need help picking out a net

[dsqui]

hi guys so ive always considered myself a power fisherman (jigs flipping spinner baits buzz baits)  where im running bait casters and heavy line.  picking up a bass out of the water with my rod was never an issue until this year.  ive decided to pick up a few finesse tactics to add to my arsenal which require light line so no more flipping bigguns in the boat.  here lies my problem i have a net but it never fails the hooks get ll entangled in it that it sometimes takes five min and a knife to cut the net to get them out.  im loosing a lot of time here one keeping the fish out of water to get unhooked and 2 from fishing.  the net i have is and "old school" net like most of us have or at least started with.  then i went to a small holed net for like crappie still same issue.  are the rubber nets really worth the extra coin or is there a better option out there.  do the rubber nets hold up well to the heat of getting stored in the rod locker year after year.  what kind of net do you use. whats your likes and dis likes. any help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance

[tstraub]

I have one of those run of the mill Frabil landing nets and have always just dealt with hooks and weeds sticking to it and never given it much thought.  It always just seemed like a normal part of the game.  This spring my father-in-law upgraded his landing net to one of those Frabil rubber nets.  Its almost the same net as mine but his handle does extend an extra few feet and the net mesh is rubber.  The extra length makes no difference to me I have never needed to extend that last section to reach a fish anyway.  But that rubber is real nice haven't had to pull a hook out of it yet and the weeds fall right off with just a shake or two.  It's a nice net.  Is it worth the extra money?  I'm in no rush to go buy one for my boat but, I'm certainly glad he bought one. I suppose it comes down to your budget and priorities.  The net I have still functions well enough for me. If I'm going to throw money at more equipment other things come higher on my personal list.      

[Scott F]

I purchased a Frabil Conservation Series net for about $80 a couple of years ago.  Small mesh, no knots, better for the fish. I was fishing with light line and small, expensive, Lucky Craft jerkbaits. I don't like swinging decent size fish with this set up as the line could break and i'd lose the fish and the lure. The small treble hooks on the jerkbait took too long to remove from the net. I bought a rubber net to use instead, but I took the long handle from the Frabil and put it on the rubber net. Best move I could have done. The smaller basket of the rubber keeps the fish from getting "lost" in the net and the hooks come out easily. I still use and like the Conservation series net but only when I'm fishing from my personal pontoon where I use mostly single hook lures. 

[00 mod]

I actually had to go buy a bigger net this spring

I got one from Academy that is light weight, rubber coated mesh.  I REALLY like it and would recommend it to anyone.  I have netted fish as big as 7.76lbs with it and no problems!

Pretty sure this is the one: http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-ultralight-deluxe-landing-net?repChildCatid=980658

Jeff

[papajoe222]

I take it you don't practice lip landing, so I'd suggest getting a net that's rubber coated. The hooks don't catch on the netting. Unhook and release the fish (or put in your live well) and then go back and remove the lure. Often times you can just lift the fish out of the net without the hooks catching the net.

[kcdinkerz]

Rubber mesh are great, I use it when I'm landing catfish or other table fare fish. Don't have a boat so I don't carry it when I'm out bass fishing. Even on a kayak I don't bring it, just more crap I gotta buy if I ever flip lol.

[A-Jay]

I too was in the market for a new net - needed something with a little longer handle.

Decided to go with the Frabill 9510 Conservation Series Net with CAM-LOK ~ got a decent deal on it too.

I'm hoping to completely wear it out . . . .

A-Jay

http://www.amazon.com/Frabill-Conservation-Landing-Camlock-Reinforced/dp/B003JSLWLQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00 

[Master Bait'r]

A simple word of advice when selecting a net- the bigger the "holes" in the net the easier it will be to remove hooks from.  The fiber te mesh, the harder it will be to untangle them.  

 

I got a frabill all-clear silicone net and love it.  I will never go back to the fine mesh, it was driving me crazy.  

[Fishes in trees]

I used to have a fiber-net.   It was the one where the net stored inside the handle and you would slide a handle up to tube to deploy the net.  It  worked great.   The net didn't catch hooks easily and when it did they were easy to get out.  That is to say that it worked great when there were two guys in the boat - one to deploy the net when it was needed.   When I fished by myself, which was most of the time it didn't work as well.   If you left it deployed, it took up space on the deck.   If you left it folded up, is wasn't available when you needed it and it wasn't practical to deal with a fish on the line and deploy the net at the same time.

