One of the best things you can hear while fishing is “get the net” coming from your fishing partner from the other end of the boat or downstream. With any luck at all you’ll soon be helping them land a net worthy specimen. While what kind of net you use can vary greatly hopefully the end result is a successful net job. We’ve all had or preformed netting jobs that have not gone smoothly, usually operator error, but not always. I have knocked the occasional fish off the hook and have had the same done to me. Having the right net for the job can help eliminate some these. While some people will say a net is a net is a net, but this is not so. Variables include material, handle length, extendable handle, hoop size and shape, basket depth and net material.
The material that the net is made of will determine not only its’ weight but also its’ durability, materials often used are aluminium, wood and carbon fibre. The length of the handle needs to match where the netting will done from. Anglers’ in a big Walleye boat obviously need a longer handle than a walk and wade stream fisherman. Handles that extend like the EGO Slider series of nets provide longer reach yet when retracted take up less room.
Hoop size and shape and basket depth are largely determined by size of the fish you are most often catching and usually correspond to the length of the handle. Handles and hoops can also be works of art like wooden trout nets made from laminated strips of wood or the “trout skin” pattern found on many carbon fiber nets.
With so many fish being caught and then released these days netting materials have changed from hard nylon to softer materials including rubber. When choosing a net pay attention to size of the holes in the netting, too large and smaller fish can slip through, too small makes moving the net through the water more difficult.
So choose your net, or nets, wisely because that next fish you hook could be the fish of a lifetime.
