best shrimp bait shop near st lucie veterans boat ramp

oxman · March 2018

I got shrimp the other day and didn't pay any attention to them till I got out on the water. To my surprise there were 6 shrimp large enough to be the size of my pinky finger the rest were smaller and there were at least 10 that were smaller than my hooks maybe 1.5" long. Now this was my first try at buying shrimp up here in St lucie / US1 area. Where I used to go down south, this was never the case and if they were small the owner would tell me and throw a couple of extra in there and even apologize for it. Hence I always went back to him and spent my money there.

So is there something different here in St Luice area? Do I need to specify size or is it acceptable here to short people? I don't mind paying if need be but to just throw in smalls and not tell me they are micro shrimp is BS.

What local bait shop do you guys go to and trust. I want to give them some more business? Thanks

Aquaholic IV · March 2018

It's a seasonal thing, try to get shrimp in July and August, they are non existent. All the bait shops order the shrimp from the same sources, so it's not the bait shops fault and I don' know of any shops that physically count out the shrimp, they always throw in extra. I prefer Snook Nook in Jensen Beach as they pull their water from the Indian River, cool the water and will give you all the water you want which keeps them alive much longer. Even though I have live wells on my boat, I use the Engle brand cooler, bait unit with an aireator. It keeps 6 dozen shrimp alive all day.

mik8881 · March 2018

Im assuming your talking about BB . I’ve had nothing but terrible experiences there . Even frozen bait is cheaper at west marine. I dropped off some reels to get spoiled almost told him to keep em once I got the bill . NF bait is a little better at least the father and son are semi sociable . There really aren’t any good shops in the PSL area. Snook nook and Stuart angler are the best I’ve found in the general area even there frozen bait is still cheaper at west marine .

lunkerman · March 2018

Its definitely worth making the drive to snook nook. If the shrimp are too small they won't even take them from the bait guy. And if they are bait sized but small, they will usually give you some extra. Id rather them tell me they have no shrimp than try and shamelessly sell me shrimp that aren't big enough to go on a hook. Ive had this experience with billy bones multiple times and wont spend my money there again. Even though I live less than a half mile away from BB id rather drive the 15 minutes to the snook nook where I know I won't get ripped off. Stuart angler is also a good option.

Barrell · March 2018

The indian guy who runs the inlet bait shop on route 1 between the bridges will handpick only large shrimp for $4.

Osprey45 · March 2018

Barrell said:

The indian guy who runs the inlet bait shop on route 1 between the bridges will handpick only large shrimp for $4.

In Ft Pierce

oxman · March 2018

thank for the replies guys I will drive out to the nook next time.

Nicholasnat · March 2018

2nd snook nook

jcbone · April 2018

snook nook for the win! friendly bunch of guys there that are willingly to help and chit chat fishing. I saw Henry there last week for the first time in awhile and he actually said hi and was smiling! Freddie is the man and is always happy to help. Definitely one of my favorite bait shops!

beyondhelp · April 2018

What about the newer one by Dunkin/Aldi on us1 in PSL? Havent been in there in a while but he has bait tanks and it seemed like a decent shop.

Tidal Town · April 2018

Go to Snook Nook. There is no better Bait Shop than those guys. Josh, Jason, Fred, they are the best at supplying bait and info. These guys are the real deal.