fishing with prawns

[badfisherman]

what do u guys think about prawns, what fish do they attract ? are they worth it. Also wats the best rig to have with them, normal running rig ?

[Mim]

Hi there and welcome to Breammaster. You will find that most of us on here don't use bait . We all tend to use lures, either hard bodies or soft plastics. Most of the time they outfish bait, when you know how to fish them.

In my previous life when I used to be a prawn soaker we used to rig them on a wide mouth hook with the tail on first. We tended to fish them weightless or else with a very small running sinker.

You can catch all sorts of different fish, we mainly target Bream and used to get occasional side catches of Flatties, Grunter and Tarwhine.

What I suggest you do is to have a read through some of the previous posts in the forums and get some lures and give them a try. Be brave and leave the bait at home. It may take a while till you land a fish on a lure, but when you do...THERE IS NO TURNING BACK!!!!!!!

Another thing you might like to do is hook up with a few locals and get them to show you how to fish a lure. If you are here in WA a few of the guys organise boaters days and people are always willing to do land based sessions too.

Have fun, learn heaps and make new friends. Thats what we are all about

Cheers

Mim

[chopper]

Hi,

id have to agree with Mimbo.

1 week ago i started to give SP a go, and i caught more fish on them in 1 day then i have caught fish my whole life on prawns.

Prawns are good baits. But,i had enough of going fishing everytime and wasting 5 dollars on prawns, and 50 % of the time the prawns soften up in the water and you have to put on a new prawn.

With SP, you can get around 20 for 10 buks, and 1 individual SP usually last me 2 hours.

They are good stuff, give them a try.

[bparker]

Live Prawns are kick-ass on big-bream. Frozen prawns are ok on Bream, I usually fish them peeled on a wide gape hook and a pea size sinker above a shortish trace....you may get more hits on fozen prawn but generally the quality will be a lot poorer.

Live baits (nippers, worms, prawns) will outfish dead baits....dead baits are an ok standby if you can't get hold of the real thing.

Don't discount lures..apparently they work better than bait but you need to put the hours of practice in to work out how to fish them...and God knows I'm still practising!!.

Geeeezzz Chopper, you must be the worst bait fisherman in history:D even as a lure only fisho since the late 60's, I have to admit there has been more bream caught on prawns then there will ever be on lures/plastics.

Cheers Samurai

[chopper]

Samurai, i know what you mean, but the spots that i have gone too, ive caught more on SP.

live prawns will obviously last longer, im sure, but what i was referring too, which i didnt specify, frozen prawns soften up really quick, and 50 % of the time are wasted.

Well i my opinion, it was for me, other may have other techniques.

i never said prawns dont work :)

Settle down down Chopper, and try catching a sense of humor:D
on your s/p's lol:)

Samurai

[8footugly]

As an ex Baito :D , I used fresh prawns. Nothing in a packet, usually from the fish markets as they came in. The best prawn bait Ive used was collecting shrimp in Narrabeen Lake (Sydney's Northern Beaches). This was easily done by placing an old tin can (usually the larger beetroot cans) in the weedbeds around the lake. A few nail holes in the bottom to ensure it sinks and tied with a piece of 3 meter rope.
After an hour or so, drag the tin out and you'll have several shrimp/prawns kicking in the bottom. A couple of a size 2 long shanks and some nice flathead and bream were always on the cards.

I also remember drag netting the shoreline on the Hawkesbury (when 2 man drag prawn nets were not illegal), and collecting a couple of kilo of Prawns up at Fiseman's Ferry. Good for Bream and school jewies.

These days I'm just sticking to lures...its more challenging and less work collecting bait.

[Angry]

I love fishing with prawns, I prefer to grab good fresh ones (cooked) from the markets or local fish mongers.

Every now and then during the day fishing, to give my arm a break from casting hard and soft lures, I will sit down, peel a few prawns and eat them.:) :) :)

I still soak bait bait occasionally, but not for bream. I much prefer to eat prawns than throw them in the river.

[chopper]

Angry

you eat raw prawns???

if you do, yuck :D

[rigzz]

Hi,
Sure, you can't beat a live prawn but lures are a lot more convenient, more fun and nearly as effective.
Cheers,
Rigzz

[Fishaholic]

I'd rather be a master-lurer than a master-baiter :p



Gab.

[badfisherman]

so in all prawns are ok?

Dude lose the bait and buy some plastics, over time you'll catch more fish and bigger ones on lures, of that there is no doubt...

[torvic]

Yah lures just rock, its the difference between fishing and angling and baiting just plain stinks?

[Max_Hague]

Im with the rest lures are the way to go. I have slowly converted a lot of my mates to ways of the lure.

However if you want to use bait live or fresh is always the best.

If you want to learn how to use lures bait is a good way to start. Have a look around area’s you think may hold fish and cast a live prawn unweighted into these area’s once you hooked a few fish and are confident you know how to find fish you are half way there.
All you have to do is go back to these areas with plastics and try again. Over time you will work out colours and your retrieve and you wont look back.

Good luck.
Max:)