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new landing net

I can only assume that you must be talking about a different net Steve, it sounds like yours must have straight arms, a push fit, metal into plastic just won't work after any length of time once it's had a bit of grit on it.
The one I've mentioned has one fixed and one loose curved arm which has to be straightened a little to get it into or out of the spreader block, together with the tension provided by the elasticated cord it's a very snug fit. With cold wet hands I've struggled to break it down on occasion. The arms are a D section.
It's also very light.
 
Not the one that i have Lee but those 30plus nets are good for the money...
 
Indeed, strong and a decent price. What else do you want from a piece of netting?
 
Paul Collins said:
I can only assume that you must be talking about a different net Steve, it sounds like yours must have straight arms, a push fit, metal into plastic just won't work after any length of time once it's had a bit of grit on it.
The one I've mentioned has one fixed and one loose curved arm which has to be straightened a little to get it into or out of the spreader block, together with the tension provided by the elasticated cord it's a very snug fit. With cold wet hands I've struggled to break it down on occasion. The arms are a D section.
It's also very light.
Click to expand...

This is my net - spoon shaped but with one detachable arm. On my net the tension clearly isn't enough to hold the arm in place. The detachable arm detached itself when I was netting a barbel and this has happened numerous times when trout fishing. As I said wrapping tape round the d profiled metal arm has helped but when you don't have confidence in a piece of kit it is time to look for a replacement. Sadly nets seem to be manufactured down to a price rather than up to a specification that will actually do the job. I would be happy to spend a bit of money on a net if I knew it was properly suited to barbel fishing and lasted more than a season at best.

Steve
 
Steve Reed said:
This is my net - spoon shaped but with one detachable arm. On my net the tension clearly isn't enough to hold the arm in place. The detachable arm detached itself when I was netting a barbel and this has happened numerous times when trout fishing. As I said wrapping tape round the d profiled metal arm has helped but when you don't have confidence in a piece of kit it is time to look for a replacement. Sadly nets seem to be manufactured down to a price rather than up to a specification that will actually do the job. I would be happy to spend a bit of money on a net if I knew it was properly suited to barbel fishing and lasted more than a season at best.

Steve
Click to expand...

I've had the same issue with this net, caused by the arms bending slightly inwards towards each other and losing their original shape, thereby loosening the cords' taughtness.

The issue can be remedied by gently bending the arms back into shape.

To be fair though, you shouldn't have to do this.

I was lucky enough to have one of the prototype of these nets some 4 years ago and it was bl**dy brilliant. Unfortunately the mice took a liking to the net material last year in my shed. Something seems to have been lost between the prototype arms and the now productionised arms which are now much weaker.
 
It would appear then, judging by our experiences that the Wychwood design is very good, let down by the manufacturing process, the quality control in particular. When I got the 4th net I made sure I inspected the stitching very very carefully. Ideally the 'fold over' which contains the arms should be even all round, even on the goodun the stitching was all over the place, the border is very uneven. My comment to the shop was 'it's not what you'd call laser precision is it'.
I'll stick with it for now but Wychwood is not at the top of my list of good quality tackle manufacturers, Okuma, Drennan, JRC, Diawa and ESP are.
A bit off topic but recently I found it necessary to replace my 40 year old ABU 7000 multiplier, and at the same time finally get the left hand wind multiplier I've always wanted, as they are now much more available than they used to be. The obvious candidate was a 7001, HOWEVER, doing a lot of research it would seem ABU have moved a lot of production to China and introduced a lot of poorer quality components and cheaper reels which according to reviews are not very good. To cut a long story short I ended up with a 6501 one of the few reels which is still 100% made in Sweden, even the 7000/1 is now made in China. The smaller capacity of the 6501 is more than offset by the thinner braid now in use. I'm looking forward to using it for a bit of freshwater lure fishing, as well as sea fishing.
 
abu 7000 is a great reel Paul, i have had mine for donkeys years and its still like new as is my old 10,000 too, a real wopper stopper:)
 
Dont buy a wychwood quickfold. i have had one a year, the rod bends to easily and on thursday the nut actually snapped when landing a 12lb Barbel, luckily i got it in enough to grab hold of the net before losing the fish. Utter rubbish! I might try the Korum latex spoon, any good?
 
