Do Sand Flea crabs live on the Texas coast or is that mostly a Florida thing?

Moles crabs (usually called sand fleas in Florida) do live on the gulf coast. However, I have never seen them in population levels similar to Florida. Ghost shrimp are much more common on the Texas coast.

There are two species here, one is sort of smoother more egg like in shape and the other more squared off and crab like. I see way more of the smooth version. Don’t seem to be consistently in the surf here, hit or miss. Sometimes, there’s a bunch of very tiny ones, occasionally a lot of bigger ones.

The ghost shrimp are there too, down deep in their burrows. Dig and dig and dig some more and you might get to them, but they can pinch you. I think people slurp those out with giant squirt guns.

Anyone have a photo of the ghost shrimp: I had always assumed they were just the little clear shrimp in the grass. If they can pinch they sound a little more substantial and perhaps not what I am thinking of.

Thanks karstopo looks very mantis shrimp like. I'll have to get cracking on fly representation.

A great bait....used them for Sheepshead.