In commercial prawn fishing, giant nets are dragged through the sea to catch hundreds of prawns at a time. On a smaller scale, prawn fishing is done from a bridge, pier or small boat, and sometimes even from the shore if the prawns are close to the beach. Nets are typically on long poles, with a netting sock of around 60 cm (2 feet). Making a homemade net is much cheaper than buying a commercial prawn net.

Bend the wire into a circle, with a diameter of about 27.5 cm (11 inches). Leave around 37.5 cm (15 inches) on both ends of the wire for winding on the pole. Cut a 15 cm (6 inch) piece of wire and wind it around the two end pieces at the base of the circle, leaving the ends free, but closing the circle.

  • In commercial prawn fishing, giant nets are dragged through the sea to catch hundreds of prawns at a time.
  • Cut a 15 cm (6 inch) piece of wire and wind it around the two end pieces at the base of the circle, leaving the ends free, but closing the circle.

Fold the white netting in half lengthwise. Round the folded edges by cutting the corners in a semicircular fashion, then either machine or hand-sew the open seams of the netting. This makes the netting sock.

Place the netting sock in the centre of the wire circle, and pull it through until the sock is around 60 cm (2 feet) long. Fold the excess netting over the sides of the wire circle, and either machine or hand-sew the netting around the wire, creating a casing for the wire with an opening where the wire ends of the circle come out. This will look much like a drawstring on a PE bag.

  • Fold the white netting in half lengthwise.
  • Fold the excess netting over the sides of the wire circle, and either machine or hand-sew the netting around the wire, creating a casing for the wire with an opening where the wire ends of the circle come out.

Cut the excess netting away, leaving a flap of netting around the area where the 37.5 cm (15 inch) wire ends come from the circle. Carefully hand-sew the flap of netting around this part, so that the whole net is now secure.

Drill two holes, 7.5 cm (3 inches) from one end of the metal pole, around 6.5 mm (1/4 inch) in diameter through the sides of the pole.

Thread the ends of the circle wire through the end of the pole, and bring them out of the drilled holes, one on each side. Pull the wire ends quite taut, so that the circle is drawn down as close to the pole end as possible without it warping.

Keep the tension on the wire, pulling in an outwards motion. Wrap the wire around the top of the metal pole tightly, pushing the end of the wire back into the drilled hole at the end. Do this with both pieces of wire, so that the netting and wire circle are firmly attached to the pole.

TIP

Only use white or silver wire and white netting, because it is invisible to the prawns. Common fishing nets made from green or blue wire are visible, and will significantly hamper your fishing efforts.