Landing Nets

**C J** · 23-05-08

Gents, I've got a bit of a "panarie"! What tipe of landing net would be most suitable for river fishing? I've bought one of these folding ones....a Snowbee.
The reason why I bought a Snowbee is because the net on the wood ones are not deep enough.......and some times the fish does not fit. My buddy broke a rod because of that...he was busy unhooking the fish and the thing jumped out....the rod could not take it.....and "SNAP"!

So......is there a prefered tipe of net for that tipe of fishing?

**chris williams** · 23-05-08

CJ, check out the Brodin wooden nets, I've a Pro Series Steelhead one which I've had for several years now and does me proud for the yellows on the Vaal. It's apparently 26' long, 13'' wide and 18'' deep, knotless. 4-ply bow and reinforced 'yoke' - the bit that holds the bow to the handle. A BIG net for yellows - I think a few of you have seen this net of mine.. It's not that 'ghost clear netting' either. The real McCoy! It doesn't have one of those in-built balances/scales which don't especially interest me, just a simple strong, floatable and big net. As many will know, if you trap the deep netting inside a rubber band attached to the handle when you're walking/wading, it stops the net from dragging through brambles, rocks and the like until you need it to land a fish, then simply pull the net out from inside the rubber band.
I don't know if Frontier still do their 'Salmon' NZ big landing net. I havn't used that but hear it's good as well.
These things don't come cheap but they are functional works of art and are BIG! I'm happy paying top bucks for something that could make or break the difference between landing a monster and ruing a lost 'trophy'-size fish for ever...
I used to have an old Eskimo ash wood landing net my old grand uncle gave me many moona ago till it was stolen a few years' back. It was stunning, but in all honesty a bit too small/lightweight for most of our yellow/Vaal type fish/fishing.
I'm not a fan on the metal nets for aesthetic and a few other reasons such as the metallic clink they make against rocks etc. - though on the whole they may prove cheaper.
Either the Brodin or the Salmon would do the job for me - there may well be other makes - these are floatable, rather like Herman and myself on the river!

**gkieser** · 23-05-08

I am not sure of makes, but my ideal net for rivers that can flow quickly like the vaal would be the following:

1) Nice wide mouth
2) Long handle to prevent extra pressure on the rod when reaching for the fish with the rod straight up.
3) Nice soft knottless netting material with large holes to prevent drag when holding it in the water.

**Byron** · 23-05-08

First bite make a Brodin rip-off, wooden, wide, knotless and costs about 1/10 the price. So do Snowbee but it's only about half the price

.

These are both perfect for the vaal, you can net lunkers easy, and if you loose it, as you may well do on the vaal - it's not a biggie.

**Michael** · 23-05-08

Originally Posted by Byron

First bite make a Brodin rip-off, wooden, wide, knotless and costs about 1/10 the price. So do Snowbee but it's only about half the price

.

These are both perfect for the vaal, you can net lunkers easy, and if you loose it, as you may well do on the vaal - it's not a biggie.

Agreed. I bought a First Bite wooden landing net about 5 years ago for I think R 79.00, and the varnish is now coming off with all the use, etc...but it's still in good shape. Soft mesh, so it's fish friendly too. I can't justify spending more than say R 200.00 on a net...unless it can land the fish by itself.

**chris williams** · 23-05-08

What you guys say is fair...

Purely from my point of view I havn't really many ffishing luxuries in life I still need to purchase, so if I decide to fork out a few extra bucks on a Swedish blonde rather than on an equally functional but less pretty S2000 call-girl I will choose to do so!!