Fishing for Prawns with Grandpa Kubo
Prawn hooking or “prawning” is a delicate sport using a light pole with a 2-meter long line attached to a colorful float and a tiny curved hook. Chicken hearts that look as bad as they smell make great bait. Once the prawn bait is ready, lower it gently into the dark liquid below and wait patiently for the prawns to bite. -- source
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Generalized life cycle of the prawn: Prawn are potandrous hermaphrodites, spending the early part of life cycle as males and the later part as females. Breeding occurs in the fall and is usually complete by the end of October. Females lay eggs which remain attached to abdominal appendages until hatching in March and April, usually between 70-90 m water depth. Free-swimming larvae or nauplii spend 2-3 months in plankton. Late and post-larvae remain in shallow water (less than 54 m) until winter months. Prawn reside in shallow water bays and inlets during first year because detritus from summer plankton and larger algae production supports amphipods and mysids which are preyed upon by young prawns. One year after hatching, at about 100 mm, prawns move to deeper (over 100 m) and by autumn males reach 150 mm. In fourth spring, at 200 mm, they change to females. Maximum life span is 5 years, but most live 4 years, and maximum length for males is 230 mm and 253 mm for females. -- source
Post Harvest Tips For Handling Freshwater Prawn
By Mike Frinsko, NCSU Cooperative Extension Service and Mack Fondren, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi State University
Every year at this time we hear a lot about proper handling of prawns and their storage. The following information is a guide to proper storage procedures to ensure your products are enjoyed as they should be: fresh tasting and wonderful!
-You can keep fresh prawn on ice or refrigerated (about 380F) for up to 24 hours.
-It’s very important that the prawns don’t sit in water. Place the prawn in a strainer with ice and have a pan underneath for catching the melt-water.
-If prawns are held fresh on ice or refrigerated for up to 2 days, we recommend they be deheaded as soon as possible and washed in cold water.
-For longer term storage, ice packed whole prawns should be processed (deheaded) and frozen at the end of a 1-day holding period.
-Frozen whole prawns store well for up to 12 months. Afterwards the tails appear to be softer than those of headless prawns frozen for the same period. Therefore, if you are not going to eat the head, it is best to dehead the prawn before freezing.
-When freezing prawns use a freezer bag (such as a ZipLock®). Add just enough water to cover the prawns. Squeeze the air out of the bag (caution not to puncture the bag) and seal. It is best to freeze prawns flat. Consider grouping prawns based on their size (i.e. freeze the small prawns in one bag and the larger prawns in another.)
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