HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[cjlandry]

Wednesday night I caught three horse-mullet in my 4' cast net in a single cast. They shredded the thing, so I had to get a new one today.

I decided to get a 6-footer this time, and I'm glad I did.

I went in the back yard to practice with it and it's much easier to get a good, open cast with it than it was with the 4-footer. It's a bit heavier, but I get more good casts with it than I ever did with the smaller one.

Just thought I'd pass this on in case anyone is thinking of buying the smallest one available. Spend the extra $3 and you may well be happier.

Now I just gotta figure out how to keep from scaring all the mullet away when I walk up to the bank. Any suggestions there?
_________________
Chad Landry

"Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses"

[C.A. Golla]

cjlandry,
Get a longer rope!!!!!!!!

Distance out performs size every time.
I'll double up on the length of rope to reach them before they scatter. This is where we have better luck with a smaller net because it's trown further and more accurately than a 5 or 6 foot net.
Just my take on nets,
Charlie

[am3]

im with charlie double hand lines work wonders on scattering mullet.

[cjlandry]

Well, I have plenty of extra rope from the last castnet. Now I just gotta be able to get it out there to 'em.

Thanks for the suggestions.
_________________
Chad Landry

"Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses"

[ShawnQ]

I have seen people throw a castnet two different ways.

One way is by grabbing the very top of the net in their left hand. They then reach down to the bottom of the net, and grab it in the center, and place it in their left hand. With the right hand, the grab another piece of the bottom of the net, and hold it out to the right side of their body, thus holding the net 1/4 of the way open. They then rotate at the torso, swing the part of the net in the right hand to get it rotating, and release the left hand. This is the ONLY way I know how to do it...and it sucks.

NOW, I have seen other people grab the net and throw it with one hand. They grab it in the middle, and do a simple swinging motion, and one way or another the net spreads out. Anyone know how to do this?!?! I've seen people throwing nets for Tilapia on local lakes here in San Antonio...and they throw all day, just like this.

This would make it easier to throw a net in the surf, because you could avoid the waves.

Thanks
Shawn

[cjlandry]

One thing I learned today is that you don't need to grab the net halfway down. Grab it closer to the top (center) and you'll have a much larger area already fanned out. Then give the body a twist to the right and throw to the left.

After reading the points about the distance, I decided to go try the shredded net a little more. I found that the reason I had problems before was because I was grabbing it in the middle, which was too close to the bottom to get a decent area of the net fanned out.

Now I think getting another small castnet may have been the way to go. Oh well, live and learn.
_________________
Chad Landry

"Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses"

[Seabass]

Hey Shawn,

Good to meet ya at the SCA meeting the other night. I've got a third technique for throwing a cast net. I put a piece of the end of the net in my teeth, carry out an arm's lenth of net with my left hand, and use my right hand to swing and throw it (letting go with my teeth at the same time). I can get a consistent perfect circle with it. Only problem is that I can only throw it around 7 feet away. This technique will NOT work in waist deep water. I can get a longer cast with it if I get a good swing using my waist, and bringing the net behind me in a loading position, however this takes time and the bait can easily move away.

I've been working on the first technique you talked about and hope to get good at it.

Seabass

[George]

One of the things I learned from Capt Billy is that a smaller cast net is sure a lot easier on your body. That extra 2 pounds of lead doesn't seem like that much until you have to throw the net a dozen times or more when bait is scarce. The smaller net doesn't beat your shoulders up like the bigger net. The first thing I do when I get them home is to put a longer rope on them, usually around 30 ft. You shouldn't tie two ropes together as the knots will tend to snag when you throw the net and get tangled.
George

[Skipjack]

I throw a net an interesting way. I have two ways of throwing a net. One way I get a perfect spread but short distance and another way I get mediocre spread and more distance.

The link below is for a perfect spread.

http://www.gulfcoastrednecks.com/How_to_castnet.htm

The other method I use is the calusa method. You can view it on their website.

http://www.calusa.com/howtothrow.cfm
_________________
-Skip

[am3]

The easiest way i know of throwing the net is to grab the top about 3 pr 4 inches down where the mesh changes to a thicker mesh with the right hand. bring a piece of the weighted line up with your left hand and place it over your right hand. grab the line with your left and slide it down and grab, with the left, both the hand line and weightline together bring it up and spread your arms apart and twist and let go. i can easily throw out 2 hand lines worth of line with a 4 foot cast net. you can roll up the hand line and put it in your right hand also or if you are in a real hurry you can go ahead and just leave it on the ground, just don't step on it. makes for one ugly cast that will scare the bait away.

[cjlandry]

That sounds almost identical to what I've figured out to do, am3.

I got the Laker brand castnets. Both the 4' and the 6' came with identical instructions which state to grab it about a foot down from the top. Well, a foot is too much for a 4' net, but just about right for a 6' net (for my arms).

I have a 4-1/2' castnet that the previous owner left in my boat, so I'm gonna try that one as well.

I do love the extra radius on the 6' net, but I can now see the advantage of a smaller one.

On a side note, last night I couldn't find any finger mullet. I'm guessing they headed for deeper waters. I netted one 17" horse mullet, one 12" hardhead, two 5" hardheads, one 9" striped bass, and one 4" finger mullet. The mullet managed to catch three hardheads for me before he died. Afterward he got eaten off the hook. Is a 2' hardhead something to brag about? 'Cause that's the only decent sized fish I caught last night.

[Vern]

I like skips vid link, I have never tried that, but I have been in limited room situations where the bait is close and I think that throw would work good. I throw a 12' diameter net and space and fatige become an issue real fast. CJ, are you throwing a 6' radius or 6' diameter net? Congrats on the hardhead CJ, I have caught them that were as big as my hook before, it is amaizing how they can get all of that in thier mouth!!

[cjlandry]

It's 6' Radius. Of course, the radius seems to be measured from the lengths of the pull lines. I wouldn't say that it opens to a full 12' even when I get a good circular cast. Probably closer to 9' wide open.

Those hardheads are just nasty. I'd rather catch an Alligator Gar or a Choupique.

[Vern]

[cjlandry]

I learned that they call it a "Bowfin" in Texas and most other places. I still haven't "unlearned" all the Cajun terminology from my home.

BTW, Choupique is pronounced "Shoe-pick".

Also, I just watched the video for the first time. Throwing a castnet with your teeth is how I've always seen it done up until now. I've done it that way (many years ago), but it hurts when you don't release it at just the right moment. I prefer not to use my teeth since I'm a few years older and they might just fall out.