Fly Fishing Nets
Fly fishermen sometimes land fish by hand instead of using fly fishing nets, this can lead to lost fish at the crucial moment when the fish is close to being landed.
Believe me i speak from experience when i say you can lose fish at this moment, i have lost many a good fish when trying to land them by hand before i decided to use a landing net.
When the fish is at the point of being landed it will make one last effort to escape, this is where it can throw the hook out and make its bid for freedom.
If you use a landing net at this point you will land more fish, the way of using fly fishing nets is to play the fish as you normally would until the fish is within range, then submerge the net under the water and ease the fish over the net and lift it out of the water.
You do not want to make any sudden movements with the net at this point, as this will spook the fish, and after an exhilarating fight with the fish you want to give yourself the best chance of landing it.
Check out this video about different types of net and how to use them.
There are a lot of different types of net available on the market today, probably one of the most common is the mesh type fly fishing net.
Unfortunately some of the designs of this net can damage the slime that the fish has on its body to help protect it, this is not good when you are using the method of catch and release as this can lead to the fish catching diseases when released back into the water.
Out of all the variations available i would suggest using a rubber type net, although the rubber fly fishing nets can be a little more expensive than the mesh type net it is worth the extra cost to help protect the fish during the landing process.
This is really important if you are doing catch and release fly fishing as we want the the fish to come to the least amount of harm possible when being caught, in fact a lot of fisheries these days insist you use a rubber type net.
Perhaps one fishing net you might want to consider is the telescopic landing net, these can be very practicable when choosing a landing net. The reason being that you can use this type of net in two different types of fishing situations, you can use it as a short handled net when wading or a long handled net when fishing from a boat.
This is also a great way of saving money when buying fishing tackle, it means you only need to purchase one net instead of two.
Out of all the different designs of net available today i still prefer the pear shaped trout net, i just find this shape seems to cut through the water slightly better than other shapes.
The cost is very low compared to other fly fishing equipment, you can pay as little as $10 or have a custom built fly net for over $100 it is entirely up to you.
I have found that nets around the middle price range are extremely well built and of a very high quality, some of the more cheaper versions tend not to last too long if you do a lot of fishing.
The secret to buying a new net is that you should think of the type of fishing you are going to be doing, for example if you are going boat fishing then you will require a net with an extended handle to help you reach over the side of the boat.
If you are going river fishing for trout and might be doing some wading then a short handle fly fishing net is all you need, but make sure the net you buy will float just in case you happen to drop it in the water. Metal handled nets do not float as i found out to my cost when on a fly fishing trip once.
The one reason i like the new extendable type of fly net is that i can use it for both types of fishing, this saves me money by not having to buy a different one to suit the different types of fly angling i enjoy doing.
On this site you will find a selection of different types of fly fishing nets to look at, make sure you read through the descriptions before purchasing so that you get the right one for you.
If you are looking to buy a fly fishing net then check out our fly fishing net reviews first.
