high. Instead, look to your local
seafood shop or grocery store. Asian
specialty stores also routinely carry
bulk prawns. Head-on Arctic prawns
are the most common bait prawn, but
often must be special ordered. Thankfully,
most employees at these places
also fish and will know just what
you are looking for, but just in case,
bringing a sample or picture doesn’t
hurt. If a retailer stocks prawns, you
can buy them by the pound, but if
a special order is needed expect to
be required to purchase a minimum
amount, typically around 11 pounds.
Get a few friends to go in with you if
you don’t need that many.
Prep
Once you’ve acquired a batch of
prawns you’ll need to prep and sort
them. Wearing rubber or nitrile
gloves to prevent contamination with
human scent (and prevent prawn
from contaminating your human
scent), place the prawns in a glass
bowl, cover with plastic wrap and
allow them to thaw slowly in the
refrigerator. Do not set them on your
counter to thaw. Bacteria can spread
quickly ruining baits and causing
offensive scents. Thawing too quickly
can also cause mushy, soft prawns.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
When buying bulk, you are going
to get a range of quality from primo
to garbage. Start by separating your
prawns into three groups of Great,
Good and Bad. Great prawns should
be fully intact, have both eyes, the
color should be uniform (including
head) and the head should be
securely connected to the body. Good
prawns may have slight discoloration
in the head, missing one eye,
or missing a few legs. Bad may be
missing both eyes, have very pro-
Proven Cures and Brines
The Ultimate Brine
Bait guru Duane Inglin has earned a
reputation for creating phenomenal
brined shrimp and prawns. Like all
good things in life, this brine takes
time, but the end results are oh so
worth it! This is the ultimate brine for
both prawns and coon shrimp.
INGREDIENTS
1 full bottle of Pautzke Nectar (any
color)
1/4 cup BorX O Fire (match Nectar
color)
1/4 cup fine white granular sugar
1/4 cup of raw sugar
1/4 cup of non iodized sea salt
1/4 cup rock salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Fire Power
1 to 2 teaspoons sodium sulfite
Additional Scents (optional)
Top off with distilled water
DIRECTIONS
Mix all dry ingredients, place into a
one quart glass jar, add Nectar and
any additional scents, then shake for
a few minutes to mix. Once blended,
add as many prawns as necessary to
fill the majority of remaining space in
the jar, and then top off with distilled
water. For bold red and orange baits,
use two bottles of Nectar and no
distilled water. Inglin suggests only
using one additional scent per jar of
brine, favorites being anise, crawfish
or vanilla. Do not mix multiple
The Cave Man
This effective cure will no doubt have
you using a club to bonk a few heads
and it’s so easy, even a cave man can
do it!
INGREDIENTS
Nate’s Prawn Cure
1 quart zipper freezer bag
1 cup rock salt
Pure cooking vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Place two dozen Arctic prawns in
scents in one jar of brine. For smaller
batches or to experiment with scents,
shake the one quart mixture well then
divide into two one pint wide mouth
jars.
Keeping the jar on its side in the
refrigerator, remove several times a
day and gently rotate to keep brine
ingredients mixed. Allow prawns to
brine for a minimum of two weeks
before use. Prawns will stay fresh for
up to a year when refrigerated in this
brine. They can also be removed,
placed in a container with distilled
water, and frozen.
a one quart freezer bag and cover
with ¼ cup of Nate’s Prawn Cure.
Gently rotate bag to ensure all
prawns are covered in cure and
then add ten drops of pure vanilla.
Bleed excess air from bag, and then
place inside the second zipper bag
for puncture insurance. Place the
mixture in the fridge, and gently
roll every couple hours while the
prawns soak in the cure juices. After
24 hours, add one cup of rock salt
and you’re ready to fish.
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