Peeled prawns anyone?

"Alec Powell" wrote in message
...
Cleaning out the freezer - found a year old bag of peeled prawns!
Any good for a freshwater bait? :-)
(My river = chub, roach, barbel if you're lucky and the occasional
bream/carp)
Cheers,
Alec



Alec,
I use both these and shell-on prawns quite a lot for summer chub
stalking/prospecting. Semi-freelined (just a swan shot to provide a bit of
casting weight & to get them down) & trundled through pacy riffles & holes
they can be very effective - & the chub tend to hit them hard :-)
I've also picked up 3 or 4 barbel using the same tactics.

An excellent way of catching something in these horrible hot bright daytime
conditions we're getting at the moment.

hth

Richard
(Leeds)

Richard Bartlett wrote:
"Alec Powell" wrote in message
...
Cleaning out the freezer - found a year old bag of peeled prawns!
Any good for a freshwater bait? :-)
(My river = chub, roach, barbel if you're lucky and the occasional
bream/carp)
Cheers,
Alec



Alec,
I use both these and shell-on prawns quite a lot for summer chub
stalking/prospecting. Semi-freelined (just a swan shot to provide a
bit of casting weight & to get them down) & trundled through pacy
riffles & holes they can be very effective - & the chub tend to hit
them hard :-) I've also picked up 3 or 4 barbel using the same tactics.

An excellent way of catching something in these horrible hot bright
daytime conditions we're getting at the moment.

hth

Richard
(Leeds)

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

I was getting into a lot of chub last weekend, but not many over a pound and
a half, fishing with sweetcorn on a size 12.


--
Cheerz - Brownz
http://www.brownz.org/

In article , Brownz @ Work
wrote:
Richard Bartlett wrote:

I use both these and shell-on prawns quite a lot for summer chub
stalking/prospecting. Semi-freelined (just a swan shot to provide a
bit of casting weight & to get them down) & trundled through pacy
riffles & holes they can be very effective - & the chub tend to hit
them hard :-) I've also picked up 3 or 4 barbel using the same tactics.

An excellent way of catching something in these horrible hot bright
daytime conditions we're getting at the moment.

Interesting. I suppose they take them for young crayfish which used to be a
good summer chub bait before the signal invaders came along. Nowadays I
suppose young signals must be chub food in many places. Might be worth
dying them (fresh ones, not Alec's freezer trove) a darker shade. If they
take hard then the flavour probably isn't important - so an artificial or a
fly might be as good.

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.

I was getting into a lot of chub last weekend, but not many over a pound and
a half, fishing with sweetcorn on a size 12.

Try crust on a #6.

Cheerio,

--
Fishing: http://www.fishing.casterbridge.net/
Writing: http://www.author.casterbridge.net/derek-moody/
uk.rec.fishing.game Badge Page:
http://www.fishing.casterbridge.net/urfg/

Interesting. I suppose they take them for young crayfish which used to be
a
good summer chub bait before the signal invaders came along. Nowadays I
suppose young signals must be chub food in many places.

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.

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.



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.

Richard
(Leeds)

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006, Richard Bartlett, gave forth these words of wisdom:
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.
Interesting! Luckily on my little river, (Thame, Oxfordshire), we seem
to have an abundance of signals only three miles upstream of my stretch.
Three years ago the fishing was completely ruined by the Reds but now I
don't seem to see them that much downstream.
However... there is always the dodgy bite to make you think the aliens
have arrived :-)
Who said coarse fishing was a sedentary pastime.....? :-)
How about slugs for chub once this drought breaks?
I'll try anything for a bit of sport.
Cheers,
Alec

--
Alec Powell

Watlington
Oxfordshire
UK

I'll try anything for a bit of sport.
Cheers,
Alec

On that note ...
I had a mail from a friend yesterday - he'd just returned from a 3-hour
session on the Swale, flyfishing for chub on the shallows.
He'd taken 31, averaging ~3lb & up to 4-12 (weighed, not guesstimated).
Now that IS a bit of sport :-)

Richard
(Leeds)

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006, Richard Bartlett, gave forth these words of wisdom:
On that note ...
I had a mail from a friend yesterday - he'd just returned from a 3-hour
session on the Swale, flyfishing for chub on the shallows.
He'd taken 31, averaging ~3lb & up to 4-12 (weighed, not guesstimated).
Now that IS a bit of sport :-)

Richard
(Leeds)
Richard:
You are either winding us up or I'm emigrating to Yorkshire!
OOPS!, I forgot, I support Middlesex,
Oh well...... :-)
We live in hope
Alec
--
Alec Powell

Watlington
Oxfordshire
UK

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,

--
Fishing: http://www.fishing.casterbridge.net/
Writing: http://www.author.casterbridge.net/derek-moody/
uk.rec.fishing.game Badge Page:
http://www.fishing.casterbridge.net/urfg/

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006, Richard Bartlett, gave forth these words of wisdom:
Alec,
I use both these and shell-on prawns quite a lot for summer chub
stalking/prospecting. Semi-freelined (just a swan shot to provide a bit
of casting weight & to get them down) & trundled through pacy riffles &
holes they can be very effective - & the chub tend to hit them hard :-)
I've also picked up 3 or 4 barbel using the same tactics.

An excellent way of catching something in these horrible hot bright
daytime conditions we're getting at the moment.
Nice stuff Richard, thank you.
Had a little afternoon session today. Bit too hot for comfort and
everything decided not to play the game at about 16:30.
Didn't use the prawns but the roach and chub were feeding well on
sweetcorn and bread. Had a bit of a lull so went over to small red
worms! Mistake? Perch..Perch..Perch..Perch..Perch..
Oh Well, nice afternoon anyway!
Cheers,
Alec
--
Alec Powell

Watlington
Oxfordshire
UK