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Topic: What's your favorite netting technique when kayak fishing?  (Read 1861 times)

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pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
I've made some really awkward and ineffective attempts to net fish from my kayak, where I was trying to pull the fish in a direction where I didn't have much strength or leverage, or where I couldn't move the fish far enough to get it into my net.  So I'd interested to hear what netting techniques NWKA members have found to be effective with various species of fish. I'd also be interested to learn if there are techniques which work well with some species of fish but work badly with other species of fish, or techniques which work well with some lengths of pole but not so well with other lengths of pole.

The technique which I've found to be the most effective for netting lake trout is to hold the net in the water between me and the fish, pull the fish to the surface, and then zoom the fish quickly and headfirst into the net by sweeping my rod straight up, over, and behind my head.  This is a powerful motion, and I can use the motion to pull a lake trout directly into my net from a considerable distance away from my kayak.  To get the fish to the surface and away from my kayak, I want to have only three or four feet of line out.  To pull the fish into my net, I need three or four feet more line out than the length of my pole.  To make the change in line length, before I initiate the overhead rod sweep, I put my thumb on the spool of my baitcaster or trolling reel and release the spool, so I can release line as necessary so the fish goes into my net as my hand goes over my head. If you don't have enough line between the tip of your rod and the fish, you'll end up trying to lift the fish out of the water, rather than pulling it horizontally into your net.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2020, 10:25:44 AM by pmmpete »


Shin09

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Portland
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 606
One trick I learned from a presentation by Rawkfish at Next Adventure was to loosely attach the bottom of the net bag to the handle with wire tie  (or in my case i just stuff it into the pool noodle I have attached to the handle for flotation).  That way the bag doesn't get fouled when you are trying to scoop the fish.   

I also always net with my left hand and hold the pole on my right.  I prefer to net off the left side of the boat in that case since the fish is usually coming from behind.  That keeps the net forward of the rod and allows me to pull/lift the fish in the last bit to the net, rather than trying to reel that last little bit. 

I dont catch nearly as many fish as some people on here but this technique has worked well for me for the many Kokanee i have caught and the few salmon that I have been lucky enough to hook into.


 

anything