Cast Net Review

I wanted to get out this weekend and try out a new cast net but it looks like a lot of rain. Instead I experimented out back in the grass. Next best thing I guess.

Here is a comparison between two 6' diameter nets . One is a Betts Old Salt (about 60 bucks) and the other is a Calusa [U]Cracker[/U] (about 119).

Here they are just bunched up laying on the ground. See how the Calusa on the right folds together more compactly and is less of a "birds nest". That is an indication of a good net.

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Below is how they landed after a throw of about the same quality. The calusa is on the left. They are both six foot nets but the Calusa opens better mainly because it is made with pie shaped sections represented by the red lines so the geometry makes it completely flat. The Betts on the right is made with hoops of netting represented by the blue circles. This geometry makes the Betts more like several tubes sewn together. A smaller tube at the top and larger tubes toward the bottom. A tube like net can never open as large as a flat net because it wants to stay in that tube shape to a degree. See all the material bunched up in the middle of the Betts.

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The next photo shows the Betts on top of the Calusa. For this photo the nets were spread out by hand to the largest they can possibly ever be. In reality I don't think that the Betts can get anywhere this close to the diameter shown when thrown below because of how it is made.

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The Betts Old Salt is a good net (I would buy one again for throwing in shallow water with snags). I was actually planning on of getting a an eight foot Betts also because I thought I might need an eight footer in tough situations.

The Betts has only one pound of lead per foot of radius (easier to throw) as compared to the Calusa that has one and a half pounds of lead per foot. My rotator cuff starts to screem with an eight foot net with pound and a half of lead and I find such a net hard to throw from a boat like mine because of the weight. Thrown from a dock or with no obstructions it is not hard to open though. The extra weight of the Calusa should make it sink a lot faster and that should help catch more bait.

After checking all this out I don't think I will even need the eight foot net because the Calusa opens about 50 percent (square feet) larger when I throw it than the Betts that I have been using for a few years. I usually throw under a light and I just can't imagine I will need anything bigger than the Calusa 6'.

For netting on a full moon or blindly for Gizzards a bigger net might be necessary.

I also ordered and returned a 6' Bait Buster net which was $100. The net was made with the pie shaped sections but it did not lay flat on the ground no matter how much I stretched it. The quality just did not seem to be there. The netting was thicker too which would make it more durable but also harder to open and sink slower. You want a net to be soft right out of the box.

I also have an 8' Bass Pro net which I bought at the lake after throwing my 8' Betts in the lake about eight years ago. I will reserve that one for the shallow water in urban areas where the possibility of rebar lurks.

Very well done and very informative. I agree, I've also got a Calusa Craker, and a Betts Old Salt and have found the same. The Betts I use when the possibility of snags is high, the Calusa for deep bait and soft clean lake bottoms.

You can get a little better performace out of the Betts with some special care. After every trip, lay it out totally flat on concrete and wash it off. To dry it, now hang it up, but not by the center horn. Hang it up so that the net looks like 1/2 of a pie, and stretch one end out and secure it, then the other to fully tension and stretch the net. I hang one end on a boat cleat and stretch the other end with a rope attached to a tree. Be careful, don't pull too hard. Just enough to really stretch the net.

Store the net in a buck 75% full off tap water, but add 2-3 ounces of fabric softner.

Day before you go, or the day you are going, dump the water and softner out, rinse net, and put it back in bucket still wet.

Yep, lots of stuff to do for just a little bit better spread, but, when you might lose a net to a snag, given the price difference it's worth it.

Peter, question, have you ever tried one of those blue net throwing rings? Do they work....are they a pain to attach and use. Just wondering. Anybody got any experience with them?

Thanks for the kind words.

I threw somebodies net that had about a 12" ring at the top. Can't remember the color. As I remember it seemed like a cheap net. I threw it a few times and thought to myself, no thanks. The ring threw me off since I was not used to it. Not sure if this is the net you are talking about.

You have any input on three eights vs half inch mesh at cubby under lights regarding gilling certain size bait? It comes down to what size the bait at that time, but you may have a general preference or thoughts.

Posting this from a parking lot near the Waterson x way with an mobile app I am checking out for the forum.
Gonna hit the "post my location" and see what happens. Can upload photos with it!

[IMG]http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=38.242149,-85.632612&zoom=14&markers=38.242149,-85.632612&size=400x300&sensor=true[/IMG]

Very good info!
I've been using the Ahi Pro Series 200 line nets. I use a 10 ft in the slip and an eight foot to cast. The nets are very soft\smooth and the knots are almost non detectable. This is a key if you want to minimize damage to your bait. Those Bass Pro nets will catch bait in a slip just as good as any but they will really damage the bait. Run your hand across them and it's like sand paper and will scrap scales off your bait in a hurry.

Another thing to consider is weight. I bought these nets because they had more weight (1.35 pounds per foot). More weight means faster fall and better for deeper gait, right? Maybe not.. At first I had a heck of a time getting deeper bait when everyone else was doing well. Lance and I talked about it and we decided the extra weight was causing the net to close on the fall faster making a smaller catch area when the net reached the bait. I ended up removing every four (or fifth?) weight. This isn't a net that's cast but set up in a slip so the loss of weight didn't really affect the "opening" of the net at cast since it isn't "cast" anyway. The net now falls in a wider pattern and is easier to pull up with the less weight. You want one that makes a pocket but not one that makes a narrow cone and I feel one pound per foot works the best. Now this is for a 3/8" mesh net. Going up to a 1/2 inch net may really do a great job with that 1.35 pounds per foot as there is less drag from the net on the fall. The down size there is more "usable sized" bait snagged in the larger mesh.

