Best Prawn Bait and Shrimp Bait

Originally published in July 2014, this article was fully updated in 2026 with improved prawn bait preparation advice, updated photos, and additional practical tips for baiting and fishing prawn traps.

Prawns are an awesome catch. They’re fun to fish for, excellent to eat, and pulling up a trap loaded with big spot prawns is always exciting. Good bait is an important part of that success, but over the years I’ve found that how you prepare and present the bait can be just as important as what you put in the trap.

Here in B.C., we usually call them spot prawns, while farther south in the Pacific Northwest you’ll often hear the same type of fishing described as shrimping. Whether you call it prawn fishing or shrimping, the bait and preparation methods covered in this article can be used for both.

I use commercial prawn bait pellets as the base of my bait, then prepare them so they soften up and release both food and scent once the trap reaches the bottom. My basic mixture starts with soaked prawn pellets and bait oil, with oily canned fish or fish scraps sometimes added as well. It’s inexpensive, easy to prepare, and has consistently worked well for us when fishing for prawns in B.C.

Best Prawn Bait Pellets

I start with commercial prawn bait pellets from a fishing supply store. They make a good base because they’re convenient, relatively inexpensive, easy to store, and designed to break down gradually in the water.

One important consideration is how long you plan to leave your traps down. Commercial prawn traps may be left fishing much longer than the short sets many recreational anglers use, so a hard, dry pellet that releases bait slowly can make sense for a long soak.

For shorter sets, I want the bait working much faster. If I’m planning to pull a trap after 1–2 hours—or even after 4–6 hours—I prefer to pre-soak the pellets so they begin breaking apart and releasing food and scent soon after the trap reaches the bottom. This is especially useful when prospecting new areas: I can make a short set, see whether there are prawns around, and then decide whether to reset the trap for a longer soak or move on and try a different area.

For an overnight or other long set, there’s another option: use a combination of pre-soaked bait for a quick start and dry pellets that will continue breaking down over a longer period.

Prawn Bait Recipes

There isn’t one prawn bait recipe that is best for every situation. I prepare my bait differently depending on how long I plan to leave the traps fishing. For short sets, I want the bait releasing food and scent quickly. For an overnight set, I also want something that will continue working for a longer period.

Fast-Release Prawn Bait

For a short set, I usually prepare the prawn pellets the night before. Put the dry pellets into a pail, plastic container, or zip-lock bag, add water, and leave them to soak overnight. The pellets absorb the water, soften and begin to break apart. By the next day, the mixture should have a consistency similar to thick oatmeal.

After the pellets have soaked and softened, I mix in several cans of herring, mackerel or other oily fish, along with a healthy dose of prawn bait oil. I mix everything together thoroughly to create a strong mixture of food and scent that is ready to begin releasing into the water quickly. Some anglers use canned cat food as well.

This is the method I prefer when I’m making a 1–2 hour set or prospecting a new area and want to find out fairly quickly whether prawns are there.

Slow-Release Prawn Bait for Overnight Sets

For an overnight set, dry commercial prawn pellets are useful because they break down slowly.

My preference is to use the prepared fast-release mixture in one bait can and dry pellets in a second. The prepared mixture starts releasing food and scent quickly, while the dry pellets break down more gradually and continue working over a longer period.

This gives me both fast and slow release in the same trap and is the approach I prefer when I expect to leave the gear fishing overnight.

Fish Scraps

The non-edible portions of fish left after cleaning and filleting can also be put to good use as prawn bait. I particularly like oily fish such as salmon, using pieces such as the backbone and other scraps that would otherwise be discarded.

I add these fish scraps directly to the trap along with the pellet mixture rather than using them as a replacement for it. This provides another source of food and scent inside the trap.

Where I Set Prawn Traps

I generally look for water around 200–400 feet deep with a steep underwater slope or drop-off. I also prefer rocky bottom rather than flat, muddy areas. This is good spot prawn habitat: adult spot prawns are commonly associated with rocky areas, crevices and boulders.

I normally deploy traps in sets of two or four, running roughly parallel with the drop-off. Depending on the area, I might set a line of traps along the top of the drop-off, partway down the slope, or near the bottom.

This approach lets me prospect different parts of the structure and see where the prawns are concentrated. If a short set produces well, I can reset in that area for a longer soak. If the results are poor, I can move the traps and try another part of the drop-off.

How Long I Leave Prawn Traps Down

How long I leave my prawn traps down depends largely on what we are doing that day. Most of my experience with prawning has been as part of a general day of fishing rather than going out exclusively to target prawns.

During the summer, our main objective is often salmon or halibut fishing. In that situation, we usually drop the prawn traps in the morning, spend the day fishing, and pick them up again near the end of the day. If we know we are going back out the following day, we will often rebait and reset the traps, leaving them out for an overnight soak.

At other times of the year, when prawning is open and salmon or halibut fishing isn’t our main objective, we are more likely to make prawning the focus of the trip. In that situation, we tend to stay with the traps and pull them fairly regularly. This is also when shorter sets are particularly useful for prospecting.

A 1–2 hour set gives me a chance to compare traps positioned along different parts of a drop-off. If one area produces well, I can reset there for a longer soak. If another produces poorly, I can move the trap and try somewhere else.

There isn’t one soak time that I use for every situation. A short set can be useful when prawning is the main objective or when I’m prospecting new water, while an all-day or overnight set fits naturally when the traps are fishing in the background while we concentrate on salmon or halibut.

Before setting prawn traps, check the current DFO recreational fishing limits, openings and closures for your area, as prawn and shrimp regulations and closures can vary by location and time of year.

Prawn Bait Containers

The type of bait container you use can affect how quickly your prepared bait disperses into the water. For short sets, I prefer a highly ventilated bait container with plenty of openings along the sides, rather than a container with only a perforated lid. The additional openings allow food particles and scent from the softened bait to escape more readily.

This works particularly well with the fast-release mixture described above. The softened pellets, oily fish and prawn bait oil can begin dispersing through the openings soon after the trap reaches the bottom.

Scotty makes a highly ventilated prawn bait container with slots along the sides, as well as a more solid style. You can also make your own bait containers from PVC pipe. For my style of fishing, I prefer the highly ventilated Scotty prawn bait containers.

Whatever style you use, make sure the bait container is secured near the centre of the trap. If a loose container rolls against the side, prawns may be able to reach the bait from outside the trap instead of entering it. I use commercial bait clips because they are quick and easy to attach and remove, although zip ties or bungee cords can also work.

For the equipment I use to retrieve my traps, see the FishinBC.COM Scotty Prawn Puller Review.

Secret Prawn Bait

Our secret prawn bait is to throw in 4 cans of beer into the trap along with the bait. It is a great reward to bring up a fully loaded trap, topped off with four ice cold beers! Once you’ve got the prawns back to the boat, see the FishinBC.COM article Prawn Recipes for a few ways to prepare the catch.

Your Turn

What works best in your prawn traps? If you have a favourite bait mixture, bait oil, soak time, or other prawning tip, share it in the comments below. I’m always interested in hearing what works for other anglers around B.C. and the Pacific Northwest.