In article , Richard Bartlett
URL:mailto:richardbartlett@removethisbitentirelyn tlworld.com wrote:

That's precisely why I started using them. Having many many years ago used
crays, & pretty successfully, I was keen to find a usable substitute when it
became inappropriate (& illegal!) to continue doing so.
Luckily we've not got signals yet (R.Ure mostly), but even so the native
population has taken a dive. Probably only a matter of time though.

Sounds like the crayfish fungus, whatever it's called, has got in already.
That's what happened around here. Used to be enough native crays to make an
occasional meal now there are a very few in the smallest feeder streams
only.

I was shopping at Costco a few weeks back & bought one of those catering
tubs of tiger prawns in brine - around 1.5 litres for about £6.
Unfortunately they all got eaten, but they look absolutely perfect for
bait - they're just the peeled tails, but they're substantially larger &
somewhat tougher than bog-standard prawns. I'm going to pick up some more
next time I'm in & give them a go - can't really see why they wouldn't work.

I wouldn't buy prawns for the job - there are plenty of other cheaper baits
around. Next time I go prawning I might put aside the dead 'uns that would
otherwise have been binned.

Interesting, what size/type/make of hook are you fishing them on Richard
?

Probably about a #2 or #4. A prawn spike as in salmon fishing might help
too.


Yup, that's about it - just hook 'em through the tail so the point comes out
of the back. For baits this size I prefer a wide-gape hook, something like a
Kamasan B983.

Dunno about make and model - the standard salmon angler's prawn mount is a
small (#10 or #8) through the root of the tail, a working hook among the
whiskers (often a treble) and a barbed spike flying from the bend of the
working hook back through the length of the prawn keeping it straight.

You can make a spike from a detempered hook if you can't buy locally.

Cheerio,

--
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