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.
It cost 150 Taiwan Dollars - no extras or hidden costs - you catch a shrimp you eat it - so if you are good at it you will be able to eat a feast!! You get a rod, a small bag of bait and you pay extra for a beer.
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.
It's a great night out - very worthwhile and you will almost certainly catch at least one shrimp. I found that you can see the shrimps in the green water and if you keep your fishing rod still you have a good chance of catching them!
You could feel the shrimps chewing on the bait on the end of your rod and sooner or later you will catch one! Once I caught one you had to pull it up making sure it didn't fall off then put it in a net and then 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!
We caught around 10 between us in the end which was good for first timers - but the locals seem to catch a lot more - it's like a local sport or obsession and they're good at it! Now that was out of the way,we settled on another beer and cooking our shrimps!
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.
It cost 150 Taiwan Dollars - no extras or hidden costs - you catch a shrimp you eat it - so if you are good at it you will be able to eat a feast!! You get a rod, a small bag of bait and you pay extra for a beer.
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.
It's a great night out - very worthwhile and you will almost certainly catch at least one shrimp. I found that you can see the shrimps in the green water and if you keep your fishing rod still you have a good chance of catching them!
You could feel the shrimps chewing on the bait on the end of your rod and sooner or later you will catch one! Once I caught one you had to pull it up making sure it didn't fall off then put it in a net and then 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!
We caught around 10 between us in the end which was good for first timers - but the locals seem to catch a lot more - it's like a local sport or obsession and they're good at it! Now that was out of the way,we settled on another beer and cooking our shrimps!
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.
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