It was another random Friday night in Shinying and surely this one has to be one of the most enjoyable Friday nights of all time. We went Shrimp Fishing in Taiwan! Really! It was suggested to us on the Thursday night, whilst at the night market with two of Neil's workmates - Binh and David. They said something like "did you know that you can go Shrimp Fishing any time you like, round the corner from here for 150 dollars?" I was initially sceptical as I'm not a great fan of seafood, but then was loving the idea in the build up to it, and especially when we were sat there, relaxing, with a beer, fishing for shrimps.
Its a less than obvious building on a side street. You wouldn't know there was shrimp fishing happening here unless you could read Chinese Mandarin. Although I did neglect to see the large lit up sign with a picture of a shrimp on it, which was by the entrance. In we went, the only foreigners in town, with Eva our local lady. Once inside, we saw David and Binh on the other side of the small pool with their fishing rods, going for it. It was a cool air conditioned and tidy room, with a pool, lots of seats, a mini bar, the pay point, and the cooking area at the back. This is the sort of random Friday night that Neil and I love. I was so grateful to be invited to such an unusual hobby.
Price was 150 Taiwan Dollars which includes your rod and your bait (small fish). Grab a beer and sit and relaxing waiting to catch some shrimps! It's the same price no matter if you catch 2 or 29!!
Neil and I also had a Taiwan Beer in there, this alone cost 100 dollars, almost the same price as unlimited shrimp fishing. My goal at the start of the night was simple - I just wanted to catch at least one shrimp that was all. When we arrived at the seats next to David and Binh, they had already caught 2 shrimps. Binh was doing well and caught another one while I was getting my bait ready. Basically there are two hooks, and you can attach as little or as much fish bait to each hook as you want. The problem is, if you put 6 on there, the shrimp may be able to eat the bait without getting caught on the hook. I put two fish bait on each hook and using the holder put my rod into the water near the others.
This was certainly a random night that we will remember - first time for shrimp fishing for me and just loving the travel lifestyle of it all! You can notice the shrimps in the murky green water - trick is not to move your rod too much and put them off.
It was a simple process. Feel the shrimp tugging on the bait, pull your rod up, grab the shrimp and put it in the net and you've caught it! Next step to cook it!
I heard a yank from Neil and he had caught his first shrimp! He pulled it out and the trick is to squeeze the shrimp and stop it from moving. It will put up a fight when you first ctach it. Then you need to pull the hook out of its mouth. Just after this I realised my bait had gone, a shrimp had eaten it but not been caught on my rod. It was just my dream to catch even one, and I was confident I could, especially when Binh was catching them for fun. She caught a total of 5 the whole night.
Then a shrimp was tugging on the bait and I pulled it up, but felt the shrimp get away. It was exciting stuff. A bit of skill and luck is needed. Soon though a shrimp was tugging again on my rod and I slowly pulled it up to see a large pinky orangey white ugly sea creature on the end of my rod. I pulled it in and was very happy to have caught one. The job wasn't done yet though. I then had to hold the shrimp and remove the hook. It proved tricky to hold the shrimp, it was fighting with its pincers and I dropped it on the ground, though it was still attached to the hook. I had no problem pulling the hook out of its mouth - it came straight away with a short tug. Then I held on without dropping the slippy shrimp and placed it in the net. On that note I retired! I had done what I wanted - CAUGHT A SHRIMP!
In total we had managed to catch about 10 shrimps which wasn't too bad - it was our first time doing it. The locals are excellent at it - they seemed to catch a lot. Must be a trick to it and a case of practice makes perfect. Now we had the shrimps it was time to cook and eat them!
You just place them uder the grill and cook them on both sides. After 20 minutes or so (maybe earlier) they were looking crispy and ready. We took it in turns to remove the shell and go straight for the large bit of white meat in the middle. Neil felt it tasted like chicken. I felt they just tasted like generic salty seafood. That was the only ingredient to the killed shrimps - salt. Soon our shrimp fishing night was over, and what a random enjoyable way to spend a Friday evening! I'd recommend it.
