Prawning

[shankster]

You can still use 4 traps per line, you just have to have a marker or buoy on each end of the line.

 

[shankster]

You can still use 4 traps per line, you just have to have a marker or buoy on each end of the line.

 

[Mad Dog]

Countryboy, If your going to to do it you may as well go big or go home. It is very rewarding to get the 250 prawns in your four traps. However once you do you'll suddenly gain many freinds for dinner. I personally like to use comercial prawn pellets, they are actually just salmon feed pellets. You can get a thirty pound bag for twenty bucks and it can't be beat. i use two strings of two traps to spread the traps over a wider area and to prevent the commercial prawners from laying a line across your traps. trotac marine in victoria sells great working traps for sixty-nine a piece. its pricey but they work. Some styles of traps dont fish well, these do and they stack up for extra boat room. As for pulling by hand, good luck, it grows old fast and with the wind and tide to deal with it's a fair amount of drag even with two traps per string.It can be done, yet the robinson retriever is simple small and reliable puller and mounts existing scotty downrigger brackets and it will outlast the bulky awkward ace pot puller.You can freeze the prawns in ziplocks with heads removed in enough water to make em float in pig out portions, watch for vultures looming around the freezer!!!

 

[Mad Dog]

Countryboy, If your going to to do it you may as well go big or go home. It is very rewarding to get the 250 prawns in your four traps. However once you do you'll suddenly gain many freinds for dinner. I personally like to use comercial prawn pellets, they are actually just salmon feed pellets. You can get a thirty pound bag for twenty bucks and it can't be beat. i use two strings of two traps to spread the traps over a wider area and to prevent the commercial prawners from laying a line across your traps. trotac marine in victoria sells great working traps for sixty-nine a piece. its pricey but they work. Some styles of traps dont fish well, these do and they stack up for extra boat room. As for pulling by hand, good luck, it grows old fast and with the wind and tide to deal with it's a fair amount of drag even with two traps per string.It can be done, yet the robinson retriever is simple small and reliable puller and mounts existing scotty downrigger brackets and it will outlast the bulky awkward ace pot puller.You can freeze the prawns in ziplocks with heads removed in enough water to make em float in pig out portions, watch for vultures looming around the freezer!!!

 

[Mad Dog]

Countryboy, If your going to to do it you may as well go big or go home. It is very rewarding to get the 250 prawns in your four traps. However once you do you'll suddenly gain many freinds for dinner. I personally like to use comercial prawn pellets, they are actually just salmon feed pellets. You can get a thirty pound bag for twenty bucks and it can't be beat. i use two strings of two traps to spread the traps over a wider area and to prevent the commercial prawners from laying a line across your traps. trotac marine in victoria sells great working traps for sixty-nine a piece. its pricey but they work. Some styles of traps dont fish well, these do and they stack up for extra boat room. As for pulling by hand, good luck, it grows old fast and with the wind and tide to deal with it's a fair amount of drag even with two traps per string.It can be done, yet the robinson retriever is simple small and reliable puller and mounts existing scotty downrigger brackets and it will outlast the bulky awkward ace pot puller.You can freeze the prawns in ziplocks with heads removed in enough water to make em float in pig out portions, watch for vultures looming around the freezer!!!

 

[Mad Dog]

No way Gee, He's loaded to the scuppers with hali fever! He won't have the time for bug hunting, only the great white barn size chickens of the sea will quench his thirst.

 

[Mad Dog]

No way Gee, He's loaded to the scuppers with hali fever! He won't have the time for bug hunting, only the great white barn size chickens of the sea will quench his thirst.

 

[Mad Dog]

No way Gee, He's loaded to the scuppers with hali fever! He won't have the time for bug hunting, only the great white barn size chickens of the sea will quench his thirst.

 

[gurdygord]

I like to mix pellets[small and large] because I believe they break down at diffrent rates I also put chicken cat food and a coating of Alaskain fish fertilizer. I carry a 1 gallon ice cream bucket to do up this mix and make enough to add a topping mix after a two hour soak 'depending on area'.I don't go cheap with freshing up bait. I also know that the stainless traps out fish any other sportee trap.

 

[gurdygord]

I like to mix pellets[small and large] because I believe they break down at diffrent rates I also put chicken cat food and a coating of Alaskain fish fertilizer. I carry a 1 gallon ice cream bucket to do up this mix and make enough to add a topping mix after a two hour soak 'depending on area'.I don't go cheap with freshing up bait. I also know that the stainless traps out fish any other sportee trap.

 

[gurdygord]

I like to mix pellets[small and large] because I believe they break down at diffrent rates I also put chicken cat food and a coating of Alaskain fish fertilizer. I carry a 1 gallon ice cream bucket to do up this mix and make enough to add a topping mix after a two hour soak 'depending on area'.I don't go cheap with freshing up bait. I also know that the stainless traps out fish any other sportee trap.

 

[topogijo]

Hi IronNoggin Thanks for all that good info. I am specialy interested in your home made trap puller any chance you want to part with the detail. Sure would make like easier.

 

[Charter Tofino]

I am interested in a homemade trap hauler also. Yesterday pulled up the trap at 7:30 by hand and i froze. The wet rope soaks you and the cold temps freeze you. I dont like pulling up the 400 feet of rope with the 5 ft trap on the end it gets heavy! Does anyone use salmon? Our power went out during that big snow for 3 day and all of our salmon went bad(didnt think of throwing them outside in the cold snow DOH!). But now we have all this salmon for crab and prawn bait. Last year i used salmon and got 6 yes 6 dogfish in my trap. Its the trap with the flourescent mesh and the big openings. They were all small dogfish but they tore apart the trap! After we switched traps we did pretty well useing salmon 50-60 per trap.

 

[Eagle Eyes]

(get some gloves kelly)

but seriously, a rock drop in 250-400 feet of water commercial style round traps and the fish farm pellets= recipe for sucess.

 

[Charter Tofino]

Ive got gloves. I tried wetsuit gloves to keep my hands dry but the rubber grips got torn apart. Then i tried a pair of leather seado gloves but they werent very grippy. Finally today i tried some normal gardening gloves with a good grip and the worked great. Im still gonna make a hauler in metal work this month.

 

[Eagle Eyes]

had the traps out off Nanaimo for just over an hour yesterday, and got 140- not bad I think.

 

[explorer185]

Be Careful!!! Better check this DFO site for closures:
http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pages/sfg/updates_e.htm

 

[Eagle Eyes]

As far as I can tell the only closures are down around Ladysmith, please inform me if that is incorrect. Also does anyone know when commercial season opens, I thought it was April 1 but couldn't remember.

 

[explorer185]

The website above shows most of the areas are closed till April 1 for recreational prawning.

 

[Mr. Dean]

This is from the DFO website

Area 17

Recreational Prawn and Shrimp Harvest Closure

Recreational Prawn and Shrimp harvesters are advised that effective November 21, 2004 until March 31, 2005, the harvest of prawns and shrimp by trap, ring net, or spear while diving, will close in Subareas 17-5 to 17-7, and 17-9 (Stuart Channel and Ladysmith Harbour).

This measure has been put in place to allow adult female prawn and shrimp to complete their spawning cycle. (Fishery Notice 0990)

Updated: November 12, 2004


Looks as if the Naniamo area is good to go.

Some like it rough...
Others just puke!.
Mr. Dean

Edited by - Mr. Dean on 03/29/2005 20:38:20