Nets

[BrooksAndHooks]

What kind/brand of nets do you guys like? I want to upgrade to a rubber webbing net for wild trout especially. I have checked out a few at local stores and online but a lot of them seem rather large. I don't like lugging a large net for miles through the dense woods, it gets in the way at times and is a bother when casting as well. Does anyone know of a smaller net that is of good quality. Mostly for brookies and smaller wild browns.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Chaz]

I like hand crafted nets, you can sometimes get them at FF Shows.

 

[CenMD4458]

Check out JTA Measure Nets. I have the small size net, rubber bag and it's worked out great for me.

 

[geebee]

i have one of these on a retractor :

http://www.backcountry.com/brodin-trout-phantom-series-net

it goes on the back of my vest and is pretty much out of the way unless i bend down without it...

its not inexpensive, but it is good quality i think.

 

[PatrickC]

Bob Nelson makes some of the nicest nets on the planet. Worth every dime.

http://www.fisknat.com/

 

[salmonoid]

Pair it with one of their coupons and you can have this Wetfly net for under $20 from Sierra Trading Post.

I have two sizes - the one above and the next size up. I only carry them when I feel there is a chance for getting into a larger fish. The smaller one goes on backpacking trips; the larger one generally I haul around at night. I highly recommend the rubber nets; they are a vast improvement over a fabric bag, for the sake of the fish, and for the sake of the hook not getting caught in the fabric.

 

[klingy]

I have a small Brodin net that has served me very well. Would get another when this one needs to be replaced.

 

[geebee]

PatrickC wrote:
Bob Nelson makes some of the nicest nets on the planet. Worth every dime.

http://www.fisknat.com/

those are gorgeous. i want one.

 

[SteveG]

I'm not sure of the quality, but the local Walmart carries eagle claw nets that are a smaller wood and rubber bag net. I hate to endorse a big box store, but its a budget friendly choice. Def not a beautiful as the other ones recommended.

 

[BrookieChaser]

I've made my own laminated wood frames and can get Brodin ghost rubber net bags.
I don't carry a net though. They're too cumbersome to have hanging around. I just cradle the fish with my hand.

 

[tctrout]

In PA, Don Ward of the Keystone Fly Rod Company is also building nets. He is embedding a magnet in the upper loop of the net so you can grab the handle easier (which hangs from your back). It is extremely innovative, and great to know that a local craftsman in PA is doing this. His site is:

http://keystoneflyrodcompany.com/nets.html

TC

 

[Fishidiot]

While there are many styles of net shapes, rims and handcrafted styles (I've built a few of my own), in my view the most important aspect of nets is to consider the bag depth.
I fish mostly for bass and trout and use a net only if I wish to photograph the fish. Many of these photo fish are in the 20+" range (when I'm lucky) and since I usually fish alone I want a deep, soft mesh bag. Such a deep bag will enable me to keep a large fish submerged in the water when the fish is netted head-first by pinning the net between my knees or the handle under a foot. The fish can rest in the bag and breathe while I fumble for the camera or wait till a fishing partner can get to my position to assist with the pic. This is a critical issue IMO. If you don't photograph fish you can use any type of net, or none at all. If you seek to photograph fish a net really helps and I design mine using the deepest mesh bags I can find.

 

[wgmiller]

SteveG wrote:
I'm not sure of the quality, but the local Walmart carries eagle claw nets that are a smaller wood and rubber bag net. I hate to endorse a big box store, but its a budget friendly choice. Def not a beautiful as the other ones recommended.

I have this exact net and it has served me well. For $20, it's hard to beat!

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

Wow thanks for all the suggestions guys! Gona look through them and figure out what I can go with. Safe handling of the fish is definitely my #1 priority, and I probably won't use the net 90% of the time, but want a good one when I do.

 

[BREECHESANGLER]

I like the one I got at a walmart. It is made by Cortland and is wooden with clear rubber webbing. Doesn't hurt their slime coat and doesn't get my fly stuck in the webbing.

 

[poopdeck]

Wow after looking at the price of hand crafted nets I just figured out what I'm going to do in my retirement with all the scrap wood ive collected over the years. I figure their at least marked up 150% and thats with the rubber and or ghost bags. Definitely better then spoon carving.

 

[salmonoid]

BREECHESANGLER wrote:
I like the one I got at a walmart. It is made by Cortland and is wooden with clear rubber webbing. Doesn't hurt their slime coat as much and doesn't get my fly stuck in the webbing.

Fixed it for you...

 

[AkDan76]

look for the one with the bamboo rim on it..the thing is crazy light weight. It doesn't come with a rubber net though. Picked up mine at sportsmans up here and I grabbed one somewhere down their cant remember what shop I was at. Cost Is 30-35 bucks.

 

[Skeet6]

Chaz wrote:
I like hand crafted nets, you can sometimes get them at FF Shows.

This, very much this. I bought about ten years ago a "second" from Sperrey at the NJ FF show. Birds Eye maple, it's really gorgeous... I think I paid about $20, and I am yet to find the "blemish" or whatever is wrong with it that stopped it from being front line.
Mike B
PS: Just FYI, the show is coming up again in a couple of weeks...

 

[jifigz]

BREECHESANGLER wrote:
I like the one I got at a walmart. It is made by Cortland and is wooden with clear rubber webbing. Doesn't hurt their slime coat and doesn't get my fly stuck in the webbing.

I am also a fan of this cheap net. I don't have a ton of money to spend of my fishing gear and the net is one of the tools I feel I can go cheap on. The rubber Cortland net has held up fine.

I am sure that someday I'll splurge on a nicer net.