Homemade Prawn pellets

I have a couple of spots in Halfmoon Bay that consistently produce a mix of shrimp and spot prawns. Not undersized prawns, definitely sidestripe. My DIL always brings fresh croissants when they arrive at the cabin, so I'll move a pair of traps 15 minutes south. Shrimp salad on a warm croissant, now ya talking.
 
I haven’t been doing it long but I’ve never caught sidestripe shrimp. I’ve caught pink shrimp in Howe Sound and coonstripe near Vancouver Island though. I find the coonstripe are tasty eaten fresh but they don’t survive freezing like spot prawns.
 
Yyjdennis said:
I thought prawns liked a steep slope? Should I be looking for a relatively flat bottom? Maybe this is what I’m doing wrong.
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Yyjdennis said:
I thought prawns liked a steep slope? Should I be looking for a relatively flat bottom? Maybe this is what I’m doing wrong.
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you can get them on really any bottom, the numbers seem better at the bottom of a steep slope. you will also find the colours of them vary. rocky slopes they a redder, mud are a browner looking shell.. around savary in the sand they almost look very light beige.

fast release baits with bigger holes in the jars for scent for short soaks.. vented style jars for longer soaks and to keep the lice out.
 
BC Coast Pilot said:
If you're getting shrimp, with your prawn try pushing deeper
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I might have to try some new spots. I’ve been setting in the bottom of holes/ depressions 220-240’. One reason for that is because of the currents in the area and me thinking that the gear is safer there. But I’m up for experimenting.
 
Srthomas75 said:
I might have to try some new spots. I’ve been setting in the bottom of holes/ depressions 220-240’. One reason for that is because of the currents in the area and me thinking that the gear is safer there. But I’m up for experimenting.
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I don't prawn in areas with high current. Unless its a really flat cycle. Pain in the butt for the reward and risk of loss
 
chille51 said:
Thanks for the detailed explanation @Squire . Both times I have been out I have been solo so all I know so far is doing it on my own. I do have auto pilot though and have been using that to my advantage. What I have been doing doesn't sound that far off from what you have - I approach my spot whichever way it seems like the drift is going, but I haven't paid as close of attention to getting that exactly right as it sounds like you have - I've just been relying on the auto pilot to keep me headed the direction I want. I keep it in gear at idle speed until both traps and my main line weight are in the water, and from there have tried both keeping it in gear or dropping into neutral. If I go into neutral I can sometimes feel the traps land before all of my rope is played out, and end up basically shoveling the rest out. If I keep it in gear, I sometimes end up overshooting my mark - which is how I ended up shallower than I intended yesterday. Sounds like some more strategic in and out in and out is worth a try. I'm also still trying to build my mental image of where my traps are landing in relation to where the buoy gets tossed over and marked on the GPS.

I marked my lines with coloured electrical tape which I find helps a lot. I have one band of yellow tape every 25' on the line, and then red tape marking every 100', with number of bands corresponding - ie 1 band at 100', 2 bands at 200', 3 bands at 300' etc. Helps me space the traps where I want them (have tried both 50' and 75'), and keep track of how close to the end of the pull I am when bringing them up.
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I do it just like @Squire but I will add, if you have a 5lb cannon ball on your line (which you should, about 15’ ahead of your top trap, as it makes sure your traps don’t move, which spooks the prawns…) then make sure as you’re dropping that you don’t let the rope out too quickly. You don’t want to ball to sink faster than the traps or the traps may not land flat. If you just let er fly, the ball will sink quicker than the traps. If that makes sense.
 
Good tip. Makes total sense. I'm actually using 10lbs in front of the traps. Repurposed some pancake downrigger weights I wasn't using.
 
A-a-Ron said:
I do it just like @Squire but I will add, if you have a 5lb cannon ball on your line (which you should, about 15’ ahead of your top trap, as it makes sure your traps don’t move, which spooks the prawns…) then make sure as you’re dropping that you don’t let the rope out too quickly. You don’t want to ball to sink faster than the traps or the traps may not land flat. If you just let er fly, the ball will sink quicker than the traps. If that makes sense.
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I stopped using my 8lb balls for this reason. Too many headaches. Now I use 2lbers 10 feet from trap and then another one anywhere between 50-100 feet from the buoy. That one acts as a shock absorber for the wave action and also keeps the line off the surface. I use all floating line because it stays off bottom better to avoid snags and it lays nicer in the bucket. And it's cheaper and less hassle than splicing. I set everything up on the deck, boat in gear and just start chucking. Clip the last weight on and huck the buoy. I usually circle around after my second trap to keep slack in the line instead of it being pulled tight right off the bat and dragging the traps on their side or missing my spot.

Last thing, it's absolutely imperative to crank The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss while doing all of this.
 
Ive done sone similar adjustments over the years to address the rate of drop issue. Cut back to a 5 lb pyramid weight as the anchor point before the traps. Its shape ensures it buries itself in a bit, more holding power for less weight. Each trap has a 5 lb lead zip tied into the centre bait well. With the weight of bait and the trap itself to offset their greater drag, the traps should be settling at a similar rate to the pyramid. And a 2 lb cannonball at the very end of the string helps as well.

I too use normal 3/8" poly rope, same reasons as @Rain City. One of the pluses of using the Scotty puller is its ability to handle knots and spices, so I have pre-tied loops for each trap and weight location, and a carabiner-style clip on each trap and weight. Except for a 1 lb weight below the buoy to prevent rope float, that goes somewhere between 30 and 50 ft from the surface, depending on bottom depth.

If there's a second person to help, I have them circle the drop location at about 4 kn while I get everything overboard. Solo is more tricky; get it all baited and clipped together then minimum throttle toward the base of the slope (if feasible), watching chart and sonar. Into neutral a bit before the drop spot, traps into the water and cleat off the rope. Back into gear briefly to stretch out the string, let rope go, back into neutral and use momentum to strip out remaining rope.

I used to think it was better to run upwind/into the drift for more accuracy on the drop, but came to realise the difficulty in keeping the boat straight wasn't worth it. Learnt instead to run downwind while allowing for the drift.
 
Around Sidney I just do a three hour soak during small currents and reuse the pellets. I put a 5lb dive weight in the trap closest to the float. To reuse the pellets I just put the container back in the freezer when I get home. This is from today, two traps, three hour soak with pellets used for the third time. About 100 prawns. I think location is the key. Two weeks ago about 150 prawns, same spot, same bait, same traps.
 

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cpony said:
Around Sidney I just do a three hour soak during small currents and reuse the pellets. I put a 5lb dive weight in the trap closest to the float. To reuse the pellets I just put the container back in the freezer when I get home. This is from today, two traps, three hour soak with pellets used for the third time. About 100 prawns. I think location is the key. Two weeks ago about 150 prawns, same spot, same bait, same traps.
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What depth works for you , and do you get many shrimp at your spot ?
I wanted to go out today but ended up doing other chores.
 
Srthomas75 said:
What depth works for you , and do you get many shrimp at your spot ?
I wanted to go out today but ended up doing other chores.
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180-190ft. Always get shrimp and a few squats. I save a few squats for my dog. Loves crunching them fresh. I find a flat then drop going up the cliff.
Watched the weather forecast and saw today was going to be the best day so did my chores yesterday.
 

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I have 420 ft of line and usually drop in 300-325 ft. Two traps on line 65' apart...

Interesting that prawns seem to have their little honey holes. One time I dropped my trap (single) and a buddy dropped his, somewhat accidentally, only about 60 ft away from me.
I got 105 in the one trap, he got 15... same bait.
 
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