The D.O.A. Shrimp is the lure that started the company in 1982 and it remains the gold standard in artificial shrimp for durability and versatility. It is pre-rigged, it needs no jig head, and its greatest strength is that it catches fish while doing almost nothing.
Choosing a size and fishing it
Five sizes
- 2" — for downsizing. Cold water, pressured fish, snapper, flounder, and anywhere a small profile gets bitten when a big one does not.
- 2.75" — a molded rattle cavity and a keel-weighted hook, so it lands and stays upright. The one to fish where sound helps.
- 3" — the original, 1/4 oz. If you own one D.O.A. lure, this is it.
- 4" — the big brother, for bigger fish and bigger water.
- 6" — 1-1/4 oz, for deep water and strong current where anything lighter sweeps away.
The single most important thing
Do almost nothing. The D.O.A. Shrimp is weighted to fall exactly the way a live shrimp falls, and that fall is what gets eaten. Cast it up-current, close the bail, and let it drift down naturally with the smallest possible rod movement. Anglers who work it hard catch a fraction of what anglers who leave it alone catch.
Under a clacker
Adding a noisemaker in front turns it into the most productive seatrout and redfish rig there is. The Deadly Combos come pre-rigged, or pair a Popper, Oval or Cigar Clacker with a 3" yourself. Pop it, then pause — the eat comes on the pause.
Rebuilding
The bodies wear out; the hardware does not. 3" replacement hooks, 4" replacement hooks and replacement weights let you keep fishing bodies-only packs at a fraction of the cost. Shrimp kits bundle bodies, hooks and weights together.