The korum latex spoon is a good net,had mine for years but does need a little diy modification.The tightens on the spreader block don't really work,so using an Alan key I removed them and using a fine drill bit went through the spreader block and the top of the arm replacing them with self tapping screws and areldited the whole lot in place.Job done.
 
I had the new fox pan net lasted 12 months and it broken. To be honest not a lover of pan nets so I'm a Nody and gone back to triangle and using the new Drennan one do far so good. I still use my fox barbel net Ive had for years
 
Richard Longmuir said:
The korum latex spoon is a good net,had mine for years but does need a little diy modification.The tightens on the spreader block don't really work,so using an Alan key I removed them and using a fine drill bit went through the spreader block and the top of the arm replacing them with self tapping screws and areldited the whole lot in place.Job done.
Click to expand...

Korum kit quite often seems to benefit from some DIY - a drill and some decent bolts improved the stability of my Korum river pod no end :rolleyes:
 
Neil Hotchin said:
Korum kit quite often seems to benefit from some DIY - a drill and some decent bolts improved the stability of my Korum river pod no end :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That is true of many brands of tackle Neil. I had one of the original Nash Titan bivvies, a bit of well loved kit which had a major weakness. It had a central boss to which all the ribs were attached and swiveled out from. The axles on which these ribs swiveled were plastic...and snapped with monotonous regularity. Drill them out, replace with St. Steel bolts, nylock nuts and washers...jobs a good 'n for life. Same with all the pivot points in bedchairs, chairs, pods and a multitude of other items...get the St/St bolts in there, sorted. We shouldn't need to do this, but sadly we have no choice.

Cheers, Dave.
 
I have more nets than I can use at any one time (Gardner Spoon, Wychwood Quickfold (x2), Fox Specialist, Greys Prodigy 36", Drennan Specialist 32"). They all have strengths and weaknesses. I tend to take whatever I think will be most appropriate on the day for the venue or swim I intend to fish. I'll take into account the depth of water, drop to the water, size of fish expected and how far I'm walking.

The one that I'm surprised not to have seen more comments about, on various fishing fora, is the newish Drennan Specialist. I've found mine to be excellent in almost every scenario other than when there's strong marginal weed growth (something it has in common with any net of similar design). However, I'd concede that they might not be deep enough for some and they are a little on the pricey side. The price you seem to pay for any net with carbon arms.
 
I've used the fox specialist spoon net all season and really liked it....but the screw is no longer solid in the spreader block and I can no longer use it with confidence.

Such a shame because it ticks all the design boxes - if it was more robust.
 
ive had a maver carp 36" triangular net for about 4 years now and its still as good as the first day i used it
 
Graham Hunt said:
I've used the fox specialist spoon net all season and really liked it....but the screw is no longer solid in the spreader block and I can no longer use it with confidence.

Such a shame because it ticks all the design boxes - if it was more robust.
Click to expand...

I guess cost is the reason for the GRP spreader blocks used on so many landing nets these days, but it is a false economy because sooner rather than later either the arms or handle attachment screw become loose. Shame.

Cheers, Dave.
 
After my disaster with the Daiwa Mission one I have gone back to my Whitlock spoon possibly the best net I've owned. If you can find one pay the money and buy, similarly the Insight spoon both quality built to last.
 
Clive Shipman said:
After my disaster with the Daiwa Mission one I have gone back to my Whitlock spoon possibly the best net I've owned. If you can find one pay the money and buy, similarly the Insight spoon both quality built to last.
Click to expand...

will you fit that 18 pounder in it though Clive? ;)
 
18 is just a number, remember if you stand hard enough on the bottom of the net when pulling up the scales anything can weigh 18.
 
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