Get Your Prawning Gear Out!

[arpie]

Hi guys

It is the dark of the moon, so time to dust off the prawn nets & get a bright light & get out there prawning! I went out on Monday night & spent a couple of hours scooping from a jetty & got about 1/2kg which Wendy & I converted into fish the next day, whilst they were still alive! Only a couple were 'eating size' so they were sacrificed to the Fish Gods!

Cheers

Roberta

After this 'dark', the next one will be right on Xmas!!!

[chocofallon]

Gday Roberta,

I've never rigged a live prawn before but am keen to go prawning one of these days. Whats the best way to rig them live. Running sinker and light weight and where do you sit the hook? I'm amagining they would be quite fragile and would die easily?

Also do you pick them up in the shallows over the weed beds during the runout or more in the faster flowing channels? Sorry for all the questions but I have a few prawning nets and am keen maybe to hit them next new moon.

Cheers,

Joe

[arpie]

Hi Joe

I vary my hook setup - sometimes I just have them hooked once thru the tail so they can 'flop around' a bit as they are still alive. Other times, I take the head off the dead ones & use a reasonable sized jig head to get them down - or put the jig head up his tail & present him 'back to front'! ( )

WHich ever way you choose, only use the lightest sinker to allow them to move around slowly, as they would in real life. I was surprised we didn't get bigger fish the other day, but we were fishing the channel, not the structure. If fishing near leases & jetties etc, I reckon we'd have caught bigger ones.

When prawning, They do need a reasonable flow to get the bigger (or better auality/quantity) ones. You will see & hear the fish boofing them as they head down the waterway. During the day, they actually hide in the sand of the shallows, so don't be surprised if you see them fleeing when walking in the shallows during the day, too!

They do hide in the weed beds, so if on foot, just walk out (waders are a good idea!) & shine the torch in the weeds & along the weed beds. Those waterproof 6v torches are really good. My headlamp wasn't bright enough, tho still got me enough! I am getting a new 12v battery for my home made prawning wand! Hope to try it next session!

Watch out for Fortescue! Horrible little brown things that get stuck in your net! They can give you a nasty sting!

I was amazed at just how tough they were! I had them in a container with water for most of the day on the yak & twice, I felt the water & it was quite warm & they were still alive & kicking! I changed the water twice & some were still alive when I came home, so I froze them! if you have some fine netting, it would be better to keep them alive in the fresh water than in a container like I did tho!

Good luck!! They should be running for the best part of a week, but it will be getting an hour later each night!

Cheers

Roberta

[naddy]

Sorry Roberta, but how exactly do you go prawning? just for us noobies out there who've never seen it!

can you do it land based? or would u have to wade in the water with a net + light?

do u use a bright WHITE light or the red one?

[arpie]

Hi Naddy

You can prawn from shore, but if you can find a jetty or wharf with some reasonable flow going past, you'd probably get more ......

If you haven't got waders, wear sandshoes or zip up neoprene boots, in case you tread on something sharp. You need a prawn net (it has specific sized holes & you can't use nets with smaller holes) and bright torch light! I haven't heard of anyone ever using red light - give it a go! The idea is to shine the light into the water & when the light detects a prawn, it makes the prawn eyes light up like a beacon, making them easy to see, then scoop into the net. On a good run, you can scoop heaps into the net each time ..... on slower nights, you may be scooping an individual prawn every now & then (like me on Monday!) But it was still fun!

It usually happens for about 1 week to 10 days over the New Moon (ie NO MOON) period, after dark, when the prawns make a dash for freedom, out of the estuaries to sea. They have to get past a hoard of Prawners tho!

So, you need the tide to be going out, after dark for a fair shot at prawning!

There was talk of a prawning gathering this weekend .... not sure what happened about it!!! In some systems that are closed to the ocean (I hear Narrabeen has closed again now) you may be able to find some any night!

Good luck

Roberta

[Guest Aussie007]

Roberta, thanks for the thumbs up we went prawning last week off a wharf caught only a handful and those dam pelicans were like flys on shit! they were taking all the prawns as they were running down stream sitting only around 20 meters up steam from us when i get a boat i will be sitting past the pelicans up steam HAHA!!!

[naddy]

wow

thank you very much Roberta! so much info! lol

it does sound fun, i might go try it this weekend with my bro, we have 2 waders that ive never used..

can u get them in the georges river? can u just use the head light as light or is there a specific light that u need to use for prawning?

thanks again!

[arpie]

Hi naddy -

I have never really fished or prawned there, but the Georges should be fine - usually look for a bit with a sandy beach leading to a drop off or try & spot a jetty that is sticking out into the water. They like to run along the deeper water, often on top of the water. They will dive sometimes too, when you put the torch on them! If you see some weed or debris floating down, shine your headlamp on it too, as they are lazy blighters & often hitch a ride on flotsam & jetsam!

A headlamp should be fine, but take some spare batteries with you - some don't seem to last as well as those dolphin torches.

Good luck!!

Roberta

[zrealist]

Are Fortescue edible?

How big do they grow to?

[arpie]

Fortescue are Very small & not worth eating, that is for sure!!! Maybe 5cm in size??

Roberta

[tide'n'knots]

Fortescue are Very small & not worth eating, that is for sure!!! Maybe 5cm in size??

Roberta

I have seen huge fortesque in the hawkesbury around lower portland around the 20 -30cm mark!!!!

At first I didnt know what they were until we caught some smaller ones in the prawn net and compared the looks.

then the penny dropped! Lucky I decided not to touch it or it would have been a rude shock.

Pete.

[Guest Aussie007]

does anyone have a picture of what these things look like?

[james7]

does anyone have a picture of what these things look like?

The Fortesque (Centropogon australis) can be found along the east coast of Australia from the waters of southern Queensland to eastern Victoria. It belongs to the scorpionfishes family (Scorpaenidae). It can be found in estuaries and sheltered coastal bays on sandy/silty bottoms. It can be quite often found in sponge gardens within estuaries. Aggregations of the species have been observed (up to 30) where they gather over a sandy or muddy bottom. They occur in shallow waters and also down to depths of at least 30 metres. The Fortesque grows to a maximum size of approximately 15cm.

The dorsal spines of the Fortesque can deliver an exceptionally painful sting which can cause great pain and discomfort. If a person is unfortunate enough to get stung, immediate treatment is to place the stung hand/foot in hot water (as hot as the person can tolerate) to help relieve the pain and prevent the toxins spreading.

Cheers

Peter

[zrealist]

Please see pic attached.

The one in the pic is only about 12 cm.

I have only ever got them to about that size.

A 30 cm ones would be a world record i imagine.

[arpie]

....I have seen huge fortesque in the hawkesbury around lower portland around the 20 -30cm mark!!!!....

WOW!! That is amazing Pete!!! I've only ever seen tiddlers!!! Hmmmm, wonder what they taste like?? Anyone game to try one??

Roberta