Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Get the net! Get the net! Three words everyone hopes to holler when they're fishing because when the net is needed it probably means that a decent fish is on the line and about to be landed. But just because someone is able to catch a nettable fish doesn't mean that they'll be able to get the fish in the net when it's time to do so. A lot of fish are lost when the "netter" flubs-up his or her duties! Netting a fish isn't difficult, but there are a few particulars that folks should know if they wish to be both efficient and effective at getting their prize catch into the boat or onto the pier.
First things first - make sure you "have" a net. Except maybe when someone is fishing from the beach, I can't imagine a fishing situation when having a net handy "just in case" would not be in the angler's best interest. Even when I'm targeting fish that are way too big for a net, I still have one ready for a quick grab just in case we end up with an unexpected something that needs to be netted, and sometimes that "something" isn't even a fish. How often have we needed to quickly scoop up someone's hat that blew off or a water bottle or other item that accidentally fell overboard. Nets can sometimes be a pain in the butt to store on a boat, but they can be a real lifesaver if you have one when you need it.
Of course, when anglers need to land a large fish they'll usually use a gaff and just "stick" the thing and flip it into the boat, but there will be situations, such as when landing extra large flounder that don't gaff too well or fish that must be released such as large red drum, when a big net is the best tool for the job. And a net needs to be the right size for the job at hand which can also be somewhat of a problem. No one wants to miss an opportunity to land a once in a lifetime catch of some huge fish because they don't have a big enough net. In the same respect, who wants to have some huge net taking up space on the boat all the time when they mostly just use it for scooping up modest-size fish such as flounder and sea bass? If you have plenty of storage space for more than one net it might not be so much of an issue, but most boaters will usually have to make the decision of one over the other.
Netting a fish needs to happen smoothly and on the first try. A bungled up attempt will give the fish all the more incentive not to let itself be brought in and it will definitely be on the lookout for the net the second time around.
One of the most common mistakes made by someone attempting to net a fish is to try and scoop it up tail first. You can't chase a fish through the water with a net! There's too much drag from the mesh to scoop a net through the water and one kick of the fish's tail and it's going to dart right out of the net anyway. Fish must be netted head first, which then creates another problem since the fish will often see the net coming and dodge away from it, and although it's pretty hard to hide a net from a fish, anglers can conceal it a bit by holding it up out of the water and close to the side of the boat until the fish is brought alongside when it can then be plunged down in front of the fish as soon as the angler works it into position.
Whenever possible, the net should be positioned down-current of the fish. This will allow the current to help keep the mesh of the net open and help to drift the fish into it. Anglers will also find it easier to maneuver a fish that's moving with the current than one that's headed into it. Just know that, when directing a fish down current, things are going to happen fast so the net needs to be set and ready early enough that the fish won't come sweeping past and a netting opportunity lost.
Anglers who use the basic two-hook top and bottom rig often learn the hard way that the most tedious and time consuming part of netting a fish is getting the rig out of the net after the fish has been boated. When two hooks, a bank sinker and a squiggling fish end up in the net at the same time you can bet that there's going to be a tangled-up mess to sort out before the fish can be unhooked and deposited in the cooler and the rig can be unwoven from the mesh allowing the net to be ready for another catch. This can be important if there is a hot bite going on and multiple fish are coming in that need netting. The trick is to try and net just the "fish", leaving the rest of the rig and sinker outside of the mesh. Then, when the fish is brought into the boat it should be dumped out of the net right away so that it’s kicking around doesn't tangle things up any more. Above all, try not to get the sinker in the mesh because that one component of the rig can be the most time consuming to get out of the mesh. Hint: If the sinker does get tangled, don't even try to untangle it - it'll be quicker to just disconnect the sinker from the bottom rig, pull the rig out of the net, reconnect the sinker and get back to fishing.
Anytime a fish is landed, the first thing an angler should do is to look and see how well the fish is hooked. If it looks as though the hook is set solid in the jaw, one should feel confident that they will be able to properly work the fish into a good position for the net, gaff or perhaps just to be lifted out of the water by the leader. However, if the hook is just barely hanging on, or if it's a big fish on a small hook that could straighten out at any time, then there will be some urgency to get the fish in the net before something goes awry and the hook pulls.
Well-hooked, small to medium size fish can often be simply cranked across the surface and right into the net. But anglers must make sure that the net is waiting in position and that the fish isn't missed on the first attempt, otherwise the fish is likely to freak out and do something stupid, and once a fish is spooked by the net it will be that much harder to get it back to the boat and it will be watching for the net when it does.
Under normal conditions the fish should be cranked or leadered in close to the boat and anglers should do their best not to spook the fish by allowing it to circle just under the surface until it's in position for the net. Care should be given not to lift the head out of the water as that will put undue pressure on the hook connection and also upset the fish more than it already is. Whoever is handling the net should be watching for an opportunity to put the net in front and slightly under the head of the fish as it is coming towards the boat on one of its circles. If all goes well, the fish will literally swim right into the net.
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
