Grass Shimp

[bobdrm]

I lived in Devils Lake ND for 6 years and when you ice fish your hole fills up with grass shimp were did thay come from and how did thay get so many? All the lakes I fish here in MN I have never seen them here and I lived here all my life other than when I was in ND, could thay live in are lakes,would that make are fish bigger,can thay be transplanted here?

[FishinCT]

I notice that when I fish in SD too. Maybe it has something to do with the prairie pothole kind of lakes, could be why we don't see them around here. Just my 2 cents

[Flaco651]

I fished Devil's a few times and wondered the same thing. Why is there none in MN? I think the shrimp play a roll in why Devils is such a great walleye/perch fishery though.

[TBone1]

I was told that the lakes in the Dakotas have more alkaline which is suitable for grassy's. It would be interesting to find some scientific data on this and/or if it is also a water quality issue. Are there any biology brainiacs out there with more/better info?

[bobdrm]

I am checking with MN and ND DNR but I have not herd from them yet will let you no when I do. Some one must know.

[sdstatekid]

Are you guys talking about freshwater shrimp? Or is there two different kinds? I know the sloughs and lakes out here in south dakota are full of freshwater shrimp, that's why more ducks come through here instead of Minnesota. I think there why the fish are generally fatter out here too.

[fisherman-andy]

The Grass Shrimp is not native to our inland waters as far as I know in the midwest.

Are you are refering to a freshwater shrimp often called the Fairy shrimp or Gammarus (scuds, sideswimmers). There are two types of freshwater Shrimp in our interior lakes. These are the Hyella shrimp and the Gammarus shrimp. At a casual glance, the only visible difference is in their size. The Hyella never grow as large as the Gammarus. They hardly reach or grow more than 1 inch. I believe the shrimp are native to many lakes, ponds, and rivers all over the U.S. The type of shrimp found in Devils Lake is the Gammarus and not the Grass shrimp as far as I know.

Not all lakes can sustain large population of these shrimp and it may interfere with an ecological lake's system if introduced to a new or different lake which makes it not ideal. As strange as it sounds the shrimp could do more damage to native forage & species and offset the balance of the lakes. But in the right body of water it can yield an incredible fishery.

What makes Devils Lake special is the water has large contents of Calcium Carbonate & Magnesium Carbonate which these shrimp needs to sustain their bodies. Add along with the correct algae & food source. Not every lake has the ideal properties to sustain these invertebrates.

These shrimp make up an sustain the Devils lake fishery with their abundance as a food source for predatory fish.

[TBone1]

I have bought these shrimp and they were always marketed" as "grass shrimp" but regardless I have noticed that fish caught out of lakes that sustain a good population of these shrimp are very healthy fish. I have also noticed a few lakes in North Dakota that I have hunted are full of shrimp also. Fantastic hunting.

[dolsmi]

The only lake that I have seen what we called freshwater shrimp in MN was Scotch Lake near Cleveland. I noticed these when were were duck hunting and they would attach to your waders. I personally haven't fished this lake, but I heard from a couple friends that they did very well catching walleye's there this year.

[2 DA GILLS]

Scotch Lake does have freshwater shrimp that is a fact (or at least it did in 1994). I conducted an experiment on macro-invertebrate populations in Scotch Lake while at college in St. Peter. The densities were nothing compared to what I see when hunting North Dakota.

I have seen ads offering freshwater shrimp for sale in Minnesota. I visited with a professional biologist about the viability of stocking freshwater shrimp in Minnesota wetalnds. His opinon was that if they do not exist currently, there is a reason. As others have stated there are multiple factors involved in the freshwater shrimp being present or absent. I know that one thing I have always heard is that minnow populations in wetlands have an impact on freshwater shrimp. The deeper wetlands of Minnesota do not completely freeze out each winter and thus higher minnow populations and lower freshwater shrimp popualtions. When fishing Devils Lake ND this January, I do not know how that can hold true. Every hole you drilled produced a dozen shrimp on the ice. I wish there was an easy answer, I know I would love to see wetlands and lakes of MN full of shrimp.