How to Catch Spot Prawns in the PNW — And Make Them Taste Amazing

Shrimping season is HERE!! I freaking love it. As soon as the first pot hits the water, it finally feels like summer in the PNW.

Scott and I are adventure-loving travelers—we’re always up for a backpacking trip, a plane ride to the East Coast, or finding a white sandy beach somewhere warm. But every single year, we have the same conversation: “Let’s not plan anything during the fishing season.” Because this little window of salty, sunny magic in our home waters? It’s just too good to miss.

Besides the epic views and abundant wildlife, we get to indulge in fisheries that are a freaking blast—like shrimping. Spot prawn season is fun, fast, and something the whole family can enjoy. It’s a full-circle experience—from prepping bait the night before, to pulling pots off Marine Area 7 drop-offs, to sharing garlic butter–smothered prawns and cold beers with your crew at the end of the day.

At Anglers Unlimited, our mission is to ignite people’s passion for life by teaching them how to fish in their backyard. And today, we’re diving into everything you need to know to limit out on prawns with your favorite humans this summer.

Listen to the full podcast episode: On Spotify | On Apple Podcasts

Biology & Life Cycle of Spot Prawns

I’m a firm believer that the more you understand the fishery, the better you’ll fish it—and spot prawns are fascinating.

What Makes Spot Prawns Special?

Spot prawns (Pandalus platyceros) are the largest shrimp species in the Pacific Northwest, growing up to 10–12 inches long. They’re known for their bright red color, signature white spots just behind their head, and impressively long antennae.

Cool Biological Features:

• Exoskeleton: Like other crustaceans, they molt to grow. Soft-shell prawns? That’s just a freshly molted one.

• Ten legs: Used for foraging, grooming, and keeping those antennae out of trouble.

• Gills: Located under the shell, letting them breathe in deep, low-oxygen waters.

• Eyes: Highly sensitive compound eyes, which is why low-light periods tend to produce better shrimping results.

• Antennae/Feelers: These long sensory tools help them navigate terrain and detect scent trails from bait up to 100 feet away in the right conditions.

• Rostrum: Spot prawns have a spine-covered “nose,” officially called the rostrum, and it's there for protection and sensory function. The rostrum is covered in small, sharp spines that help deter predators. When a predator gets close, those spines make the prawn a less appealing (and harder to swallow) snack. Also just like their long antennae, the rostrum helps prawns sense movement, changes in water flow, and even the presence of prey or predators. It’s part of their sensory toolkit for navigating the dark, deep environments they live in.

Lifecycle: A Wild Transformation

Spot prawns are protandric hermaphrodites—meaning they start life as males and later transform into females. This natural trait plays a big role in why WDFW regulates spot shrimp seasons and limits so carefully.

Lifecycle Stages:

• Larval Stage: After hatching, larvae drift as plankton for 2–3 months while they molt and grow.
  

• Juvenile Males: Settle on the seafloor (usually rocky, steep areas) and live as males for 1–2 years. During this time, they fertilize the females’ eggs during spawning.
  

• Transition to Female: Around year 3, many males transition into females—triggered by size, hormones, and water temperature
  

• Egg-Carrying Females: Females carry thousands of fertilized eggs under their abdomen through the winter. They constantly fan their swimmerets to oxygenate the eggs until they hatch in spring.

If you pull up a female with eggs (also known as "berried"), toss her back quickly! She's doing important work for next season.

Where They Live and Why It Matters

Spot prawns are deep dwellers, living between 150–600 feet, often in steep, rocky terrain or muddy slopes. They're most abundant in British Columbia and Washington, especially around fjord-like zones with dramatic drop-offs.

Fishing tip: Use your sonar! In our AU Gold Membership, sonar expert Steve Chamberlin teaches how to spot shrimp clouds on your fishfinder. Shrimping is a game-changer when you know your pot is in the right spot before you even soak. If you want to check out the membership you can get access here: Click to Sign Up

Look for tight contour lines on your sonar/chartplotter—that’s a steep slope. Shrimp love it.

