates under the throrax of the female (as is also true in amphipods, isopods, tanaids, and cumaceans = all members of the paracaridean crustaceans); members of this group lack a pelagic larval stage and emerge as miniature adults. In Washington, opossum shrimps are found in Lake Washington, the Columbia River and its reservoirs, among other lakes. Neomysis mercedes are avid predators on small zooplankton, such as copepods and Daphnia; their foraging may lead to competition with sockeye salmon juveniles but they are also a food item for larger trout (especially in tailwater fisheries below reservoirs and there are fly patterns that mimic them).
But the shrimp that @Tom Butler is showing is an introduced decapod (10-legs/appendages, same as crabs, saltwater shrimp, lobsters) shrimp species from Asia, known as the Siberian prawn (Palaemon or Exopalaemon modestus). This species was first recorded in the lower Columbia in 1995. It may have been carried in the ballast water of a ship from Asia. It is found as far as the Snake River in the Columbia River system. It has invaded the Umpqua River and the Sacramento River Delta (Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. They reach 7cm (2.8") and feed on detritus and benthic invertebrates. Their impacts on the Columbia River ecosystem are unclear. You can find a summary of their ecology in the lower Snake River here.
Steve
You're retired now. We don't want you getting soft. ;)
 

Shad

Life of the Party
Not my pattern, but it's worked well for me in saltwater.

20230819_191149.jpg

Tail is fur (I like Arctic Fox for these; just seems to be the right stiffness or something). Tie in a little flash and a couple rubber legs/life flex/etc. to length or so. Body is short or medium length ultra chenille (I think that's what it's called) wrapped forward. Small, brass dumbell eyes tied in at about the hook point. No antennae, but the fish don't seem to miss them. Simple and effective.

These are my most productive colors (olive and tan), but orange and burgundy have also worked for me at times. The fly on the bottom was recently abused on a Puget Sound beach, which explains the beat up hook and combed back fibers....
 

Otter

Steelhead
OK, so you saltwater folks, or whomever, I don't know. What patterns have you got for Siberian Shrimp . 2-3" long body + antenne
Way out of my league here, but the fam likes to fish here in the snake, spots above ice harbor to texas rapids, so I guess I should figure it out. We left our crawdad traps over night, no dads but 3-6 shrimp per pot. I didn't hook anything on my favorite crawdad plug or flies, so I'm wondering.
View attachment 78479
Are those eggs under the abdomen? Looks eggy-coloured, and also thicker than a barren shrimp to me
 

Otter

Steelhead
Not my pattern, but it's worked well for me in saltwater.

View attachment 78527

Tail is fur (I like Arctic Fox for these; just seems to be the right stiffness or something). Tie in a little flash and a couple rubber legs/life flex/etc. to length or so. Body is short or medium length ultra chenille (I think that's what it's called)
Palmer chenille?
 

Shad

Life of the Party
Palmer chenille?
No idea, honestly. I think the brand I buy is called crystal chenille, but I buy it off spools at my local fly shop, so I'm not sure. Basically, it's chenille with extra long fibers, and yes, the usual application is palmering bodies, so I suspect Palmer chenille might be the same stuff under a different name....
 

Jake Watrous

Legend
Forum Supporter
OK, so you saltwater folks, or whomever, I don't know. What patterns have you got for Siberian Shrimp . 2-3" long body + antenne
Way out of my league here, but the fam likes to fish here in the snake, spots above ice harbor to texas rapids, so I guess I should figure it out. We left our crawdad traps over night, no dads but 3-6 shrimp per pot. I didn't hook anything on my favorite crawdad plug or flies, so I'm wondering.
View attachment 78479
Something like this?
IMG_1494.jpeg
 
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