1st time prawn fishing & looking for areas

Sir Reel said:
Heard from a fellow fisherman to throw the prawns in fresh water right away. It kills them and the meat seems to taste better.
Have been doing it for the last couple of years.
Agree with the weighted traps. I lost a few sets and then started putting a 10 pound cannon ball 20 feet from trap closest to the scotchman. Supposedly if the rope goes from scotchman direct to the bouy the bouncing rope/trap can spook the prawns.
I have done another thing which helps too. I put one of those red and white crabs floats 6 or 8 feet in front of my Scotchman. This means that the current is pushing against a smaller conical shaped bouy. If you use just the large Scotchman it creates a lot of drag in the current and can pull your traps away. I have seen those big red balls completey under water due to the current. It also creates 6 to 8 feet of line floating between the 2 bouys making it easier to grab with a boat hook.

Does anyone premix their bait and oils, put in the cups, and then freeze? Then you just put the frozen cup in the trap. Less mess.
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We make a stew up 1/2 cup of pellets instant mashed potatoes salmon that were frozen 1/2 cup of Fish Fertilizer prawn heads anything fishey ground up in a blender Dollar store canned Mackal put in gallon ice cream bucket then freeze take out when ready does about 10 big round traps works very well
 
sundance said:
We make a stew up 1/2 cup of pellets instant mashed potatoes salmon that were frozen 1/2 cup of Fish Fertilizer prawn heads anything fishey ground up in a blender Dollar store canned Mackal put in gallon ice cream bucket then freeze take out when ready does about 10 big round traps works very well
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What fish fertilizer do you use? Seriously the prawn heads too? I need ways to stretch my pellet usage. My mother in law cuts of the points, steams them in garlic and freezes them, they taste like pop corn.
 
kaelc said:
What fish fertilizer do you use? Seriously the prawn heads too? I need ways to stretch my pellet usage. My mother in law cuts of the points, steams them in garlic and freezes them, they taste like pop corn.
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Forget the pellets. Just buy the cheapest catfood dry mix. One tablespoon of Carlisle canned catfood , a shot of Stink Bait or other liquid fish oil, mix it well and load and freeze the bait containers individually. Let them thaw overnight before using. Instant scent release. Not like pellets that need time to soften.
 
Crestliner said:
1st time prawning. Can any one tell me good places to go prawning?

I planned to fish and prawn around Bowen Island or Valdez/Galiano passage area. (Area 17 & 28)

Much appreciated!
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Word of advice dont leave your traps unattended. its very likely someone will pull up and just take the whole setup. So 4 hour soak fish nearby and just a test trap in an area youll be fishing.
 
Bryan Allen said:
Forget the pellets. Just buy the cheapest catfood dry mix. One tablespoon of Carlisle canned catfood , a shot of Stink Bait or other liquid fish oil, mix it well and load and freeze the bait containers individually. Let them thaw overnight before using. Instant scent release. Not like pellets that need time to soften.
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Yeah I got a paint mixer and throw in old frozen fish as well and mash it with the dry catfood
 
doug78 said:
The little bouys won't float two big nets, so making people use a bouy means less sunk traps (more hazards, less junk in the water)

Crab trap regs are good, too many milk jugs water bottles out there ...



As for cleaning, I also throw them in the fish box and fill it with saltwater. Change the water out between pulling sets and am much happier with my prawns. Way less cleaning at home, freeze in tubs of fresh water and they keep a full year fine.
I should try freezing some in saltwater...I just never think to take the tubs on the boat or grab some clean saltwater before I get back to the marina...
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I just throw table salt in with fresh water when I freeze them. Should be more or less the same as saltwater no?
 
Pippen said:
No. Non iodized would be better or true sea salt. Table salt is crap.
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Comes under the heading of "Each to his own" I use what ever I have available....table salt, kosher, pickling salt or fresh sea water. I dont have anyone complain and call the prawns I serve "crap" .
 
Bryan Allen said:
Comes under the heading of "Each to his own" I use what ever I have available....table salt, kosher, pickling salt or fresh sea water. I dont have anyone complain and call the prawns I serve "crap" .
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Not saying the prawns will be crap but sea salt or non iodized is definitely better.
 
Pippen said:
Not saying the prawns will be crap but sea salt or non iodized is definitely better.
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I could see how straight salt would not impart anything to the prawns light iodine MIGHT. I’d have to taste side by side to see if it affected taste. Iodine was at it as a health thing decades back because people far away from the oceans, with no seafood in their diet, we’re getting
Pippen said:
Not saying the prawns will be crap but sea salt or non iodized is definitely better.
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Nutritionally there’s nothing wrong with iodine. It was added decades ago to help combat goiter. I have to taste prawns side-by-side frozen in table salt and straight salt to see if there’s any taste difference
 
the grinch said:
I could see how straight salt would not impart anything to the prawns light iodine MIGHT. I’d have to taste side by side to see if it affected taste. Iodine was at it as a health thing decades back because people far away from the oceans, with no seafood in their diet, we’re getting

Nutritionally there’s nothing wrong with iodine. It was added decades ago to help combat goiter. I have to taste prawns side-by-side frozen in table salt and straight salt to see if there’s any taste difference
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Iodine is also added to resist clumping and not pull mositure. Great for table but not good for dealing with animal hides. As far as the seafood side I'm curious what you pro's have to say.
 
ElectricDyck said:
Weight is key, people have traps drift away and think someone stole them. I tie wrapped some sticks of 3/4" rebar coated with electrical tape (for the rust) in each trap. Got it free from a job site. Then a soup can full of lead attached to the rope 20' feet after the last trap, then 200' of poly rope, then 300' of lead rope, then a crab float, then a scotchman buoy. Each 2 trap set is about 60lbs and fits in a tote.

I have a small boat and use collapsable mesh traps, they work but fish as bait seems to be a bad idea as I have had a couple traps with holes torn in them and the fish parts missing, presumable seals..I use 2 scotty cups with additional joles drilled and prawn pellets mixed with herring oil. I can use the same scotty cups for 4 or 5 soaks before topping them up. I put all the cups in the freezer when I get home. If you dont they will get moldy and stink real bad lol

Also a puller in my mind is mandatory. Pulling all that weight by hand is uncivilized lol

Hopefully that helps, I got a lot of great info off of here after I lost a trap when I was getting started.

I throw all the prawns in a cooler with saltwater, after 1/2 hr or so the water will be brown. I rinse them with more salt water and get the heads off sooner than later to preserve the freshness. Then cut up the backbone and rinse off the poo vein. I use to peel them before freezing but its a ton of work when you have to do 250 so now I just freeze them shell on in ziplocks full of saltwater. The shell peels way easier after being cooked. They taste good for a month or so in the freezer before losing flavour.
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I bought a shrimp butler, i know sounds corny but it works like a hot damn ....
 
Seriously dude? You posted a video of a guy walking around his kitchen with a handgun tucked into his belt? And this is a credible response to a posting talking about spot prawn fishing?
 
Enzo said:
Seriously dude? You posted a video of a guy walking around his kitchen with a handgun tucked into his belt? And this is a credible response to a posting talking about spot prawn fishing?
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huh? it was a video about a tool for use in cleaning prawns? whats the issue? who cares if he has a gun in his belt. probably where hes from it isnt a crime FFFS And I have the tool and it works great.... what is this a snow flake zone now ?
 
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