Its a less than obvious building on a side street. You wouldn't know there was shrimp fishing happening here unless you could read Chinese Mandarin. Although I did neglect to see the large lit up sign with a picture of a shrimp on it, which was by the entrance. In we went, the only foreigners in town, with Eva our local lady. Once inside, we saw David and Binh on the other side of the small pool with their fishing rods, going for it. It was a cool air conditioned and tidy room, with a pool, lots of seats, a mini bar, the pay point, and the cooking area at the back. This is the sort of random Friday night that Neil and I love. I was so grateful to be invited to such an unusual hobby.
Price was 150 Taiwan Dollars which includes your rod and your bait (small fish). Grab a beer and sit and relaxing waiting to catch some shrimps! It's the same price no matter if you catch 2 or 29!!
Neil and I also had a Taiwan Beer in there, this alone cost 100 dollars, almost the same price as unlimited shrimp fishing. My goal at the start of the night was simple - I just wanted to catch at least one shrimp that was all. When we arrived at the seats next to David and Binh, they had already caught 2 shrimps. Binh was doing well and caught another one while I was getting my bait ready. Basically there are two hooks, and you can attach as little or as much fish bait to each hook as you want. The problem is, if you put 6 on there, the shrimp may be able to eat the bait without getting caught on the hook. I put two fish bait on each hook and using the holder put my rod into the water near the others.
This was certainly a random night that we will remember - first time for shrimp fishing for me and just loving the travel lifestyle of it all! You can notice the shrimps in the murky green water - trick is not to move your rod too much and put them off.
It was a simple process. Feel the shrimp tugging on the bait, pull your rod up, grab the shrimp and put it in the net and you've caught it! Next step to cook it!
I heard a yank from Neil and he had caught his first shrimp! He pulled it out and the trick is to squeeze the shrimp and stop it from moving. It will put up a fight when you first ctach it. Then you need to pull the hook out of its mouth. Just after this I realised my bait had gone, a shrimp had eaten it but not been caught on my rod. It was just my dream to catch even one, and I was confident I could, especially when Binh was catching them for fun. She caught a total of 5 the whole night.
Then a shrimp was tugging on the bait and I pulled it up, but felt the shrimp get away. It was exciting stuff. A bit of skill and luck is needed. Soon though a shrimp was tugging again on my rod and I slowly pulled it up to see a large pinky orangey white ugly sea creature on the end of my rod. I pulled it in and was very happy to have caught one. The job wasn't done yet though. I then had to hold the shrimp and remove the hook. It proved tricky to hold the shrimp, it was fighting with its pincers and I dropped it on the ground, though it was still attached to the hook. I had no problem pulling the hook out of its mouth - it came straight away with a short tug. Then I held on without dropping the slippy shrimp and placed it in the net. On that note I retired! I had done what I wanted - CAUGHT A SHRIMP!
In total we had managed to catch about 10 shrimps which wasn't too bad - it was our first time doing it. The locals are excellent at it - they seemed to catch a lot. Must be a trick to it and a case of practice makes perfect. Now we had the shrimps it was time to cook and eat them!
You just place them uder the grill and cook them on both sides. After 20 minutes or so (maybe earlier) they were looking crispy and ready. We took it in turns to remove the shell and go straight for the large bit of white meat in the middle. Neil felt it tasted like chicken. I felt they just tasted like generic salty seafood. That was the only ingredient to the killed shrimps - salt. Soon our shrimp fishing night was over, and what a random enjoyable way to spend a Friday evening! I'd recommend it.
About the Author:
To read loads more stuff like Shrimp Fishing in Taiwan head to Jonny Blair's resourceful website A lifestyle of travel for more travel stories and advice.. Also published at Fishing For Shrimps In Taiwan.
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