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ANOTHER landing net thread, groan.

D

David Gauntlett

Senior Member
Hi lads, as above...with profuse apologies. I need to know if anyone has come across a folding spoon type frame that actually works? I have used the traditional triangular, with straight fibreglass arms and drawstring connection between them, and they work well because the arms are extremely strong and they flex back to shape even if they do bend inwards under the weight of a large carp or whatever...but the corners are a pita in a very overgrown swim.

At the moment I use a large spoon, which does away with that problem...but is a REAL pita to carry about.

A folding spoon SHOULD be the best of both worlds, but unfortunately, because of the tight-ish bends required to form the slightly D shape, the arms have to be metal...which, in the manufacturers efforts to limit the inevitable extra weight...is rather thin. The end result is, when they pull towards the centre, as they naturally will under stress...they tend to stay that way a little more each fish. In the case of the Abu Garcia net, that fault is so pronounced that they are next to useless in a fairly short time. I rather liked the look of the new-ish Korum sample, but again I have been told that they suffer with the same problem, albeit much more slowly.

So, back to the question...is there a folding spoon net frame out there which actually works? Or is the design fault insurmountable?

Cheers, Dave.
 
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Jon Frisby said:
Think Wychwood do one David.
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But...does it work Jon? Will it maintain it's shape for a reasonably long term...or will it slowly bend in towards the centre, like all the others I have heard of so far? They all look the dogs danglies when you put them together in the shop, but it doesn't last long in my experience.

Cheers, Dave.
 
All the sponsored wychwood anglers says its the dogs danglies and being an intelligent bloke, it must be.....
 
The reason you give regarding the weakness of such a net is why I don't use them.
Fox Predator strong understated and will land Barbel without collapsing.
 
OK, I have the ABU and Wychwood amongst my collection of folding landing nets as well as some home grown and a few antiquities.
Just a personal feeling but find the Wychwood a bit awkward (it's a bit like a triangular set up with angles) and prefer the set up of the folding ABU. Both have plastic blocks and rely on elasticated bungee type cord to get the tension (instead of the flex of the arms found in a triangular set up).
Now, bungee cords can deteriorate quite quickly and unfortunately lead to tension problems. My answer over several seasons of using the ABU is to renew the cord with heavier and new bungee. Problem for my sort of use solved.........
I did notice that on a visit to a local tackle shop that their ABU folders had bungee well past its sell by date and this might be some of the problems associated with collapsing.
Cheers
Bob
 
Dave,

My ABU is three seasons in and has had a few decent kippers in it and it is performing as well as when it was new without any alterations. This is probably not much help to you but I suppose it is possible that they changed the design specification between our respective purchases,
 
Neil Smart said:
The reason you give regarding the weakness of such a net is why I don't use them.
Fox Predator strong understated and will land Barbel without collapsing.
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That net is my first choice too Neil..... I think the PREDATOR name scares people off.
Closely seconded by the Korum net.
 
Have a look at the korum Dave, it doesn't use any bungee. I haven't used one but have looked at them and they seem to have about the best solution.
 
Dave, if you have a 32 inch triangular net with fibre glass arms, i.e. pretty soft and flexible, shorten the cord by about a third and it curves the ends in, works suprisingly well. if you shorten it by using a loop you can always put back to full length if required.
 
I had so much trouble with nets i just use a gaff now:eek: I still use an unhooking mat though....
 
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i have a korum 30" folding spoon and i`m very pleased with it and not had any problems with it but the normal korum spoon nets have a design fault in my opinion in the area where the thread meets the net as there is a rivet right through the middle of the thread !, mine snapped off when returning a 14lb`er to rest before release.
 
Hugh Bailey said:
With 2.75lb rods and 20lb braid, I don't think you need a net or gaff - just swing them all to hand.
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Now you're talking Hugh....and if you use a big enough hook you can hold it by the shank and just shake the fish off the hook, while it's still hanging in mid air. Leave it up the bank for half an hour to quieten down, take yer photos and then throw it back. no need to worry about them floating belly up as they go downstream...I've noticed they all do that, so it must be a natural habit to play dead. I reckon as soon as they are out of sight, they quickly flip over and swim off, cunning little devils.

Seriously though, many thanks for all your ideas. As far as Neil and Jons predator net goes....I already have a solid spoon net, I just find very big spoons an a-hole to move around/change swims. Strap it on the back of your rucksack and it stick out either side and catches on everything.

The Abu Garcia seems seems to suffer from weak arms and the plastic spreader block is too soft, allowing the holes for the arms to open out, eventually leaving you with a net about half as wide as you started with. I don't think it's the bungee cord stretching Bob, I think it's the above allowing the arms to close together, so the cord sags after some time.

I rather like Crookies idea of over tightened fiberglass arms....I might try that.

Lastly, the Korum. I have not seen this net, so should look at it as Mark said, rather than rely on others observations. Incidentally, how does it join in the middle if it doesn't have a cord?

I had visions before I posted this of taking a Wychwood style net and cutting to length a piece of hollow carbon or aircraft dural tubing of appropriate diameter, threading the tensioning cord through that and popping the end of the inturned metal arms into that. You would then have a triangle with two bowed sides ( with nice rounded corners so they don't catch) plus a straight front section. All three sides would be of stiff-ish material, thus stopping any tendencies for the original arms to pull together. Sorted :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Mine is a three section hinged thing which I've had for about 4 years now. Unfortunately I cant remember who made it as it is on its third mesh and has no labels (the first mesh was too shallow, the mice ate the first replacement so I'm on number two replacement.
There are those who say this design is too flimsy for barbel fishing but I've had a fair few fish in it including doubles up to 16 lb with no sign of any damage.
 
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