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KevinWI

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Facts are facts....From a manicured lawn, to the man cave to the hot rod: Guys love projects. We do...must be the sense of accomplishment we get. Probably goes all the way back to the first spear ever made to take down that Mastadon. (the next guy drew flames on his to appear to fly faster in the air)
Here, we get together because we enjoy modifying our favorite tin boat because we all enjoy fishing...we have different ways of going about it for differing views and needs, and we share our projects with eachother proudly....new ideas spark another to improve on what's been done before.....we take pictures and videos and look for the approval of our peers....but it is all done with one goal in mind. Fishing. we love it...it is what drives us to build our projects in an attempt to catch more fish...in comfort and a sense of self......
But......we can have the best modification in the world, the best decking, flooring, carpeting, storage areas, switches, livewell, trolling motor, bilge, livewell and aereator pumps, anchors, anchor rope, anchormate, rodholders, rods, reels, line.....but nothing....and I mean NOTHING says you are ACTUALLY GOING TO CATCH A FISH until you buy a net. Everything else says you are going fishing. A net says you're going to catch one.

So....with all that said, I'm happy to announce that yesterday, I bought a net. Carry on. :LOL2: :mrgreen:
 
Just kidding about the tarpon.....however some of the fish around here would just not fit in a net....good problem to have. We just gaff them or use a boga grip for toothy critters.
 
bigwave said:
Just kidding about the tarpon.....however some of the fish around here would just not fit in a net....good problem to have. We just gaff them or use a boga grip for toothy critters.

Get a bigger net!! I like that problem too. It's usually sharks or bull reds for us, but you can at least get the head in sometimes. I'm terrible with a gaff. I might as well just cut the line.
 
Very well said... By reading that, it's official... I AM A MAN! LOL!!! Btw I already have a net, one for bass and one for cats and Stripers. But I generally leave the nets at home because I feel it gives me a better chance to hook a nice fish in hopes of needing it and so the fish think im not prepared. I swear it works that way sometimes.
 
I've lost some nice fish over the years for lack of a net.

When I was a kid, I lost a doormat flounder, had to have been 5 pounds or better. Didn't have a net. I figured I'd just idle over to the hill with the boat, and then pull him onto the shore. Well, on the way over to the bank, he thrashed one time at the surface, and the line parted, and it was bye-bye doormat.

It was the last time I fished without a net, and it was also the last time I used a factory-made flounder rig. The line parted off where it was swaged into the sinker. probably never would have happened if it were crimped to a swivel, or even tied, instead of being swaged inside the sinker (old design back in the early 1980's)


I also began using a net when gigging, after losing a couple of nice winter trout. I always try to get fish with a head shot with the gig, or the bow and arrow, but sometimes, the fish moves right when you go for it, so, that upsets the aim. Flounder is one thing, because it's a flat fish, the gig goes all the way through, and the barbs usually take hold, and the fish is firmly on the gig. But with trout, or spot tail bass, the body is much deeper in its cross-section, so, the only way to assure it is to hit it with a head shot, which hopefully stuns it, as well as locking onto the barbs.


Anyhow, after gigging a trout one night that was at least 8 pounds, I had him pinned to the oyster bed, and he was still thrashing. It was just behind the head, unfortunately, so, it didn't stun him. I waited for him to stop thrashing, went to lift him into the boat, and guess what....he thrashed, and got off, only to escape with a wound that would surely kill him (that really irks me, not only losing a fish, but a wasted resource, as well)

So, after seeing that unfortunate scenario a couple of times, now, in addition to a gig, I always keep a landing net nearby. Whenever I hit a fish with the gig, I pin it to the bottom, then move in with the net, and scoop it into the net, and lift the gig and the net at the same time. This method works really well.

Also, I find that with the compound bow, or the crossbow, the arrow head penetrates all the way through the fish, whether it's a flounder or a spot tail bass, and the design of that arrow pretty much holds the fish securely, I haven't seen one come off yet. Can't say the same for the gig, though.

Also, when I'm out gigging at night, I see a lot of blue crabs, as well as stone crabs. If the gigging is lousy, I'll use the net to scoop up a handful of blue crabs, and maybe get a few stone crab claws while I'm at it.

With all that said, I'm a real firm believer in landing nets.

HOWEVER, (and maybe this is just where I live) when fishing within sight of other people, in broad daylight, I've learned that a landing net can ruin a good fishing hole. Let someone see you with a net, scooping up a fish, and the next thing you know, there's 5 boats on top of you.

I've learned to use a net, and basically fish, for that matter.... with a lot of discretion, such as, using a small net with a short handle, already having it in position, hanging over the side of the boat, secured with a rope or a bungee, and netting the fish on the side of the boat that people can't see. Also, never wiping my hands with a towel where people can see, instead, I wash them in the water, or I keep the towel out of sight. And also, when people are riding past, using the 'nodding nudnik' method of fishing, (that's where they wait to see someone else catch a fish, then they throw out on top of them).....I set the rod down, or reel it in and fiddle with the rig, or lay back in the boat like I'm so bored, I'm taking a nap. Either that, or I make a really crappy cast like I don't know WTH I'm doing, and I might be a danger to myself and other anglers....LMAO. Is that terrible or what? :twisted:

But then again, I am rather clandestine and sneaky to begin with, and I see fishing as a covert operation.
 
But then again, I am rather clandestine and sneaky to begin with, and I see fishing as a covert operation.

That cracks me up PSG....I got one better for ya....when someone pulls up close to you, Turn your spinning reel upside-down and reel backwards, and scream oh yea baby when you catch a hardhead..... :lol:
 
Landing a nice big top water jitterbug with dual tridents right in their boat may persuade them to fish elsewhere...;)
 
i bought a net last year only because the wife got a portable fish smoker and was getting tired of me losing :wink: fish right at the boat. i like catching them but i rarely keep them. i don't like fish.
 
Jdholmes said:
Landing a nice big top water jitterbug with dual tridents right in their boat may persuade them to fish elsewhere...;)


:mrgreen: :twisted: Like I said, one of my tactics of keeping folks away is to cast like I don't know what I'm doing. "Oops, sorry 'bout that." LMAO
 
I have a net, I use it to retrieve the ducks I shoot from my duck blind boat.
 
One great day a few years ago, my buddy and I were fishing off a break wall at the end of a pier near my parents house. The break wall was comprised of boulders of various sizes, is about 15 feet tall, and the boulders at the bottom are all super slick covered in algae and splashing water--so the bottom rocks are pretty dangerous to walk on. The top boulders have been sheered off and filled with concrete for nice walkable surface though. The yellow perch fishing is great and you just swing em up to you.

That day we were fishing for whatever would bite, the bigger the better. So needless to say we were completely stoked when we started hooking into some real nice size Northern Pikes! Problem was--we had no no way of landing them without a net--which of course, we did not have. We hooked into 3 pike, all 36 inches or more, and all three threw the hook with us standing on the boulders trying to gingerly walk down to the water level without falling into the water. #-o #-o #-o

From that day on, I never forgot to take my net to that break wall... I also have never caught another Norther Pike since then.
 
bigwave said:
That cracks me up PSG....I got one better for ya....when someone pulls up close to you, Turn your spinning reel upside-down and reel backwards, and scream oh yea baby when you catch a hardhead..... :lol:


See that all the time! :LOL2:
 

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