As for my eight footer I'll leave the extra weight on. It's for shallow water gizzards and can move down on the sides to trap faster baits where a slower dropping net might not get down to trap them in time.

So my net specs for alewives is:
3\8" mesh
soft quality netting
Larger horn
longest pull line I can get (Mine has 30 ft with another 30 ft added)
Pie panels
One pound per foot weights.

Here is some information on a guy that is the absolute authority and designer of castnets. You tell him what you want to catch and the conditions and he builds the net for you...
Tim Wade
[url]http://www.lagooner.com/photoPages/wadetim/[/url]

Thanks. Never thought about different nets knocking off more scales than others. I know I am always cleaning scales off everything including myself.

What are you considering usable bait?
3", 4" ?

What is your opinion of 6' net, 1 lb per foot, 1/2' mesh?
Will that gill a 4" alewife" ?
If so I'll go with 3/8' mesh.
If it nets 4" and 3" and smaller go through I think I will try 1/2"

Seems like my 3/8" mesh nets 3" alewives and gills smaller.

Thoughts appreciated.

I also just read that if you pull the net up slow fewer baits will get gilled.

Better smoother knotting also helps with casting. The net isn't getting caught on it'self in the netting area nearly as much.

My hand measures 4" across. I don't want to keep anything smaller than my hand and right now and would prefer 5"-6" baits (Only because they hit them better when I put out mixed baits). I will say my net doesn't gill much at all except a few at the top. Better knotting means less gilling. Historically, a 1\2" net can gill those 4" baits and smaller where a 3\8" the 4" baits mostly end up in the bow or barely stuck and easy to shake down and it's the 3" baits or smaller getting gilled. Now if it's summer and you can get a bunch of those larger baits then casting the 6' 1\2" is perfect and the 1.5 pound per foot wouldn't hurt at all. The three inch baits can be gold in the colder winter months. The fish like the smaller bait but they never stay alive long in the tank or on the hook. But when that's what you can get and what they will hit then use a smaller mesh and take care of them as best you can. Most other times I'd drop 10 times and cull the 3" baits.

You go out and find schools of bait versus setting up lights at the dock so the 6' will work well for you. When we try to draw bait to us, when sometimes need all the coverage we can get if things are tough.

[QUOTE=peter;503669]I also just read that if you pull the net up slow fewer baits will get gilled.[/QUOTE]

Really? Never thought about that. Did they discuss the reasoning? I don't pull up fast anyway just because I worry about taking care of the bait from the start of the netting process right on through.

[QUOTE="Duayne;503674"]

Really? Never thought about that. Did they discuss the reasoning? I don't pull up fast anyway just because I worry about taking care of the bait from the start of the netting process right on through.[/QUOTE]

Just more force on the bait to the net I guess. He didn't say. Net full of bait can get heavy on the bottom ones. Maybe they freak more and and swim till they get gilled.

I haven't tried real slow yet. Usually in a hurry racing the sun.

[QUOTE=peter;503679]Just more force on the bait to the net I guess. He didn't say. Net full of bait can get heavy on the bottom ones. Maybe they freak more and and swim till they get gilled.

I haven't tried real slow yet. Usually in a hurry racing the sun.[/QUOTE]

Ha! I know about that race! I still go slow and steady when coming up and hope for no bass or crappie..

[QUOTE=peter;503668]Thanks. Never thought about different nets knocking off more scales than others. I know I am always cleaning scales off everything including myself.

What are you considering usable bait?
3", 4" ?

What is your opinion of 6' net, 1 lb per foot, 1/2' mesh?
Will that gill a 4" alewife" ?
If so I'll go with 3/8' mesh.
If it nets 4" and 3" and smaller go through I think I will try 1/2"

Seems like my 3/8" mesh nets 3" alewives and gills smaller.

Thoughts appreciated.[/QUOTE]

I've been using the 6' diameter [B]1/2 inch[/B] net for nine weekends now (eighteen times) 100% success. Never use the 3/8" mesh anymore. This will absolutely will gill some real nice 4" alewives, as some mentioned here, but it also does not gill a bunch of them. Pull the net up real slow and it gills less bait. When I get it to the point where it is all the way up I grab the ring on top of the net and pull it up almost as far as it will go while still holding the rope so the bottom of net net is closed. With the other hand I gently shake the top of the net which is loose and many of the baits that appeared to be gilled are not and fall to the bottom of the net and survive just as well as the others. Some are truly gilled and those that don't come out when shaking the net hard I deal with later when done fishing. There is no easy exit for those guys.

The result is some very nice bait and "zero" culling of smaller baits and less toxins in your dump bucket (that may have a double meaning) Saves a bunch of time.

If it is a year or time of the year when the bait is small then this will net no bait.

Started out throwing both nets to get a handle on the differences. Probably a good idea to have both sizes ready to throw. Any net will gill bait of a given size so it's good to have options handy.

I personally see no use in buying a $100 net. I use a $30 4 foot radius net from Walmart and it does the trick. I just learned how to use one several weeks ago and I'm already catching tons of baitfish with it. Don't see the need in buying a net for that much. Thanks for the review though and I can see where you are coming from :)