Well cabin fever has set in for alot of folks on this site including myself. I had to get out and do something. First mate Jake and myself headed out on Saturday for a winter shake down of the Sculpin (haven't had her out since the last of August). A couple of minor problems but mostly she is operational and good to go. We have a recharging alarm going off that has us puzzled as the system is charging no problem but the Honda alarm keeps going off.

Anyways Saturdays outing saw Ice on the Newcastle channel.



We didn't do any fishing this day and was just a shake down so to speak. Here is a shot of Nanaimo that alot of folks might not see everyday.



Sunday we still have the false alarm going but we are good to go. Everything is charging but I put a piece of electrical tape over the alarm to quite it down till I deal with it on Monday.

My not so new prawn puller at work.





He only gets about half way then I have to kick in.



We only did one test soak and weren't going at it very seriously and still managed a couple hundred prawns.



On the way back we pulled the crab pots with the same not so stellar results. This big Red Rocky was the exception today (Jake likes them better than Dungees).



A couple of just over legal Dungees (nothing huge today).



Some of our inspectors



If anyone wants to buy a BC Ferry FWHY the ones on the left are for sale right now



The end result of todays sanity. Fresh crab and prawns with rice and Ceasar salad.



"That's what it's all about" Jake said as he sat down for dinner.

gotta love the island eh sculpin, a lot better then spending the day staring down an ice hole in alberta!

Looks like you had some fat prawns in the basket there?

I know a lot of prawners prefer carlyle cat food for baiting their traps. I've only seen it at Quality foods or Gone fishing. The price is now up to $.69 per tin @ Quality. London Drugs has tuna cat food on sale for 10/$4.44. Ingredients, analysis, can colour, code stamp are identical. Being neither cat nor prawn that's all I know. If you prawn a lot you can save a few bucks.

Some great pictures, thanks for sharing. tight lines ,.........BB

Great pictures and nice catch. We were out Saturday as well and it was great. Little sun wouldn't have hurt, but other than that, great. Felt really good when we got home and the Queen had been on the phone with the grandkids up north and it was 40-50 below. Brrrr. Glad we left that country.

Note for Carlyl buyers, Share Kare is my main source and although the price has gone up in the last year, they were the cheapest I could find. I don't know what it is about Carlyl, but the prawns seem to like it. I won't change until I have no other choice but to.

Carlyle is the best for cat food. Sharecare does have the best prices. If you go in with a bunch of folks and buy a half pallet you get it really cheap. We use pellets in the bottom of the jar with a can of Carlyle then Ace of Baits prawn juice to top it off. Sometimes we freeze them the night before so less mess and longer soak times etc.

when I prawn I usually have the bait preped the day before
in a bucket (with a lid) cuase every cat and racoon will be in your yard if you dont put a lid on it

I pre mix carlyle with pellets and oil mix vigrourisly
and let set for 8 to 12 hours or a day if you want
then the next day its almost like a paste like play doh
throw it in the containers and drop it down Prawns seem to like it
the bait seems to last for a few sets just needing a bit of a top up before you drop the trap back down
if you dont use all your bait throw it in the freezer and a month later its still good the freezer eliminates odors and the bait going to waste
if you dont have room in your freezer im sure the nieghborhood animals will enjoy a good treat who knows you may have a new pet and prawns dont eat your new pet though

I think I'm going to try that paste idea, sounds great. I've been doing it in the boat, bit of pellets then half a can in each bait cup. Bit putzy opening the can and spooning it into the cups especially if there's a bit of a slop. I have loaded pellets the night before, but not the Carlyle. And the idea of freezing the uneaten bait sounds good as well. I usually just dump it, but if a body is doing all this mixing why not save it. I will make a special spot for it next to the salmon carcasses I have frozen for crab bait.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Just a heads up....the boys in the red LUND are at it again. Was out on Sunday and watched em pick through one of my traps.....was dealing with a rope mess at the time so I didn't race over to them. Once I dealt with my mess I went over to my trap and sure enough...bare. Kinda of a kick in the...when the previous 4 traps were totally full. Well we raced back to the dock to try and catchem but they were loaded and pullin out when we got to the dock. Didn't get licence number because the 2 RCMP members in the boat with me said "bah can't do anything anyway" Found that odd but didn't press the matter...just a heads up that they are out again...not that we can do much about it I guess.

aquaholic:

could you elaborate, what area and what ramp are you referring to in the above post? And which area were they raiding traps.? I'm keeping my camera on board now so sooner or later we'll have some pics to post. Thanks for the info.