Prawns, a great alternative to roe!

[Brian]

Raw prawn meat is an outstanding bait for steelhead and salmon fishing. It is a tough bait that will stay on your hook for many casts. Here is a quick tutorial on how I prepare my prawn meat for steelhead fishing. It is very simple and only takes a few minutes.

1. I like the 50/60 count raw prawns that you can find at your local grocery store:




2. Here they are before peeling the shell off of them:




3. And here they are after peeling the shell off of them:




4. Cut them into pieces about the size of your little fingernail. At this time you can dye them with any commercial bait coloring. I usually use them just the way they are, but occasionally I will dye them a light  pink color:




5. Then place them into small ziplock bags and place them in the freezer until your ready to go fishing:




6. When on the river simply place a piece of raw prawn meat on the hook of your jig like this:




Thats all there is to it. These baits will last a long time in the freezer and hold up well while on the river. They are a very durable bait and are not as messy as roe. You can also use these on your drift gear just as you would eggs or sandshrimp. I have had great success with prawns tipped on my jigs for both summer and winter steelhead as well as salmon, especially Chums.

[Jiggy]

Do you guys use prawns with marabou and rabbit jigs too or will the oils screw up the feathers/fur like scent does?
Thanks, jiggy

[The Codfather]

Brian turned me onto this method while fishing for summer steel, and I quickly asked the same question Jiggy! The answer is it does nothing but enhance the jigs you are throwing be it rabbits fur, marabou, ect. I really liked this technique and have seen first hand that it is a winner. Good luck.

[Brian]

10-4 Jiggy! Prawns or sand shrimp tipped jigs are killer for both winter and summer fish. They shouldn't hurt your marabou or rabbit fur jigs, but be careful with any scents you may want to add.

[BirdDog]

Prawns work great. Try a little prawn/shrimp oil, inject it with needle. If you use a little at a time it doesn't hurt the marabou but leaves a great scent trail. Prawns are tough and you can shoot 'em up several times before feeding the non biters.

[Jiggy]

Thanks guys. Just picked up some tiger prawns so i should be finding out if the chums like em this weekend.
Jiggy

[Redhook]

Chums don't like em..........they love em     

 

[Brian]

Chums don't like em..........they love em

   

Ain't that the truth!

[Jiggy]

Well i just ran out of my tiger prawns so i need to get some new ones. I had ok sucess with these should i get the same tiger prawns of should i get one of the other types i see at the store. Wanted to get the same as Brian uses but cant see the pic. anymore so i dont know what they were.
thanks Jiggy

[Brian]

Sorry about that, the pics are back up!

[Jiggy]

thanks alot Brian
Jiggy

[Barney]

Waiting to try this out on the Vedder soon, how's everyone keepin"?

[Dannyboy]

Hey guys thanks for the great info ...I am new to the site and looking to get my frist Steelhead this year...Danny

[Barney]

Welcome Danny, that's one thing is that you will sure find alot of info from these folks here, and it's all practical stuff too.  You just have to get out on a River to practice it, Right on.  These guys will soon make you feel like an old friend.

[kwaj]

Just pulled some out of the freezer that I got out of the meat counter at the grocery store. I happened to notice a little label on the outside that said "Farm raised in China".......Thought that was interesting.

I love how tough these are for bait. Just recently I was drifting with a prawn bait, got a solid hook up and after I landed it, the bait was still on the hook and looking pretty good. Dang tough stuff!!