Fish friendly nets?
I do mostly trout fishing and rarely carry a net. Recently I have decided to carry one and was wondering if any one has any good recommendations for a fish friendly catch and release net. I know rubber nets seem to be the rage but they are awfully expensive. I currently have a fine mesh net that I bought a few years ago, not sure if they are considered safe or not.
1hook,
The old knotted string nets are horrible for Catch & Release, as the nets do a lot of damage to the skin of the fish and remove much of their outer slime layer.
The industry then came out with knot free nets, that softer nylon looking material. They were better but still removed a lot of protective slime.
The newer rubber looking nets (yea, I know they are not made of rubber but that is what I call them) are the absolute best net to use for C&R.
Some say that it is better to not use a net but you have to consider the individual circumstances surrounding each catch. If you have to handle the fish by hand, then you can damage a fish, especially if you do not moisten your hands prior to touching the fish, or if you have to drag it up onto a bank onto the gravel or sand or grass, you will damage the fish. Trying to get your hands on a fish while it is still in the water is a bit tricky and can prolong the time the fish is hooked, wearing it out even more. I try to get the fish in as soon as possible to get it released as soon as possible and back into the water. The rubber nets work great for that and you don't even have to touch the fish with your bare hands, just reach in, unhook the fly and dip the net back into the water. Minimum time out of the water for the fish, minimum loss of protective slime and the fish can give you the fin as it flashes away from you under the water.
All of the guides I fish with have gone to the rubber type nets for a reason.
Larry ---sagefisher---
get a deep enough one to make it worth having.
I went to the same rubber type net several years ago in favor of the fish...........
Rubber net is the way to go. Check out these before you buy....excellent craftmanship and good prices.
http://www.stevensnets.com/
Rubber nets need NOT be expensive as a rule. The problem is those heavy hand crafted wood nets that fly shops like to carry, which are ridiculously overpriced. Check out Frabill nets (http://www.frabill.com/) for a rubber net that is in the $25-50 range. Have been using them for a few years now, and quite happy with their performance, especially the steelhead size.
Other solution is to use something like a "Landing Hand" to tail the fish. Just a matter of how much you want to carry.
Checkout Wetfly C&R nets. They are affordably priced wood framed nets. A buddy of mine got his off of Amazon.
Trout don't speak Latin.
When I was still able to wade fish I didn't use a net, I bought a Ketchum release. It slides down the tippet and over the fly.
Keep tension on the line and the release push's the fly out of the Trout's mouth. You never touch the fish.
Bob.
If cost is an issue, you might want to consider buying a rubber replacement bag and re-stringing your old net with one. Brodin sells replacement bags and has a good tutorial on their website on how to do it.
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