Why Shrimping Season in So Short

Short seasons protect the future of this fishery. Here’s why:

• Avoid harvesting egg-bearing females.
  

• Give males time to grow into reproductive females
  

• Let anglers harvest without wiping out next year’s brood

You can stay informed by subscribing to the WDFW email list for opener updates and quota extensions.

How Spot Prawns Feed & Our Go-To Shrimp Bait Recipes

Spot prawns are opportunistic scavengers that feed on a variety of organisms and organic material found on the ocean floor. They will eat a wide variety of items such as worms, diatoms, dead organic material, algae, small mollusks, sponges, and other shrimp. They rely heavily on their antennae and other sensory structures to detect food sources in deep and often low-light environments.”Spot prawns are scavengers—they follow scent trails across the seafloor. That means your bait is EVERYTHING.

We mix our bait the night before and store it in sealed containers. Here's our favorite recipe:

Our Go-To Bait Mix:

• 1 can mackerel or sardines

• 2 cans Friskies Ocean Cat Food Shreds

• 4 scoops of LFS Super Bait

• A splash of Pro-Cure Crab & Shrimp Attractant Oil

Tip: If you’re pre-making bait in bulk, freeze it—but thaw before soaking or it’ll leach scent too slowly.

👉 Want to see how we rig our gear? Grab our Shrimp Pot Setup Diagram here.

Cleaning Your Catch: From Deck to Cooler

Spot prawns don’t do well outside of the water, so work quickly if you get more than your limit:

• Pull the pot and count fast

• Keep only your limit and toss the rest back immediately

• Twist heads off while they're still firm, separate each limit in a separate container or baggie

• Chill immediately on ice or in cold seawater

Here’s a quick video of our shrimp cleaning technique.

🍽️ From Bait to Plate: Our Top 4 Spot Prawn Recipes

These aren’t just meals—they’re memory-makers.

1. Shrimp Boil in Seawater

Deckside celebration vibes

• Seawater - NOT marina water, grab a bucket full before you head back to the dock to cook with

• Spot prawns

• Optional - Cook corn and potatoes in the pot FIRST, then add your shrimp at the end

💡 Don’t overcook. Simply bring the water to a boil, drop in your prawn tails and wait about 2 min. They will curl and they will be done perfectly. You do not need to wait for the water to rebel once you add the shrimp. Just start the clock and get hungry. 

2. Garlic Butter Skillet Prawns

Fast, decadent, and finger-lickin’

• 3 tbsp butter + 3 cloves garlic minced

• 1 lb prawntails (not peeled)

Heat the butter until melted, added the garlic until fragrant, add the prawns flipping after 90 seconds. Once tails curl, pull off the heat and serve. 

3. Spot Prawn Ceviche

• 1 lb raw, peeled prawns, chopped

• Juice of 5 limes

• Tomato, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro chopped

Marinate 10 min in the fridge, serve with chips.

Pro tip: Leave shells on overnight in fridge—easier to peel the next day when you prep your ceviche.

4. Baja Shrimp Tacos

The post-fishing fiesta

• Grilled prawns

• Corn tortillas warmed on a skillet in olive oil

• Slaw, lime crema, avocado, hot sauce mixed

Assemble. Squeeze lime. Add Pacifico. Enjoy.

📥 Want the full recipe library? Join the Anglers Unlimited Gold Membership for access to all our recipes and step-by-step guides. 

🗓️ 2025 Puget Sound Shrimping Dates

Here’s a full list of WDFW’s 2025 shrimping season openers for each Marine Area.

📩 Tip: Always check for extensions or closures—get on the WDFW email list here.

🎙️ Ready for More?

• 🎧 Listen to the full podcast: [Fishing for a Reason Ep. 19]

• 📥 Get your shrimp pot diagram

• 💬 Share your favorite recipe on Instagram and tag @anglersunlimited.co

• 🧭 Book a shrimping charter with us in the San Juan Islands

This fishery is fun, delicious, and unforgettable—and we hope this guide helps you and your crew make the most of shrimping season.