Net Technique?

I've never used a net much before tubing, and I think I'm slowly figuring it out. I've got it down to two things... rod position control and get the darn thing down in the water.

My vision of the perfect netting is to lead the fish into the net and then let the net do all the work as you lift. But too many times I get anxious and end up missing the fish on the first pass and then I end up chasing it around with the net. Stooges go fishing.

I've discovered that I was more or less just pulling straight back on the rod so it was pointing straight up or backwards to bring the fish to me the last couple of feet, but I've found if I hold the rod off to the side and bring it over my head at a flat angle that I have more control. The drawback to this is that I still have a fair amount of line out and I'm thinking maybe whatever technique gets the fish into the net on the shortest line might be better. I guess I'll play with that.

The other thing I have to remind myself is keep the net down in the water. I'm naturally hesitant to lean forward very much so I often end up holding the net up and then making a quick stab to get it under the fish. Much better to get it low and keep it low as you lead the fish into it.

So... net technique... comments, suggestions? spare change?

Interesting subject, I am one that has not used a net since I was a kid netting Bluegill LOL. But there is a big need to understand how to net properly. I think you have a very interesting subject here sir.

I think there is more to then then just use of the net. What about the best type of net for float tube fishing, and maybe best netting material for fish safety. But as you said positioning yourself for making a good net of your catch is also of importance. The idea of leaning forward to get the net in the water and the fish out kind of gives me the willies. This can be a bad move allowing people a chance to take a swim if they are not ready. Maybe we should be looking into this further and have a good explanation as to what we should be doing.

We need to keep our fish safe and healthy but we also need to keep each other safe and dry right. I think once I have a chance I will pick up a small net so I to can practice and learn how to do this the right way.

I know that some fish like trout have a perfective coating (slime) and you dong want to use the traditional mesh style net. The mesh will actually take that coating off the fish and can leave the fish vulnerable to infections and parasites. You want to use a conservation net... basically a rubber net. I don’t know if this is true for all fish, I only know this to be true for trout.

I believe this is also important for Halibut as well, the rubber net protects its tail fin. This is a common issue with halibut getting netted splitting there tails which leads to issues swimming and eventually death if they cannot chase there meals. I think the rubber nets are the better type we should be using.

It's true for all fish. I use an Ed Cumings brand "fish friendly" net that has a flat rubber mesh. You definitely do not want to use any knotted net for catch and release. You also never want to handle fish with dry hands as that will also remove their protective slime.

When all my poles were fiberglass netting was fairly simple from the tube. Fiberglass bends pretty good at the tip, so I could just pull the fish to the net. But as carbon fiber became more common I noticed I had to keep the pole in a more horizontal fashion and reel the fish in closer than I do with fiberglass rods. With carbon fiber, once I have the fish close enough I then lift vertically to drag the fish to the net. Often times I notice I have arms spread wide and have run the rod completely across the tube.

At any rate, carbon fiber required and adjustment in technique, but I really don't think about it anymore.

You know another thing to think of outside of the safety for you and the fish is the fact does the net float. There are some wooden nets that are really cool and are meant for float tube fishing as well as they float. Just something else to think of.

You've got the net in one hand, the rod in the other, and suddenly the fish takes another run and you *will* instinctively drop the net and put both hands on the rod and reel. Guaranteed.

If the net doesn't float or isn't tied to the tube...it's a gonner. Mine doesn't float, but it is definitely tied to the tube.

This is a great topic! I rarely use a net but when I do, I lead the fish in at an angle to my tube. I find leading them straight in often encourages the fish to dive straight down or under the tube. When pulling it in at an angle, i feel I have more time to net the fish and if need be, better prepared to make adjustments in positioning to lead the fish into the net.

Yes.

I've been giving this serious thought all week and I've reviewed many nettings on my videos and I've learned some lessons. One of which is so obvious, I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't instinctively just know it and adapt.

My problems were all coming from having the wrong mindset. I've been thinking (and acting) that I have to bring the fish to me and then net it.

I now think that is probably exactly backwards. I think I need to bring the fish to the net and then bring the net to me.

Bringing the fish straight in definitely encourages them to take another dive. No question. The other problem with bringing them straight in close is that you have to raise the rod straight up to do that and you have no control in that position. And too much line is out.

I'm thinking the way to go is to bring the fish in until he is a rod length away and the rod is pointing just above horizontal to the water. That way, he's on a short leash, but the rod is in a good position to act as a shock absorber if he shakes and the reel drag is there as always if he runs. Instead of bringing him in to me, bring him in to the rod.

Now I will have more control to bring him over to the left side of the tube and scoop him up from below and even a little behind, I think. The thing I learned from watching the videos that should have been obvious is that the net itself scares the fish and they try to avoid it if you try to bring them into it.

My first thought was that I would hold the net down in the water off to the side and have it there as a target to lead them into, but now I'm thinking stealth netting from behind would be better if I can pull it off.

I think if I lead the fish over until he is even with my left shoulder, then I could easily bring the net up from below and behind and he wouldn't see it until he was in it. It would also mean leaning backwards to work the net instead of leaning forward.

I'm pretty sure fish have nearly 360 vision, so I doubt if their "behind them" blind spot is very big, but it can't hurt to try.

So... I'll be trying to catch and net lots of big fish this weekend... strictly for scientific purposes  

I've been using an [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] but with a 14 in bow, it's not large enough for all those monster halibut I'm going to be catching soon. I think I'll move up to a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and be ready for the big ones!

They say no battle plan survives contact with the enemy and my "bring them to the side of the tube" idea didn't work out in practice.

The best technique for me was just as kin suggested, bring them to the front, but at an angle on the left. Keep the net as low as possible and lead them into it. Basically just paying better attention to what I was doing and not trying to rush things yielded better results. No surprise there, eh?