Nets

[bluezulu]

Just managed to break my landing net . sadly not in the process of hauling a trout the size of a walrus out of the water but by the somewhat less glamourous but nonetheless effective method of sitting on it.

:roll:


so, anyone got a reccomendation on nets. old one was one of those wooden ones which was in many ways totally impractical though good enough for the handful of minnow sized fish i tend to catch on the bi-annual occasions i go fishing. should i bother getting something cunning that folds away for travel purposes and whats anyone's experiences of magentic releases and spring loaded thingummies.

:hookarse;

[bluezulu]

thanks guest.

i know what you mean. i always feel faintly ridiculous carrying a net to a hill loch somewhere when if i catch anything at all its invariably  small ennough to unhook easily in the water . and most of the time when i come into contact with anything bigger i seem to be remarkably proficient at executing the long range release and minimising time spent in contact with my fly by said fish.

all the same i am nothing if not wildly optimistic and having lost by some distance the largest salmon i ever hooked as a boy because (well this is my story and i am sticking to it) i did not have a net i generally take one with me even if it is most often  used to dangle a tin of beer in the water for cooling purposes.

[Wildfisher]

I would not go out on a boat without a net, but even then I seldom use it.  Says something about the size of the fish I catch!  I use one of these wooden nets when I go to the Don, but on hill lochs  etc I never bother and will get caught out one of these days. I think the wooden ones are the best compromise being easy to carry. Collapsible nets I try to avoid as sod's law dictates that it will not open when you need it. Yes this HAS happened to me, many years ago, on the North Esk when I was a lad. Cracking sea troot – gone! 

[Ptinid]

I always carry a net. Like many, the times I don't I tend to catch something that needs it - not due to size, you understand - more likely due to being stupid about where I've hooked a fish and being unable to get it banked easily. The one I use folds only at the handle and clips onto my back easily. Most of the time it's easy to use, although trees and barbed wire tend to be a wee bit of a problem.

I'll tend to use the net rather than trying to unhook just holding a fish - generally, I find the fish easier to handle, and less likely to struggle (and yes, I know about holding them upside down) with a net.

I suspect it's horses for courses - depends on your type of fishing and your confidence in handling fish.

[Harpo]

Hello....If your up to the challenge of a bit of DIY...buy an old wooden tennis racquet from a charity shop...take the strings off....."sew" :? the netting from your old net around the head of the racket....cut the handle to the desired length....sand and cover in squash/tennis racquet tape or similar for a grip and voila !

I havenae done this myself and probably wouldn't but I read about it in T&S a few months ago and the results looked good...might be a wee winter project for you and then you can have the joy of landing fish in your home made net !

If you do manage this post a photo and I'll send you a Blue Peter badge !

Cheers

Stuart

[rabbitangler]

Wooden nets are great, though I made my own (techie teachers eh)without resorting to tennis rackets, but you can get the magnetic release thingies from Taimen http://www.taimen.com/mt/index.php?language=en&osCsid=720cc6a72fbe9915bc7da6824967412a seriously (?6) cheap and free p&p. It would cost nearly that much for the magnets.

Peter

Still can't get over the new toys on this forum hee hee

[Clan Ford]

Aye, Taimen have cheap nets as well.  Better than any Techy Teacher could knock up!  But maybe not the Technician!

I'm currently talking the wife into buying one of the Taimen nets and a set of magnets for my birthday - no lanyard though so might be a bit risky. 

[rabbitangler]

That is an insult to our technician my ladf!!!!!

3mm bungee is the stuff for lanyards

peter

[Pearly Invicta]

I take a net in the boat and float tube but not for bank fishing on loch or stream.

I need a new net too- scooped a nice wild brown into the net last saturday and (to Dougie's great amusement) the troot went straight through a hole in the mesh. Trout went mental, top dropper stuck in the mesh...

[harelug]

Pearly, I think your missing the point, nets are supposed to have holes in them, mine have hundreds, you need to catch bigger troot.