A Different Type Of Fun – Prawning
Knowledge Wise
By: The Angler
Fishing certainly is a fun and exciting activity filled with adventure, learning experiences, and opportunities to meet like minded friends. Some anglers do it for sport, some do it to spend time with friends and grow one’s skills, and some do it to relax from the rat race. Fishing most certainly revolves around fish but there are other branches of this fun sport that one can partake and explore. One of them is “prawning.”
[ Should you be wondering, prawns do not fight as hard as fishes do. They may look menacing but they certainly do not fight as hard… ]
While fishing is linked to fish, “prawning” is linked to prawns. Catching prawns can be done in a few ways. Commercial fishermen use nets. They scoop these twitchy creatures using large nets. Anglers however have a far more sporting, fun, and exciting option; rods, poles, lines, and hooks.
There are a variety of prawns but not all of them can be caught sensibly on rod (or pole) and line. Two popular species that come to mind. One is the tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon); table favourite for most prawn eaters. The other prawn species is the blue pincer prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) also known as udang gala in Malaysia and neighbouring countries; also a delicious table prawn. Crawfish (or crayfish) too can be caught on rod and line but they are not really prawns. We can include them too as crustaceans that can be caught on rod and line.
Waiting for prawns to take the bait.
Not The Usual Battle
Should you be wondering, prawns do not fight as hard as fishes do. They may look menacing but they certainly do not fight as hard. Yet lb (pound) for lb I believe that they will put up a fight harder than some fishes. If you happen to battle a 1kg prawn, you will probably find that it puts up a good fun fight. But for the most part, the excitement is different.
Prawn fishing on rod (pole) and line will require careful and delicate handling of the of the rod (pole) and line as one attempts to bring the prawn in less the prawn escapes with a swift “kick of its tail.” Striking too hard, too soon, too soft, etc. can mean not getting a solid hook-set. This in turn means that the prawn can and will escape.
In the next few issues we will look at “prawning” in further detail. If you have not tried “prawning” before, it certainly is something to try. It has its own set of challenges, it is relaxing, and is plenty of fun. Do checkout coming issues for more information on “prawning.”
