If a complete stranger brought a pound of fresh shrimp to my house, I would let him in the door. The smell, taste and texture of Neptune’s finger food always tempts me to drop my defenses. Fish feel the same way about the protein-packed little crustaceans. Fresh and live shrimp are one of the best fishing baits, but the delicate critters are difficult to preserve. So anglers turn to shrimp imitations and lure manufacturers compete to produce the most realistic imposters. Here are a few of the latest offerings, it’s up to the fish to decide which lures look and move like the real thing.
Best Shrimp Imitation Lures for 2025
Z-Man PrawnstarZ
$8.99
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True story. I was sightfishing and spooked a puppy drum. As I watched the little red scoot away, I landed Z-Man PrawnstarZ a couple of feet to the fish’s left. Even though the red was running for its life, it made a hard turn and attacked the PrawnStarZ. I laughed so hard that I almost dropped my fishing rod. Z-Man’s hot new lure won Best Saltwater Soft Lure at ICAST for the lifelike handpainted designs. The lure sinks horizontally, like a falling shrimp, with an internal rattle to imitate a clicking crustacean. I like the ElaZtech plastic, which is buoyant and nearly indestructible.
Berkley PowerBait Saltwater Power Switch Shrimp
$8.99 to 9.99
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Featuring an enticing horizontal action and infused with PowerBait’s scientifically proven scent package, the Power Switch Shrimp is designed to tempt the eyes and pallet of inshore gamefish. But the fish don’t know that the horizontal line-eye and wide profile are optimized for forward-facing sonar. While the fish watch the Power Switch Shrimp dance and jump, I’m also watching the lure on my fish finder.
Yo-Zuri Crystal Shrimp
$9.99
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When the fish turn their nose up at other lures, I tie on the Yo-zuri 3D Crystal Shrimp. The shrimp-shaped hard bait with a small plastic lip is designed to work with an erratic twitchbait action. Brought over from the exclusive Japanese market, the Crystal Shrimp is designed with UV and glow-in-the-dark colors. Inside the clear lure, a vibrating prism gives off an attention-getting shimmer.
Savage Gear 3D Shrimp
$10.99
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As a shrimp swims along the bottom, it kicks up little clouds of sand. Predators respond to the sand trail to track their prey. As Savage Gear’s 3D Shrimp bounces across the bottom, the shovel-shaped lead head produces a lifelike sand trail. When I pause my retrieve, the 3D Shrimp’s articulated tail produces micro-movements to entice a finicky fish. Once a fish bites, the 3D Shrimp is infused with natural scents to close the deal.
Live Target Fleeing Shrimp
$10.49
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My favorite shrimp lure is the Live Target Fleeing Shrimp. Sure, it’s another realistic-looking, smelling, tasting and sounding shrimp, but the Fleeing Shrimp has the jig weight in the tail so the shrimp sinks tail first to hit the bottom fast. The long monofilament antenna and silicone feelers look and move naturally. The sturdy wide-gap hook always finds purchase in the fish’s mouth. I have caught hundreds of redfish on the Fleeing Shrimp, it’s perfect for quick casts to finicky fish in clear water.
Tsunami Holographic Shrimp
$6.29
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A shrimp’s transparent body is unique to nature and very difficult to imitate. To copy a translucent shrimp, Tsunami’s Holographic Shrimp has a foil-wrapped weight in the center of the clear soft plastic body. The weight is balanced to cause the Holographic Shrimp to sink horizontally, which is perfect for fishing under a popping cork.
Strike King Tidal Shrimp
$9.99
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After a few fish, most shrimp lures are missing appendages and look rougher than Rocky V. Cue the training montage. To beef up the Tidal Shrimp, Strike King used durable vinyl skin with a tough mesh backbone. I jig the weighted shrimp across the bottom, or switch the hook eye orientation and fish the lure under a popping cork. When the bite is hot, the Tidal Shrimp leaves the fish looking like Apollo Creed.
Egret Baits Vudu Shrimp
$8.49
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The shrimp that started a tidal wave, Egret Bait’s Vudu Shrimp kicked off the ultra-realistic shrimp imitation trend. Designed with a mid-lure line-eye and articulated tail, the Vudu jumps and falls under a popping cork. To improve durability, the body is reinforced with Kevlar.
Good enough to eat. | Feature photo: Ric Burnley