Sooner or later I'll get another net - maybe probably.   The fish landing tool that I use when I'm fishing by myself is a long handled gripper.  It is a gripper that is 30" long.  Works great - deal with the fish until it is at the boat side - then reach out with the gripper and get it anywhere around the lip and lock on.  The fish isn't going anywhere.    BPS used to carry them - that's where I got mine but I haven't seen one in their catalog for years.

[WIGuide]

Well you've got 3 basic choices when it comes to netting. You either have the old schools stuff which you're dealing with and finding to be a pain, you've got rubber coated nylon, and finally there's full on rubber netting.

From what I've used it seems like this, nylon has the least resistance in the water and is the cheapest. It's not exactly great for the fish with all the rough spots in it, but it's been the standard forever and a day. The other down side is it's super easy for hooks to get tangled in it.

The next step up is rubber coated nylon. It's the same netting (although most newer ones don't have knots to help protect fish) as the old school nets, but it's dipped in liquid rubber. The result is a net that only has slightly more drag in the water but hooks have a harder time of getting stuck in. They can get tangled, but for the most part they come right out. Up here in the land of the toothy critters that have a tendency to "gator roll" once they're in the net this can still make for a pain in the rear to untangle, but again it's far better than the old school net.

Finally you have the full on rubber netting. It's the most hook resistant netting of all as hooks won't penetrate it. The majority of the time you can lift the fish right out. There are no knots to scrape up the fish so they're eco friendly in that regard. I've said something about resistance with the other two netting types which isn't something you think about, but with the rubber net I've used, there's much more resistance as it moves through water. If it makes it tough for some to make a quick net job one handed. For some that can be an issue. Also, from my experience the rubber nets don't flex much and are fairly shallow, so be sure to use one sized correctly for the size fish you could run into. Granted there may be some rubber nets out there that may flex more than the one I have experience with you might want to check that out before buying one.

 

No matter what you do, you don't have to go out and fork out tons of money to change netting. If you have a currently functioning hoop and handle, a lot of times you can just buy replacement netting. It's much cheaper but then again the bait monkey might urge you to trash it and buy a whole new setup.  

[stk44]

EGO S2. TW has it for 80 bucks. It's compact, it extends, it floats, it's awesome.

[snake95]

On 5/31/2016 at 7:21 AM, Master Bait'r said:

A simple word of advice when selecting a net- the bigger the "holes" in the net the easier it will be to remove hooks from.  The fiber te mesh, the harder it will be to untangle them

16 hours ago, WIGuide said:

No matter what you do, you don't have to go out and fork out tons of money to change netting. If you have a currently functioning hoop and handle, a lot of times you can just buy replacement netting. It's much cheaper but then again the bait monkey might urge you to trash it and buy a whole new setup.

^x2 to these and all the comments that a rubber net is an absolute must for fishing with treble hooks, and probably any other method.   I will never go back except maybe a large-holed net for single hooks in saltwater.

If your existing landing net can be opened up, I would replace the netting.

I have a Frabill folding that had a small-holed nylon mesh -- until I used it to land a brown using a minnow bait with trebles.  Unfortunately the trout and the lure had to be extracted with a pair of sharp scissors.  Neither the net nor the trout made it.

I ordered a Frabill rubber replacement net to replace the old mesh; it took a maximum of 5 minutes from the time I opened the replacement net until I put the new and improved net in my trunk.   Simple, cheap and 100% recommended.

[WRB]

The only time I use a net is landing bass using multiple treble hook lures, otherwise I hand land them. 

Oldschool nets had cotton knotted nets. Later became Nylon knotted netting that didn't need to be replaced annually. The rubber nets are worthless IMO for bass; too heavy and hard to move in the water. Knotless coated netting, similar to old school nets, work best for me, light weight, move through the water easily and don't snag treble hooks......if you land the bass correctly.

Do's & Don't using a landing net;

Do fight the bass as if you are going to hand land it, lead the bass toward you, stay in control of the fish and slide it into the net.

Don't try to stab or swipe the net at a hot fighting bass.

Do keep line tension on the bass while it is in the net to prevent the fish from flopping inside the net, stay claim.

Don't quickly net the bass, throw the rod down and lay the net in the boat allowing the bass to flop around tangling the netting.

Do use a 19" net for bass, handle 36" to 48".

Don't need  larger 21" to 24" net with 60" handle for bass, you tend to try netting bass that are too hot with bad results.

I do use a night at night, bass seem to be supercharged and difficult to hand land, plus you can't see them easily.

I don't use a net during the day unless necessary with treble hooks. I have hand landed DD bass using 6 lb line finesse fishing, just keep claim, in control with drag adjusted and don't move too fast. Do the same using a net and you won't lose bass or tangle them in the net.

Tom