Prawn Handling In Boat

SaltyAlice

Well-Known Member
I’ve just put down prawn traps for the first time and am wondering what the best way is to handle prawns in the boat if I actually catch any. Do you keep them in a bucket of water until you get back to the dock? Once back at the dock do you dump the water for the drive home?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
I like to have a couple of buckets one for the prawns and water the other I use to pail flush water into the first one. Repeat every few minutes when the water gets cloudy until it stays clean. Makes for a cleaner vain in them. Snap off the heads put them on ice head to a ling hole use heads for bait. Put ling in fish box head home for supper.
 
I like to have a couple of buckets one for the prawns and water the other I use to pail flush water into the first one. Repeat every few minutes when the water gets cloudy until it stays clean. Makes for a cleaner vain in them. Snap off the heads put them on ice head to a ling hole use heads for bait. Put ling in fish box head home for supper.

Best to keep the heads and freeze them for use next year
 
Wat ever you do ,Don't put the bucket of prawns with a lid, in the same tub,cooler with your crab ,as offten they are harested at the same time.You just might find the crabs have ripped of the lid of the prawn container and eattenALL your prawns.Learned that one the hard way when I arrived at home.
 
I like to cook them with the heads on. I think it keeps them a bit juicier. But then it makes more of a mess on the table as everyone is snapping the heads off, with spray going everywhere. It's a tough life ;)
 
I like to cook them with the heads on. I think it keeps them a bit juicier. But then it makes more of a mess on the table as everyone is snapping the heads off, with spray going everywhere. It's a tough life ;)
We eat the heads. Best part of the prawn.
 
Cooler
Rinse with wash down
Drain and rinse again
Cooler
Turn on main and point to dock at 10mph
Crack a beer and start pulling heads and veins
Bag em
Power up and head home
 
You related to seagulls
I'm telling you they're great. Eat the tail, suck the brains out of the head like a crawfish. Alternatively you can corn starch and deep fry the heads to oblivion and they're a crunchy umami-rich treat. :)
We generally only do this with whatever we eat fresh that day. The rest get processed like everyone else. Bucket of salt water changed out twice while out there. Then I pop the heads off at the dock and bag them in a salt water solution at home before freezing.
 
I find some of the heads can be rich and delicious, and some can be a bit bitter and fishy (When eaten raw). Really depends on the prawn. However, if you deep fry them they are amazing. Or bake them. The legs are like crunchy shrimp chips and the guts are just delicious. The only part that goes into the bin is the head carapace.
 
I find some of the heads can be rich and delicious, and some can be a bit bitter and fishy (When eaten raw). Really depends on the prawn.
Probably depends on how long that particular prawn was in your trap and what you use for bait. If you don't give the prawn time to digest whatever it ate in your trap before you kill it, you're basically just eating your own bait wrapped in a prawn stomach..
 
I made a setup this year that works great for cleaning and keeping prawns alive. Get a couple 5 gal buckets, drill one full of 1/2” holes. Fill the other with water and put the holey bucket inside it. Dump prawns out of the trap and into the buckets. Once your done pulling traps, pull the pail out full of prawns and the dirty water stays in the other pail. I’ve even put a lid on the bucket full of holes and hung it over the side full of prawns for a few hours to keep them alive. In my opinion the prawns taste much better when they’ve had a chance to clean off and puke out all the cat food.
 
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