Cast Nets

[pigbike]

I want to buy a bait cast net but not up to speed on them. What is the best size and net hole size?

I have been thinking of a 5' with 3/8 mesh but there may be better choices.  Possibly 1/4" mesh would be better. I would like to buy the right one the first time.  I would just be netting those small silver bait fish(Pichards I believe their called). Thanks

[GoneFission]

Don't go less than 3/8" - 1/4" just won't sink fast enough.  Diameter depends on your use and throwing ability.  Check out more info on the Calusa/Cracker net web site:  http://www.calusa.com/

[John Jones]

I have 1/4 and 3/8.  In the spring when the bait is small you need the 1/4 mesh or you will be picking 500 gilled pilchards out of the net.  I tried to find a picture but no luck.  You can't get them all out.  Just let it sit in the sun for 1/2 day and the bait starts to rot and you can shake them out.  Let it dry and they are even harder to get out.  Like CJ said, the smaller the mesh the slower they sink.  Weight has some to do with sink rate but mesh has more effect than weight.  Short of a custom handmade net for hundreds of dollars, Calusa nets like CJ linked are the best nets for the money.  Betts nets are okay but they don't throw as well as a Calusa.  All I have are the Calusa Cracker nets.  I have never thrown their higher priced nets.  Go ahead and get an 8' net.  It's really no harder to learn to throw and it will serve you much better than the smaller ones.  The jump from 8' to 10' was hard for this old man but I finally managed that.  The video on the front page of the Calusa site is how I learned to throw.

Oh yeah, throwing from a rockin and rollin boat ain't the same as throwing on the front lawn but you will figure it out.  

I told my wife to duck but she didn't.  Damn near knocked her out with 10lbs of sinkers to the side of the head when I made that swing.  

[kraw2]

If you get a 5' net make sure you have someone to give it to. You need to start with an 8' with 3/8" mesh and at least over one pound per foot of net. When you get really good with that one you will want a heavier net.

I have 3 nets for different situatuions. The 1/4" mesh is for "LY's" we call them here. It's so they dont get caught in the mesh. In the sizes I am talking about the lenght of the net. Maybe a 6' would be the best to start with. They don't have to be "made up" like the larger nets.

[Circle Hooked]

And 8 ft 3/8 mesh net is a good all around net and my go to, but I also have an 8ft 1/4 mesh both Calusa's, they run about 2 bills to get one but after throwing cheap one's for along time then going to these I would never go back to cheap.

This is a good video to help you out regardless of the brand you buy http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 3432039337

My experience with buying my first Calusa net viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5290&p=34793&hilit=calusa+cast+net#p34793

[gran398]

We have to use 10 to 12 footers up here, but we're generally in deep water. As the net goes down, it collapses...in 25 feet its fully closed when it reaches bottom.

Whatever you go with, here's a neat trick. After soaking them in Dawn, rinse the net and place in a second five gallon bucket, water and fabric softener. Good couple of glubs of generic fabric softener. Keeps them soft and supple, easy to throw.

Always store them dry and indoors.

Good catching

[John Jones]

We have to use 10 to 12 footers up here, but we're generally in deep water. As the net goes down, it collapses...in 25 feet its fully closed when it reaches bottom.

A little farther down the east coast in GA and FL the recreational shrimpers either use duct tape or sew in lawn chair webbing around the edge of the net.  It stays open all the way to the bottom.



That may sink too slow for baitfish but it works great for shrimp.

[Blue Agave]

IMO  an 8' ft. 3/8" mesh is the way you should go.  Anything smaller than 8 ft is too small.

[pigbike]

Thanks for all the info. It's looks like 8 foot 3/8" is the winner.  I will put it on my list of things I need to get.  I see Calusa is popular brand. Is there a big difference in brands?

I did buy a 5ft 3/8" net against all your recomendations, however this is just a quicky buy until I can get the right one.  I'm sure it will catch bait especially in shallow water. Some one won it at a Christmas party and never used it. It is brand new. He only wanted $15.00 for it,  so if it works twice it paid for its self. I can practice with it.

[John Jones]

I have been through the Walmart nets up to the Calusa Crackers.  The more you spend the easier it is to throw a consistent "pancake" as it's called.  With the cheap nets I throw bananas.  You will understand "banana" the first time you throw it.  

[pigbike]

I have been through the Walmart nets up to the Calusa Crackers.  The more you spend the easier it is to throw a consistent "pancake" as it's called.  With the cheap nets I throw bananas.  You will understand "banana" the first time you throw it.  

You are probably right but for what I paid it's not worth worrying about. I guess I can use it for now, and get the hang of casting it.

Another question. Do you chum up the bait, and what is best to use?

[John Jones]

Yep.  $15 is no big deal.

Depending on the bait fish I do use chum sometimes.  Some of the bait (algae eaters) will not respond to chum.

I use a mixture of:
oats (not instant)
grits (not instant)
canned jack mackerel (near the canned tuna at some supermarkets or a Dollar store)
Menhaden oil

No specific recipe.  Just dump in some oats, grits, a can or two of mackerel, and enough oil to the consistency you want.  For castnetting I make it almost as thick as peanut butter and I just throw in marble size chunks until you attract a good school of bait.  For snapper fishing I make it soupy and just dump a ladle full overboard now and then.

WARNING!
The mackerel and the oil really stink and is not easily washed off of clothes or skin.  Do not use your wife's tupperware.  The smell will not come out of the plastic no matter how you try to clean it.

This stuff keeps forever if you seal it and keep it out of the sun.  I had a garage fridge that I used the freezer to keep my bait and chum.

Lots of folks say use cozy kitten cat food from the dollar stores but not the dry cat food.  Dry cat food and dog food float and all you will attract is seagulls.  That is why I use oats and grits.  The fine grits sink immediately and the oats sink but slower.

[John Jones]

I had a neighbor kid across the street that was about 8-9 years old and he had a 3 or 4' walmart net.  The little bastage could throw that thing better than most men. :evil:

Terra Ceia Island has a mullet toss/cookoff/castnet throwing deal every year.  One year a 13 year old beat out the commercial mullet guys in the castnet contest.  They all had to use the same 12 foot net.  

[gran398]

I had a neighbor kid across the street that was about 8-9 years old and he had a 3 or 4' walmart net.  The little bastage could throw that thing better than most men. :evil:

Terra Ceia Island has a mullet toss/cookoff/castnet throwing deal every year.  One year a 13 year old beat out the commercial mullet guys in the castnet contest.  They all had to use the same 12 foot net.  

There ya go...technique.

[Blue Agave]

I had a neighbor kid across the street that was about 8-9 years old and he had a 3 or 4' walmart net.  The little bastage could throw that thing better than most men. :evil:

Terra Ceia Island has a mullet toss/cookoff/castnet throwing deal every year.  One year a 13 year old beat out the commercial mullet guys in the castnet contest.  They all had to use the same 12 foot net.  

There ya go...technique.

Definitely technique!  

A 12 foot mullet net and a 12 foot bait net are two different animals.