wildtrout2
Well-known member
I have never used one in the past, but I'm considering getting a real small net (if there is such a thing) for natives and small wild browns. Can anyone recommend one? And where it might be available?
jeffroey
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2019
- Messages
- 310
Handy pak Net Company: https://www.handypaknetco.com/
I have a couple of these spread out across several of my kits. I carry them on my pants belt when wet wading, inverted from a sling pack strap, and a couple different ways depending on what I'm carrying my gear in that day.
Worth checking out.
Bamboozle
Well-known member
A couple of questions:
- Price point?
- Bag type?
- Relative size?
For that reason, I like collapsible nets for their compactness and because they usually come with or lend themselves to a scabbard as nothing is more annoying to me than bushwhacking and having a net bag snag on every brush & branch out there....
...something to think about regardless of what you choose.
Options:
As already mentioned, the Handy Pak spring nets are cool, made in PA, have a scabbard and are available with a ghost bag but IMHO, the overall size is way too big for small wild trout.
The same goes for copycat offerings from Diawa and McLean that I like better than the Handy Pak for a lot of reasons. In addition, it takes two or three hands to fold them back up and get them back into the scabbard which to me is pain in the arse.
IF a folding net is a consideration, another option is to hunt down the long discontinued Orvis North Fork Net on eBay. They are the nicest folding nets I ever used and my net of choice. They deploy and fold up to 9" with one hand. They came with a deep knotted bag, but you can replace it if you are handy (I replaced mine with a less deep micro mesh bag and I would be happy to tell you how).
Another eBay option and a net I also use is the small Orvis Folding Net that was made for Orvis by McLean Angling in New Zealand but also discontinued. It is a miniature version of their fixed length McLean Tri Folding Net but WAY smaller. It is a very, very nice product that deploys and folds up to 11" long with one hand. It too came with a knotted bag that can be replaced if desired.
Neither of these Orvis nets came with scabbards, but I made my own and/or found ready made pouches that work. They also will easily fit in your back pocket.
If a traditional wood net is what you are after, Sierra Nets offers a bunch of sizes and options although they are not cheap. There is also Etsy where I am sure you can find what you want and maybe also someone to make you a scabbard.
There are also a lot of small Tenkara nets out there including a "coming soon" option called the Tamo from Tenkara USA that folds. Tenkara nets are small, but most are round in shape and designed to be carried at the small of your back where in my experice they will snag too much for my liking.
Good luck!!
StreamBottom
Active member
WT,
If you're on FB, check out the All Things Brook Trout Conservation group. I bought this net from one of the other members. Pretty inexpensive, around $40, if I remember correctly. I'll pm his name.
loop is 10"x6"
wildtrout2
Well-known member
Thank you. That's just what I'm interested in!
S
Sylvaneous
Active member
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- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 961
If I read trends, get the BIGGEST MUTHER F-ING net possible. Wear it handle down in a special holster around your waist. You need this because you keep your fishing gear zipped-up in a sling pack but you also have a neck thingy that has nippers, tippet, clamps, thermometer, breath mints, tape measure, magnifying glass, water strainer, egg timer and bottle opener on it. Oh, and it has a clamp to keep it from swinging around and tangling with all the other S#!T you're wearing. Yes. Nice and simple. 50,000 things. Maybe one works. The modern dilema.
mt_flyfisher
Well-known member
I have a very small net that might be nearly perfect for what you’re looking for, and would be willing to sell it if you’re interested.
I bought this net from Thomas &Thomas over 30 years ago and rarely used it, so except for a few places where the finish is worn, it is in excellent condition. It measures 20” long overall, with a net opening of 14”x7”, and it weighs next to nothing. It feels like a feather in your hand!
wildtrout2
Well-known member
Thank you, but a friend gave me a nice little net that he said he doesn't use anymore. I can't beat the price.
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salmonoid
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- Jun 19, 2007
- Messages
- 2,721
This is what I have/had been carrying the past few years. I stumbled on it after getting tired of lashing a larger net to my backpack for overnight trips. It's worked for the few times I've needed a net. There's one somewhere on Bob's Creek, as I was fishing while water was close to flood stage there one day this spring. Had just stuffed it in my fishing pack side pocket for the day instead of threading it through my pack belt and realized it had fallen out when I crawled under a log in a small side channel. The replacement goes on a belt now
It does take a bit of getting used to when folding/coiling it back up, but once you learn how it's done, it's not too hard.
