The most common bait is a mixture of powdered clay and fish meal (typically ground menhaden).
Other popular baits are flour, corn meal, cat food, and chicken feed.
The bait typically includes a binding agent such as clay or Portland cement.
Shrimpers have also begun using an auger type pole to hold the boat in a fixed point, and then use their trolling motor to rotate around this fixed point, allowing them to bait in a 360 degree arc the radius of the boat.
In South Carolina, a shrimp baiting permit provides the fisher with ten tags.