Shrimp Fishing In Taiwan
New Taipei City, Taiwan, October 6, 2023
Shrimp fishing, or “prawn fishing,” is a popular recreational activity in Taiwan, known as “釣蝦” (diào xiā). It typically takes place in specially designed indoor pools stocked with live shrimp. It’s a popular pastime where people fish for shrimp using simple rods and bait, often with the option to cook and eat their catch on-site. If you like to fish for your dinner, this one is for you.
The Location and Atmosphere
Eventhough there are plenty of shrimp fishing places around Taipei, as a foreigner, these establishments looks kind of intimidating to enter. We also heard that some of these establishements are frequent by gangsters. Luckily, we came with our Taiwanese friend who lives in the local area and knows about the ins and out of shrimp fishing. Our friend took us to a shrimp fishing place called “瘋釣蝦“. It literally means “Crazy Shrimp Fishing“. It’s located in Wugu District in New Taipei City.
Here is the direction from Google Maps for you to follow. It doesn’t have english name, so you need to search it using it’s mandarin name “瘋釣蝦“.
The facility looks like an old warehouse, but inside, it’s actually quite spacious and clean. It’s an open area with the shrimp pools in the middle. The cooking area is on the right side, while the front counter and a few vending machines are on the left.
This place is conveniently open 24 hours a day, so you can visit whenever you want, even at night if you can’t sleep.
The downside about this place is that they allow indoor smoking, which I suppose is pretty common in Taiwan. It can be unpleasant if you’re a non-smoker, or if you come with childrens. Fortunately, we came on a weekday when most people are at work, so it wasn’t too crowded, and we didn’t have anyone smoking near us. However, I can imagine it getting busier on weekends, with a higher chance of smokers being nearby.
The Price
The price for fishing is categorized by the type of shrimp. Each category has it’s own dedicated pool. You are charged by the hour, not by the number of shrimps you catch. So if you’re lucky and skillful enough, you can catch more shrimps within your time limit. It’s kind of like a race against the clock.
The blue category on the left is the price for the pool that has mixed male and female shrimps:
- $ 850 NT for the first 2 hours.
- Or $ 1250 NT for the first 3 hours.
- You can add additional hour for $ 450 NT
We chose to fish for male shrimp, which are categorized under the green category:
- $ 700 NT for the first 2 hours.
- Or $ 900 NT for the first 3 hours.
- You can add additional hour for $ 350 NT.
The red price group is for female shrimps and it’s the most afforable price they offer here:
- $ 550 NT for the first 2 hours
- Or $ 750 NT for the first 3 hours.
- You can add additional hour for $ 300 NT.
The other red price group on the far right is for lobster. That’s right – you can fish for lobster too! It only has a single price of $ 1550 NT for 3 hours.
The Fishing
Once you’ve picked your category and the number of hours you want to fish, you pay upfront and then you’re given a rod and a plate of lures. The rod is just a simple one with a fixed line. It doesn’t comes with reel, but it does have a float indicator to see if the shrimp is biting. Overall, it’s pretty basic equipment.
The plate of lures consists of dried small baby shrimps, which I found pretty ironic, but I suppose shrimp eats pretty much anything.
The staff noticed we were beginners, so one of them kindly showed us how to properly hook our bait and pointed out the areas where shrimps usually hide. To bait the hook, you insert the baby shrimp from the head towards the body. The mini shrimp bait is so small, so sometime it can fall apart as you hook them. But the idea is you want to ensure that you cover the hook as much as possible without leaving any part exposed. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to start fishing!
One thing to keep in mind is that if you don’t catch, you don’t eat. Taiwanese people are very friendly and welcoming, so don’t be afraid to ask the people around you for some tips if you’re not having much luck. You’re bound to pick up some great advice!
When you see your floaty start to move as it being pulled down, you know you get something. The trick is not to strike at the first tug on your line. The initial movement typically indicates that shrimps is interested and probing the bait. A good rule of thumb is to wait for about three to five seconds before attempting to strike. Honestly, it took us a while to get used to this, but it’s all about developing a feel for it.
