I’ve been receiving a few inquiries about the net I use, and so, I thought I’d write about it.
I use the net below which is the Frabill 3672.
It is cheap, rugged, and very light-weight. A no-brainer at $20.
Its gape is 13″ x 18″, meaning it easily can land a good-sized fish. Moreover, the net is made from rubber and is significantly more C&R-friendly than my old nylon net. It’s also much easier to ease out flies that become entangled within it.
As I’ve written before, I also use the Orvis Net Retractor. No fumbling with magnets, etc. It smoothly retracts when I’m done with the net. I also can unclip easily the net from it. In that way, I can wedge the net in the water among some rocks to let a fish recover at its own pace. It makes it easy to take photographs, whilst also keeping the fish in the water to reduce its stress. I don’t handle much the fish with my hands.
A trout usually recovers in a few minutes. Then, I tilt the net, and the fish nearly always sprints away.
So, there you go. A good net for C&R and at a bargain price, IMO.
I use the same one! $15 and it's huge, great for netting those frisky and big fish that go every direction when they get in close. Good material too
I've used the same net for four seasons and like it very much. The only problem is the cord attached to the handle broke at the attachment point. It would be great if there was a ring exposed that I could reattach the cord to but, no, the cord comes straight out of the handle. Only solution is to tie the cord to the net frame (ugly) or buy a new one. But $20 for 4
seasons, $5 per season, not too bad. I enjoy the blog, by the way.
Bob
Thanks!
Bob, what I did was snip the cord, and drilled a small hole in each side of the handle, right under the tip (and across from each other). Than I just slipped a carabiner through each side and attached my magnetic release to it.