Catching `opae lolo for bait

captive `opae lolo

I had grown up hearing the name ” `opae lolo ” and just assumed it was the name for the especially large brackish water `opae.  I didn’t realize it was a completely different looking shrimp.  Heard many a story of people catching papio, oio and goat fish on `opae lolo but since I wasn’t a live bait guy back then, I didn’t pay too much attention.

Chester and I were torching (hunting the shallows at night) for aquarium fish a few weeks ago when we came across a long, slender shrimp sitting on the sand in a foot of water.  Not sure what it was, I ended up netting 4 and bringing them home.  My google search for “hawaiian shrimp” didn’t bring up anything that looked like the shrimp I had, so I purchased John Hoover’s “Hawaii’s Sea Creatures” book.  Lo and behold, we had stumbled upon the coveted ‘opae lolo.

The ‘opae lolo seem to lack pinchers, and are near the bottom of the food chain with sand turtles. They bury themselves during the day as their only defense.  I came to these conclusions because I had put an `opae lolo in a tub with a mantis shrimp and instantly the mantis shrimp had the `opae lolo in its clutches.  I had never seen that mantis shrimp move for any food very quickly, prior to that, and thought the crustacean cousins would be safe together since the mantis shrimp don’t seem to be able to catch the regular `opae.  Even the regular `opae ganged up and pulled down an `opae lolo twice their size.  Dang, two less `opae lolo for bait.  But proof that everything wants to eat them.

I torched a couple more times, during low tides with different moon phases, and saw less `opae lolo.  I’m still trying to dial in the best conditions to catch them, but was able to get a few more, sitting mostly motionless on the sand. Friends have said they’ve seen the lolos swimming erratically around near the surface, in calm water.  Maybe that’s how they got the name “lolo” (crazy). They appear to be attracted to light.

My lolos are in predator free tubs waiting to be used as bait.