How to Catch Spot Prawns
Spot prawns are the largest, sweetest Pacific prawns, a cold deep-water prize taken in weighted pots off the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, best eaten within minutes of the catch.
Spot prawns live deep and need a boat, weighted pots and hundreds of feet of line - only fish them with proper gear and experience. Seasons and limits are short and strict; check local rules and release egg-bearing females. Shellfish is a serious allergen.
Spot prawns are the candy of the cold Pacific - the largest and sweetest of the region's prawns, so good that many are eaten raw right on the boat, seconds from the water. They live deep on rocky bottoms and in fjords, taken in weighted prawn pots dropped hundreds of feet down, and the recreational season is famously short. For those with a boat and the gear, though, few catches taste better.
Why go for them
The taste, simply - spot prawn tails are sweet, firm and clean, better than almost any shrimp you can buy, and best of all eaten within minutes of the haul. The short season and deep-water effort only add to the sense of occasion; a good day of prawning is a highlight of the Pacific year.
Where and when to find them
Spot prawns live deep - often hundreds of feet down - on rocky bottoms, along steep drop-offs and in cold fjords of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The recreational season is typically short and set in spring or summer, and the ground is deep and structure-oriented, so a sounder and local knowledge help a lot.
How to catch them
They are caught in baited prawn pots weighted and dropped to depth on long lines from a boat, baited with oily fish or commercial prawn bait and left to soak. Hauling from that depth is real work, often with a puller. This is an advanced, boat-based fishery - go prepared, and measure and count your catch to the local rules.
Handling, cleaning and cooking
Speed is everything. Chill prawns immediately, and either eat the tails raw and sweet on the spot or remove the heads quickly, because an enzyme in the head softens the tail within hours. Cook the tails briefly - a flash in a hot pan, on the grill, or as sashimi - and never overcook such delicate meat.
Safety and the law
Spot prawn seasons, depths, pot limits and possession limits are short and strictly enforced, so check your local authority before you set a pot, and release egg-bearing females. Deep-water pot fishing demands a seaworthy boat and experience. Harvest only where open and certified safe, and note shellfish is a serious allergen. See our shellfish safety guide.