How To Select The Right Fishing Net For A Beginner!

Fishing is a great hobby to be adopted. You can spend countless hours as you gaze into nature’s beauty at its best, waiting for the fish to be lured into your trap. But all goes well, as long as you know about them. The thrill of catching the fish, the excitement of whether you’ll get a good catch or not, and the strategies that go into it, there are many things that go into building the hobby. So, if you are an absolute beginner, you still have a lot of things to catch up on, but we will cover the basics of things you are required to know about the fishing nets!

Different Types of Fishing Nets For Small-Time Fishing!

Fishing using nets allows you to catch a lot more fish than while using the rod. They’ll give you a great catch for your efforts and help you set for the barbeque nights!

1. Cast net

   This is the most common one, often featured in most movies, where you throw a large spherical-shaped net over the water, and it submerges down.

   The mesh is lined with leads that give the weights and slowly take it down the mesh through the water. So, anything and everything below the net’s way gets trapped in it. As you pull the strings, first the weights are lifted and pulled up, entrapping the catches, and then the entire mesh is withdrawn from the water.

   There is a technique to learn if you want to master the art of laying the nets in their spherical glory. Though your catches may or may not depend on the throw, (yes, luck always plays its part!).

   Cast fishing is easy and is a one-person thing. If you know how to handle the nets, you can efficiently use them without any additional help.

   Where to use (and where not)?

   1. Beware of rocky bottoms, as they can tear your nets.
   2. Cross-check the community laws regarding where cast net fishing is allowed and the maximum size of mesh allowed.

   Things to remember:

   1. Always remember to detangle the nets first. If not detangled, the throw is not worth it as you won’t be able to pull up without letting the fishes go.
   2. If you have bycatches along, remember to release them back to the waters.
   3. Though bigger nets may ensure better catches, the throwing will become difficult as the weight increases. Hence, when you are a beginner, buy one with the appropriate weight.
   4. Changing the mesh size depending on the size of the fish will help you have a better catch.

2. Dip net

   There is no easier way to catch fish than the dip nets. With dip nets, all you’ve got to do is dip them in the water and wait for the fishes to swim through until some of the lands in the net.

   Here, the nets are fixed onto the frames, either held by hands or mounted on a rod. The net, along with the frame, is dipped into the waters and pulled up, retrieving everything caught in it. Smaller dip nets allow you’re the flexibility of carrying and using them over a large range of spaces.

   There are two ways to catch fish using dip net fishing. The first is the stationary dip, where the net is held still, and the fishes are driven into the nets. You would often need to kick around the waters or look for the current to startle the fishes or draw them from their homes into the traps.

   The second one is the sweeping method, where you sweep across the waterbody with the net and scoop up the catches. The sweeping techniques can also be used to scoop the top layer of the soil and then later swift through them to find the water dwellers.

   Where to use (and where not)?

   1. These are difficult to use in water bodies with a lot of debris and plants as the nets might get stuck to them and torn.
   2. Check with local fishing enthusiasts to know the best spot for dip fishing.

   Things to remember:

   1. It is easier to catch the small fish, but as the size grows, you’ll have to wrestle with the fish before drawing up from the waters.
   2. You’ll need to watch patiently. If the waters are murkier or there is a flow as they hinder the vision.

3. Gillnet

   Gill nets use the mesh to trap the fishes along their gills.
   Here long layers of nets are hung vertically in the water body. As the fish flow through the waters (without seeing the fine mesh), their head/ gills get trapped along the mesh holes. As the fishes fight harder to free themselves, they bury their head more into the holes, getting trapped. Hence, you can lay the traps overnight to get a good catch of fish.

   Gillnets was one of the most probable fishing techniques commercially used, with long nets hung from the ships to trap loads of marine life. However, most places have penalized or curbed gill netting due to the indiscriminate fishing technique employed and the possible harm done to the endangered lives.

   Where to use (and where not)?

   1. Check the community guideline for this.
   2. More efficient for deep waters.

   Things to remember:

   1. Choosing the location is a detrimental factor for your catches
   2. Let the bycatches leave and take care the nets don’t harm them.

Why Fishing With Nets Over Others?

1. You can catch live fish! With nets trapping the fishes, you can lay your hands on living fishes with a chance to return them unharmed if you have a change of heart later or when you have a bycatch along with other catches!
2. Once the fish is trapped in the nets, there is no way it can go out. While using hooks, there is always a chance that the fishes can fall off the hook while pulling them out. However, with nets, you can eliminate the scenario.
3. It is a relatively faster way with better chances of success. as long as you know where to throw and when to pull the strings, you are bound to get a few catches. This is because the nets cover a long distance, and the area is directly proportional to the success you see.
4. If you are fishing for the baits, the nets provide the ideal way for it. With netting, the baits are live and fresh, just as the fishes love them. You can use them for your other fishing or sell them to other anglers.
5. Except for the balancing stuff, you are pretty safe while using the nets. You don’t require to tussle much and can pull them up quite quickly. Hence, it is a perfect hobby where you can include your friends and children too.

What should you be careful about?

While fishing (especially while using nets), there are a lot of cases of bycatches. The nets drawn into the waterbody also entraps other water creatures like turtles, juvenile fishes, and other marine lives that were not your target. This is because fishing using nets is highly non-selective in nature. Anything and everything that falls under the net/ or passes into the mesh is trapped.

The nettings made of synthetic fibers are extremely fine and durable, surviving in the oceans for years. Unfortunately, these meet vulnerable species, entangling and hindering their movements. The marines filled with nets are responsible for thousands of deaths of non-targeted fish species bringing many species on the verge of endangering.

Therefore, it is essential to uphold community guidelines and be vigilant enough to care for and be considerate of marine life.