Noobs like us gets overly excited when we get a bite and end up pulling the rod too hard. This can cause the shrimp to jump out of the water and land somewhere else. You’ll learn to strike gently and lift the shrimp put carefully, so it doesnt end up in a ceiling.
Your chances of catching shrimp are actually pretty good. The staff keep track of how many shrimp have been caught and always add in more, so you know there’s always plenty available. I peeked over when they were refilling the lobster pool. Boy, they are huge!
Once you make the catch, you need to unhook the shrimp from your hook. Unhooking shrimp can be a bit messy. The shrimp has pinchers, so they’ll try to fight their way and maybe pinch your fingers. Our friend tought us how to properly do this. You need to grab the area between head and body and grab the pinchers and pull it towards the body and hold it in place however best you can. Usually the hook will be in the shrimp’s mouth, so you can just try to wiggle it out in the reverse direction. Once you unhook the shrimp, you put them in the basket.
I’m not very good at this and it takes me a while. The whole time I’m doing it I feel sorry for hurting the shrimp. Our friend, who has done this for a long time, was able to unhook the shrimp quickly.
It takes a while for a shrimp to bite. Other times they would comes one after another. You never really know what to expect, but one thing for sure, is that it’ll take time to do this. It might not give you an andrenaline rush, but it’s very relaxing and can be therapeutic. Our kid got bored of waiting and went back to playing games, while my wife and I enjoy the slow pace and find it very calming.
In the end, we cought quite a decent amount of shrimp, eventhough we didn’t stay for the full two hours. We only fished for about an hour or so. I think its not bad for beginners. And just look at them – they’re huge! I’m very happy with our catch of the day!
The Cooking
There’s a restaurant attached to this fishing facility where you can have your shrimp cooked in a variety of ways for a fee. But where’s the fun in that? We want to cook our shrimp ourselves. It’s part of the experience of shrimp fishing. So we brought our catch of the day to the cleaning area to prep for cooking.
Preparing the shrimp is really simple. First, you want to rinse the shrimp with water. Then, apply some salt and just shake them in the bucket until the salt is evenly distributed.
Some people likes to pull off the shrimp’s legs before washing them, but we just felt so bad to do that to the shrimp. Even though we knew we were going to cook them soon, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it, so we left their legs as is. We added plenty of salt to eliminate that fishy taste after cooking. Once you’ve shaken them with enough salt, lay them out on the grill net, and then they’re ready to go on the grill.
Turn on the gas and light the grill with the lighter to get it going. The plates and pans are also available in the area, so you can enjoy your shrimp right when they’re done cooking. Everything is very convenient in Taiwan. Just be aware that the grill itself might not be the cleanest, so make sure to use the grill net when cooking your shrimp.
Off they go onto the grill. At this point, the shrimp were still very much alive. It might seem cruel, but it was definitely a unique experience (Sorry shrimp, but thank you nourishing us!). Fortunately, grilling them is quick, so they don’t suffer for long. Make sure to flip them too, so they cook evenly. About three minutes on each side, and they’re ready to eat!
They say the longer you stare at them, the faster they cook. I think these two might be on to something…
And it’s done! Look at these beautiful fiery orange crustaceans. We were so hungry from all that fishing. Now, time to dig in!
That was some prefectly grilled shrimp! Seasoning them with salt beforehand made them deliciously savory. The outside was crispy, while the inside remains juicy and tender. Grilling them really brings the shrimp’s natural sweetness and giving them a rich texture and satisfying flavor. They were very succulent and tasty. There’s something special about eating shrimp that you cought yourself – it’s just so much more enjoyable!
The Conclusion
Wow, that was some jolly good time! We devoured those shrimps and it was very satisfying. Shrimp fishing is must-try experience when visiting Taiwan. The combination of fishing, cooking, and eating your catch makes for a memorable and satisfying experience. Coming with friends who know the ins and out made it more fun and less intimidating, but the people here are super friendly and will help you if you ask.
While there are many shrimp fishing spots all over Taiwan, “瘋釣蝦” (Fēng Diào Xiā), which translates to “Crazy Shrimp Fishing,” in New Taipei City offers a unique and enjoyable shrimp fishing experience. If you’re looking for something different, spending a few hours by the pool catching shrimp is a time well spent.
Would you try this?
