Prawns for Perch

stagflaps · Nov 7, 2011

With the previous record being caught on them and this big fish also falling for the bait they obviously work Perch Dedication Pays Off

Has anyone on here tried them and have you had much success?

akacrush · Nov 7, 2011

Never tried them myself but tempted to given recent stories.

I've some nice perch on dead baited minnows but to be honest, my best ones (a little over 2lb) have always fallen to lobbies or caster. Still, got to be worth a try I guess. Let us know how you fair!

Windy · Nov 7, 2011

Had a fair chunk of success with them, generally a small half a peeled prawn on a size 16 or 14 for tench, crucians and bigger roach and rudd, or a full sized prawn threaded on to a size 4 for bigger carp.

I have always peeled them but someone somewhere I read suggested leaving the shells on for extra crunch, especially in any area where crayfish may be a food item. Not tried that yet but it might work. Be interested to know

barbelboi · Nov 7, 2011

As Evan states, prawn can be a good bait for many species. As for perch I've had a fair number on prawns, and in recent years on ordinary frozen (thawed) prawns dunked in predator plus.
Jerry

akacrush · Nov 7, 2011

Windy said:
Had a fair chunk of success with them, generally a small half a peeled prawn on a size 16 or 14 for tench, crucians and bigger roach and rudd, or a full sized prawn threaded on to a size 4 for bigger carp.

I have always peeled them but someone somewhere I read suggested leaving the shells on for extra crunch, especially in any area where crayfish may be a food item. Not tried that yet but it might work. Be interested to know

I was just wondering about that, cooked v raw, and if raw in or out of the shell?

Richox12 · Nov 7, 2011

Yes. I have had bags of perch (not huge but up to maybe 1 1/2lb) on peeled & cooked prawns which I briefly boiled in Turmeric to change the colour. By bags I mean around 15lb - 20lb. I don't think it was any kind of 'wonder' bait as I think I would have caught those fish on worms anyway. But it was different.

Peter Jacobs · Nov 7, 2011

Prawns for Perch eh?

Got me thinking did that . . . . .

So, would that be as in a bait or a garnish?

Seriously though, we used them a lot in Norway for Perch, lightly cooked and mounted whole on a large(ish) single hook.

Tee-Cee · Nov 7, 2011

"Would that be as in a bait or a garnish?"

Hahahaha..............very droll...

Perhaps a good stuffing....

Windy · Nov 7, 2011

akacrush said:
I was just wondering about that, cooked v raw, and if raw in or out of the shell?

I have always used cooked - Tescoburys or Morrisrose cheapest basics frozen and defrosted, unless there are some 20p specials on the sell by date bargains shelf.... which is where most of my diet comes from these days !

But I will try the shell on lark when I lay my hands on some cheapies - and cheapies with expiring sell by date pften also come with their own added additional attractive odour !!! :wh

We should not forget that the Prawn has long been one of the great Salmon fishing baits, banned on most Scottish waters in the 1930's... to the extent that a Scotsman was arrested and sentenced to three years hard labour and transportation when found in possession of a prawn sandwich on the banks of the Tay*

xenon · Nov 7, 2011

Windy said:
I have always used cooked - Tescoburys or Morrisrose cheapest basics frozen and defrosted, unless there are some 20p specials on the sell by date bargains shelf.... which is where most of my diet comes from these days !

But I will try the shell on lark when I lay my hands on some cheapies - and cheapies with expiring sell by date pften also come with their own added additional attractive odour !!! :wh

We should not forget that the Prawn has long been one of the great Salmon fishing baits, banned on most Scottish waters in the 1930's... to the extent that a Scotsman was arrested and sentenced to three years hard labour and transportation when found in possession of a prawn sandwich on the banks of the Tay*

Windy-which bit is the lie? Prawns being banned or the jailed Scotsman?

terry m · Nov 7, 2011

Yes, I have used them several times on a small syndicate that contains nothing except large carp, large perch and crayfish.

Despite the fact that the perch grow inordinately large due to the presence of the crayfish, I have had virtually no success with prawns.

But reading the article has made me consider restarting my efforts!

Windy · Nov 7, 2011

xenon said:
Windy-which bit is the lie? Prawns being banned or the jailed Scotsman?

You got me.... it was a prawn subway, not a sandwich.....

David Rogers 3 · Nov 8, 2011

xenon said:
Windy-which bit is the lie? Prawns being banned or the jailed Scotsman?

The transportation bit was the lie - Australia had decided long before that it didn't need any more convicts from the UK to boost the population! ;-)

Ric Elwin · Nov 8, 2011

I've had some success with moderate perch on small prawns. I reckon that king size ones might prove to be a bit more selective than say lobworms, as smaller perch would struggle to get them in their mouths. Yet to be tested though.

Anyone got any thoughts as regards crayfish problems using prawns; similar to worms perhaps?

billy whizz · Nov 8, 2011

Prawns are a superb all round bait, I have been using them for years.

They are similar to lobworms in that just about every coarse fish will take them freely. Carn't really think of a species I havn't caught on them. From the carp, tench, bream end, to the predators which just love em, perch, eels and pike.

For most species I use the larger cooked and peeled ones (frozen) from Aldi, these are obviously softer than the raw ones but can be hooked or hair rigged, or cut into smaller pieces for the likes of roach. For targetting the larger perch I sometimes use the tougher/larger raw but peeled ones Iceland sell. When using these larger ones to target perch, if there are a lot of pike in the water you will pick up pike so consider a lightweight trace.

akacrush · Nov 11, 2011

terry m said:
Despite the fact that the perch grow inordinately large due to the presence of the crayfish, I have had virtually no success with prawns.

How about two cormorants with one stone - use crayfish as bait? They are easy to trap and the fish obviously like them... thoughts?

geggsnick · Nov 11, 2011

is it possible to use crayfish sections as bait, or do they only get eaten when in the malting stage?

Jeff Woodhouse · Nov 11, 2011

geggsnick said:
is it possible to use crayfish sections as bait,

NOOOOOOOOO! Illegal, EA bye-laws forbid crayfish to be used as bait.

I know they used to in the old days, but no more. This is because you could be transferring eggs from one river to another (or sections thereof).

---------- Post added at 13:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:03 ----------

Ric Elwin said:
Anyone got any thoughts as regards crayfish problems using prawns

I used to use prawns in the Cherwell, populated with many many crayfish, and got plagued with them. Always took the odd chub of around 5lbs though. Prawns OK, kept away from crayfish.

terry m · Nov 12, 2011

Yes - it was my understanding that using crayfish as bait is illegal.

But you are correct, the perch grow large feeding on the crays at the point when they shed their shells and are soft for a period.

Tee-Cee · Nov 12, 2011

Since when has anyone taken any notice of the word 'illegal'....

Does everyone use barbless hooks (or not fish floating baits) when the rules call for them-I don't think so!!

No, its not right but.....................

Prawns for Perch

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