Everyone knows that there are plenty of prawns caught on the South Coast of NSW and Merimbula and surrounding areas have some of the best on offer.

Merimbula Lake fires up mainly from November through till April and if a good night is encountered anglers using dip nets can expect a catch from 1-3 kilo of greasy back and king prawns for a couple of hours work. People use boats and usually try to anchor up near the causeway as all prawns heading to sea (usually a few nights before and after the new moon) must pass under the bridge on the outgoing tide.

This proves to be very successful but many others are happy to wade in the shallows and sometimes this will be just as successful as or better than those in the boats. When prawning Merimbula Lake be prepared for a by catch of blue swimmer crabs and for those in a boat a great time can be had catching bream, whiting, duskys and travely on a rod hanging out the back of the boat with small live prawn as bait. Be prepared to stay till the end of the run out tide because sometimes the prawns can run either at the start of the run out or sometimes at the last part of the run out.

Every night and every month is different so don't be disappointed if you miss out some nights as your next night may be a ripper.  I find that if you check your tide charts the nights with a big run out preferably starting just on dark are the best although sometimes you may have to wait till the early hoursof the morning for the action to start.  

Wallagoot Lake situated 15 minutes north of Merimbula was probably the best lake in the area to prawn some 15 years ago but due to its closure to sea in recent years both the fishing and prawning dropped off.

Thankfully stocks of prawns (funded by armature fishing licence fees) have been released into Wallagoot over the last couple of years with startling results.

Many local fisho's have come home with catches of prawns up to 205mm in length weighing in at over 50 grams each. Anglers must be careful sometimes as on a good night it’s not hard to catch your bag limit of 20 litres. Very few fisho’s use boats and prefer to wade on the edges of the lake in the shallow waters. The prawns do not have to go through a natural breading cycle and grow within 3 months to over 100 mm and over 200 within 6 months.

Good news is that the prawn stocking of the lake has been a huge success and will more than likely continue. Wallagoot Lake can be fickle at times and again you don't know just when the best time is apart from sticking with the basics and trying from a few nights before and after the new moon from the months of October through till July.

Unlike Merimbula Lake the only by catch likely to be caught are garfish but when the prawns are on I can guarantee that you will raise a sweat as they lift off the bottom swimming in there thousands trying to find a way to sea.