Prawn Fishing

WHAT
Prawn fishing, prawn sizes range from really small to huge ones! People have even reported catching crayfish. There is even pomfret catching, crab catching and of course fish catching.

WHERE
Pasir Ris Park Fishing Pond (near Pasir Ris MRT)
Open 24hrs (Do it at night (after 10pm). Prawns are noctournal so there.)
Cost: $13/hr, 3hrs get 1hr free, can share 4 hrs with 2 rods

EQUIPMENT
They give you a choice for long or short rods, for me i prefer long rods coz it can access far places in the pool. For beginners take short rods coz they are easier to control. Chances are if you use a long rod you'll panic when you get ur first catch and fling the prawn (claws all snapping) to unwary bystanders (Sarah kena this a few times already, i mean kena flung AT)
Bring a nice sharp knife to cut the cockles in thin slices, quality of knife is IMPORTANT coz baiting is VERY crucial so you need to cut the bait exactly the way you want it.
Bring a cloth to wipe your hands too and some water to wash your hands with and also for those who are scared to hold a live prawn.
Drinks not really necessary coz nearby theres a stall
You don't need bags to keep your prawns etc coz they will provide it to you.
A pair of LONG NOSE pliers (with a hook at the end) is VERY important. This is used to fence with the prawn claws and rip them off (haha!), also useful to remove the hooks embedded in their mouth. The more 'PRO' guys dun need this but me being not so pro and a bit of a gu niang when it comes to these things makes it invaluable.
Spray OFF on yourself.
Bring some handsoap coz the bathroom doesn't have any

BAIT
They give you chopped fish or squid, use cockles from NTUC (95cents for more than u need)
Cut small pieces, roughly 1.5cm in length. Be sure to remove the bloody parts as they don't hook well.
What you want to do is the 'coat the hook' with the bait, such that you HIDE the point of the hook INSIDE the bait. Its REALLY hard to tell you exactly how u do this with just 1.5cm of bait but just follow this fundamental and you'll be fine. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to do so there.

Heres a pic i drew because of a request (yes i know its bad), hopefully this helps.




TRAWLING
Ok put the hook and float anywhere in the water and slowly trawl across the water. When i mean slow i mean like 1 foot 4-5secs. There is no point going back to the same area so use your eyes to mark out a search area and cover that whole area. Prawns cluster together so basically you need to move your hook till you hit them. It is less likely they will come to you.
Prawns like to hang out near lights and OXYGEN so you see those bubbles, go there. They will not be UNDER the bubbles, but rather at the tip of the wake the bubbles make. Imagine the bubbles take some time to dissolve so they will be at that spot.

THE BITE
After awhile, you'll surely feel something tug the line. When you do so, keep the rod still and slowly move it back to the point where the tug began (put the rod on top of the float).
The 1st tug is where the prawn catches the bait with its pincers so you are waiting for it to put it in its mouth.
Once you are above the float and completely still, wait 10 secs (its varies when this happens) for the prawn to put the bait in its mouth.
And then with just one fluid movement, lift the whole rod vertically upward (NOT towards you) and IF you did your bait properly you 'll make a catch!

POST PROCESSING
Ok prawns have 2 claws that HURT.
They are also VERY unhappy when you do this kind of things to them.
So here is where the pincers come into good use. Just use the pliers and rip them off.
WARNING: When you hold the prawn on a string in front of you and use the pliers to pull off its claws, 2 things can happen:
1) The hook may slip off and the prawn will start flying around on the floor snapping.
2) Worse yet, the hook may NOT slip off and you may carelessly pull the prawn into your face where the OTHER claw will get you. Something like this happened to my dad when he so bravely grabbed ONE of the claws just to have the other claw get him. Yes it hurt.
After you get it off, use the pliers to remove the hook then put it in the net (provided by the shop) and place the net in the water so that the prawn can say goodbye to its family and friends. When you are done, just give the net to the guy/girl at the store and they will pack it into a plastic bag for you.

FAQ
I keep feeling bites but why can't I hook them up?
ANS: its your baiting technique OR you are just too impatient and the prawn did not put the bait in its mouth
Why don't I feel any bites?
ANS: Are you trawling properly or slow enough? Try to cover the entire pool in small movements, you'll surely hit a prawn. ALSO, please check whether you still have bait and that it did not drop off. In more advanced cases, your hook may be too high up, be sure not adjust the floats when they give it to you.
What is an average good catch rate?
ANS: Went prawn fishing the other day and managed to catch quite a bit, we were averaging about 1 prawn every 5mins, inclusive of baiting, unhooking and storing the prawns, which take on average abt 3mins. Lots of time wasted there, the pros just sit at the edge and do everthing in 1 fluid movement always getting like 1 per min. Its DEFINITELY not going to be worth your while catching prawns than buying them UNLESS you eat them on the spot which then makes sense. The pond kindly provides electric BBQ equipment for you to freely use.

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Ok there, hope this FAQ helps out. Please leave some comments and feedback so i can keep improving it. Also let me know if this advice works for you. Share your experiences! I do not profess to be a prawn expert, but i've done lots of thinking about it because it irritated me a lot when i could catch any. So im just sharing what i've learnt (and proven). So, there, ENJOY!!!