Prawn Bait

[ffullflash]

Whats the best bait to use for prawns?? Used the "Prawn and Crab" pellet packs from the bait-shop, but can't catch any crabs with it, whereas chicken scores for me everytime.

Any suggestions on decent prawn bait? I'm learning a lot of people are pretty secretive when it comes to spots and bait, but hell, it's worth asking!!


Thanks!

Kevin.

 

[oguard]

Kevin I use salmon heads,cod heads and even chopped some herring and put that in the bait can with good results(this goes for prawns or crab)<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>The biggest thing is getting the right spot.You want to look for a gavel bottom for prawns about 250' to 320' deep.For crab gravel or sand bottom 80' to 150' deep.Hope this helps

Mike

Catch it,Kill it,Smoke it.

 

[Eric]

I just use some oily catfood and those prawn pellets for prawns.
Like it's been said, I think almost anything works well for prawns and crabs but location is key. Design of traps works well too as my father regularly outfishes me with his all wire, non collapsing prawn traps. Mine are those net, collapsable jobs. we generally fish in 280'-300'.
Funny thing is that I have found venison roasts to work the best for crabs! Found some forgotten packages in the bottom of ther freezer and tried them. Wow, quite the results in 100' of water. A buddy used some 'rut-buck' roasts and found the same great catches!



Edited by - Eric on 08/04/2005 09:58:11

 

[ffullflash]

Deer meat - Going to have to give that a try. tried some leftover roast once, but nothing at all. Thanks for the tip Eric.

I'm going out from Deep Bay on Saturday Mike, so I'll let you know how it goes. The QF is hanging onto all the scrap fish for me, so I should be stocked up and ready to go. I should have known when the kids named the boat "Skunked" that I was in for trouble. Lol.

Taker easy.

Kevin.

 

[Eric]

Not sure if you're serious about 'left-over' roast. You mean cooked and not all eaten? Well mine were raw roasts that were badly freezer burnt. And the 'Rut-buck' roasts were really terrible tasting so the left over raw ones were crab bait.

 

[nedarb2]

the best prawn bait is the cat food that comes in a black can wit ha cartoon cat on it in tuna flavour, its called carlyle as i now look.. umm mix 2 cans of it in with a ziploc bag of small trout pellets. mix it into like a paste, and fill ur scotty bait jar about 2/3 full. that will bleed for about 3 hours. drop ur trap in 235-260 feet of water. this is the best of the best bait..believe me

To fish or not to fish,
What a stupid question!
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish, and he will sit on a boat drinking beer for a life time
TGIF =Thank God It Floats

 

[chevyshaulass]

When i was commercial prawning we used pellets mixed with herring or salmon oil along with a whole herring in the trap. Seemed to work pretty damn good.

 

[ffullflash]

Found it at QF in Qualicum Beach on sale for 39 cents a can. Bought 10 cans and hit Buckerfields for the pellets. Got 66 pounds for 35 bucks. Out this morning at 5am outta French Creek.

Thanks for the tip!

Kevin.

quote:
the best prawn bait is the cat food that comes in a black can wit ha cartoon cat on it in tuna flavour, its called carlyle as i now look.. umm mix 2 cans of it in with a ziploc bag of small trout pellets. mix it into like a paste, and fill ur scotty bait jar about 2/3 full. that will bleed for about 3 hours. drop ur trap in 235-260 feet of water. this is the best of the best bait..believe me

To fish or not to fish,
What a stupid question!
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish, and he will sit on a boat drinking beer for a life time
TGIF =Thank God It Floats

 

[IronNoggin]

Prawns: Ace of Baits Prawn Bait. Best we've run across. Of course doesn't hurt to add some flavouring (cat food, chopped herring, old roe, etc etc).

