To Net or Not to Net

[greenalert]

I fished a beat on the Dee last year & on taking out my net from the car, as usual asked the Gillie if I needed this

He said "no I prefer to beach them"

Now that got me wondering

What is in the fish's best interest, net or beach, bearing in mind it was 100% C & R

Thanks

[bulltrout]

I mostly always beach my fish simply because I dont like to carry a net around with me .I dont know wich is better for the fish but it dosen't seem to do them any harm although i have read somewhere that it damages the coating on its body is this true

[Sloggi]

Hardly ever use a net. Don't carry one with me and usually I don't fish alone so we help each other out.

I think seeing all the "slime" left on my net made me wonder if that was harming the fish - not sure.

Now I beach the fish but always try to keep the fish in the water if possible and remove hook.

Perhaps importantly, I try not to touch the fish with my hands (wet or not) - just take the leader and work my way to fly then remove hook with forceps. However, this is not always possible due to hooking.

[greenalert]

Good point about the slime, it does make you wonder

[tayspringer]

Prefer to beach fish. I had a very bad experience a number of years ago when another angler tried to net a fish for me. He managed to hit the fish on the head and let it go

[storlaks]

Personally I don't carry a net, but when fishing on the Dee my ghillie usually nets the fish if he is on-hand to do this. I'm happy with that. If he's not there I'll beach it. I don't think either netting nor careful/minimal handling of the fish will puts it's life in danger or stop it making a full recovery.

[ibrox]

I personally don't use a net. At present I've only fished the Annan (poor me). I always try to release my fish in the water, (hand down line to fly, pull it out and release, no need to touch the fish if I can help it). Have beached a couple of fish but not to keen on watching them flap about on the shingle, grass etc. Coz I'm sure this doesn't help them. (ie rubbing the slime off causing infection)

But saying that I'm sure there will be a time when I will need to use a net on bigger better water, through having no other choice.

Mike

[macsalmo]

Only fish the Annan, poor AA , its a little corker .

I sometimes take a net, depending on where I am going fishing, although I seem to be traveling lighter and lighter every time I go out now (just the way I like it).

I don't mean to change the subject but.......
When playing a fish that you are planning to return, when is it classed as being caught ie; touching the leader, touching the fish, full handling and unhooking etc (its not to far off the subject ).


Gary

[say]

A very interesting question.

Personally I prefer to net a fish (using a knotless net) than beaching them on the shingle bank etc. As I believe IMO that netting the fish and keeping it in the water will do less damage.

I have witnessed one or two anglers that have beached Salmon and then proceed to lift the fish by the tail (unsupported) and carry if a few yards further up the bank before unhooking the fish and returning it to the water.

This act disappoints me as IMO this act has potentially damaged the vertebrae.

I believe this is one lesson we can share with others when handling salmon that we intend to return.

SAY

[ibrox]

Hi Gary, poor old Annan here

For me, its the take that I love about fishing. As far as I am concerned the fish is caught when you get to unhook it, but personally I don't mind if it gets off within a metre of landing.

ATB Mike

[macsalmo]

Good point Mike, I totally agree with you regarding the take, that first few seconds from the take to feeling everything solid and then the headshake takes some beating.

I must admit though, I like to get them on the bank, as just admiring such a beautiful creature is a superb feeling .



Gary

[hornet]

I bank when I'm on my own and net when I'm fishing with others. I have always been careful when handling fish and try to get them back into the water pronto.


And i agree with AA,
For me it is all about the take followed by the next few mins of mayhem when the fish feels it's hooked.

Add in meeting new people, visiting new places and most of all not being at work makes it the addiction / obsession it has become.

Hornet

[davewallbridge]

I always prefer to net a fish.

Provided the net is large enough for the fish, very often you can shorten the fight a little by netting before it's really worn out and thus shorten the recovery time when returning it.
The other advantage is the fish can be unhooked in the water. Having a fish flap around on dry shingle can remove quite a lot of mucus and that, as annan-angler noted, can lead to fungal infections.


Dave.

[Fruin]

I have been told that dragging a fish, with it's full weight, across the bank will do more damage than a net.

Whatever you do, try to minimise the damage if the fish is being returned.

I usually carry a net as I often fish alone, or try to get a stretch to myself, and often do not know what the bank conditions will be like.

I would suggest that , if the fish must be beached, it is led into the bank and allowed to kick itself just far enough to be unhooked.

[lomond]

Carrying a net at all times gives you the choice of beaching the fish if the bank conditions permit, or netting the fish yourself or handing the net to a fellow fisher to net it for you.

I have been in a situation when fishing alone where I hooked a fish and did not have a net. The banks were too steep to beach the fish, so had to 'walk' the fish about a qaurter of a mile down stream to beach it. Not good for me or the fish (which was returned). If I had a net I would have landed the fish in 5 minutes, instead it took 20 minutes to land the fish.

I fish at all times with a whitlock gye net and you don't know it's there, it's so light.

[wilbert]

Its not much of a dilemma for me as fish are few and far between. I have tended to beach fish when I am on my own and used a mixture of beaching / netting when someone else is about.

I used to carry a net all the time but the times I have released the net from the peel sling I was in a spot where it was easy to beach the fish in the grass banking so I beached them. Now I dont carry a net but there have been a few times when I wish I had one. so not carrying a net costs me and and my mates a few fish but i dont have the hastle of it getting in the way and catching every strand of barbed wire within 2 miles of me plus it doesn't stink out the car when i forget to remove it at the end of the day, that job has now been passed onto the waders.

[sinkingtip]

Agree with Silver Stoat regarding the "recovery" time aspect but Springer made a very valid point with the "15' of carbon in one hand and 4' of aluminium in the other" comment. It' not actually all that easy to net a fish thats swirling around at the end of a 'big rod' single handedly. Nets are great if there is someone who knows what they are doing or you are genuinely on a difficult bit of bank - I carry a net but seldom use it unless bankside conditions dictate but you will find, even on a tricky piece of banking (usually the deep side), that if you can even get the fish's head onto a piece of 'dry land' - even a flat stone - that it will remain motionless long enough for you to get down and hand tail it (wet hands !!)

[para1]

The easiest way to land a fish, in my opinion, is the biggest net possible, preferably carried by somebody else. ;D
If the fish is to be retuned there is no need for the net to come out of the water. I also think the nets should be the Knotless type.

[sinkingtip]

para1 said:

The easiest way to land a fish, in my opinion, is the biggest net possible, preferably carried by somebody else. ;D
If the fish is to be retuned there is no need for the net to come out of the water. I also think the nets should be the Knotless type.

Totally agree para1 - and it goes without sayng that the net should be 'knotless'. Respect.