Crabs: Halibut frames... Hand's Down.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[North Island]

We also use Carlyle Catfood, it's so popular here it's the only cat food sold in the grocery store by the case. One other little trick I have found is using knee high (nylon) stockings to hold the bait. You can pick up cheap ones at the dollar store. I freeze my cat food so it won't be drippy, put about 1/4 of a cup of prawn bait (pellets) in a stocking, punch holes in the cat food cans and drop them in. They can easily be tied into the prawn trap. Everyday we check the traps we add more bait. The cans that stay inside the stockings can last for several days.

 

[daddystoy]

For crabs I use raw chicken, particularly breast bones. I can get them free from a chicken wholesaler locally here in the lower mainland.Chicken seems to do much better than fish heads, for me.

 

[hiroshi]

I've found that Nine Lives Tuna Select works the best yet. Beats Puss and Boots and other stuff.

 

[HALILLAMA]

Carlyle or Nine lives Tuna Cat food...poked holes on top of can w/Dive knive, 'Prawn Catcher' oily pellets in Scotty Orange bait jar(1/2 full and drilled with 1/4" holes)... both hung and wired 'centrally' in a decent trap. This will fill your limits.<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> Keep Exploring ...How do ya think We found our Spot....<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Ps Dont let the trap be wiggled around by the cork/float

On The Beach

 

[nedarb2]

Around ladysmith yes local knowledge is a big part in success, but there is also a huge influence on the location of the prawn "herds" you can drop your trap one weekend in one sport and gett 200, and the next weekend you mihgt get 20. There are always prawns around but there constantly moving.

To fish or not to fish,
What a stupid question!
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish, and he will sit on a boat drinking beer for a life time
TGIF =Thank God It Floats

 

[ffullflash]

I'll have to agree with the Carlyle catfood too. I don't have a clue why it seems to work better than some of the other ones. Maybe it's oilyer and sends the scent out farther. I've dumped strings of traps side by side, literally, and had better luck on average with the carlyle catfood.

Cheers!

Kev.

 

[tortuga]

Put a bunch of mussels in a sock and tie a knot.
Smash em up a bit and hang it inside the trap.

 

[tortuga]

This method is for catching crabs

 

[Pippen]

I'll second an earlier post for prawns.....we use pellets and mix in some fish oil (buddy picks it up at a fish plant) in a 5 litre pail. Let it all sit for a few days or we just make up some larger batches (about half a 5 litre pail) and it works in our spots like crazy!! I will also say that I am a big fan of the non-collapsable round traps vs. the collapsable traps. We have collapsing traps on the boat when we head cruising up North and they never seem to work as well. That may or may not be because of new areas but I have always found the non-collapsers a better trap.

As for crabs....we use everything from chicken/turkey backs to somewhat "ripe" chicken pieces to salmon/fish heads/scraps......but just to show you it can be just "where you are". We were in English Bay one day...dropped the traps with chicken...got a whack of keepers after we had popped into False Creek for lunch. Came out and brought lunch leftovers which included pizza, rib bones and deep fried calamari (no tzatziki) and dropped the trap for another hour while we drifted and cocktailed (big boat with about 8 on board) and picked up another 6 keepers not to mention about 5 or 6 females and undersized that we tossed back. You just never know.

 

[flytyer]

I used to use pellets but found that they were not as effective as cat food ( just my choice) what i did do to prevent the bait from being eaten up or washed away fast was to go to the local shoe store with my wife and asked the clerk if i could have a handful of the little ankle nylons that they give women to use for a loaner. I tie the can inside the nylon and hang it in the middle of the trap. This also works great to catch octopus.
and the wife thinks she contributed this way as well


[8D]

 

[bigredsnapper]

Depends where you're prawning. If you are around North Nanaimo to Nanoose go 300 to 400 or more. I use commercial prawn pellets from Pacific net & twine. It's about 40 bucks for 25kg and will last forever. Fill a large scotty bucket half way with pellets' then put in the cat food tin with large holes in it(carlyle)then a squirt of prawn scent(don't be shy). I also put a 3-5 pound cannonball about 5-10' before the 1st trap. If you have the collapsable type give them to someone you don't like,the best are ones with a one inch mesh. That way you don't load up with little guys.Good luck