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Keep net?

Steve Sorrell

Steve Sorrell

Senior Member
I'm thinking of getting a keep net for using whilst trotting on thr river. I've noticed that returning fish in the swim can often spook the shoal. I've no intention of using it for barbel but I wondered if there was anything on the market that was suited particularly for river anglers?
Obviously I'm aware of needing to peg it out properly and wouldn't use it in very hot weather.
I know this is an emotive subject but please don't shoot me down for asking this important question..
 
The use of profanity will not be tolerated on the forum Steve, consider yourself warned!!

You could ask Keith the bear or the Bosnian sniper :D
 
Slightly off-topic, but what would you consider to be the best way to keep a fish for say up to an an hour while a mate arrives to witness your river record:

1. A well pegged-out keepnet or
2. A spoon landing net held/supported by banksticks in reasonable flow or
3. You wouldn't keep it for that length of time even if it was a record breaker?

Not that I've had to worry about this happening (yet) , but....
 
I rested a barbel in my wychwood barbel net recently for maybe twenty minutes whilst someone came to take some pictures.

It's the first time I've done it and I wouldn't normally but it was a very special fish.

I was delighted how well it went and was rewarded with a well rested barbel powering off when I released it.
 
This is one of the reasons I always use a 36 inch triangular four foot deep net for barbel fishing, not really a fan of spoon nets for barbel.
 
Steve,they make two types of keepnet, i think you need to look at silverfish keepnets rather than a carp keepnet,they are just so much softer.(you probably know this already)Sorry cannot recommend a particuler make mine are years old and well out of date.
 
I always say if you pegged a keepnet the wrong way around on a river bed . Barbel would soon make there home there.
 
I've not used one for as long as I can remember. I haven't had problems re spooking shoal fish, when returning a captured fish. Though if it was a bigger specimen, I'd walk a few yards upstream with it, to return it.

My days of keeping fish in keep nets are long gone, no matter how careful one is, and there are some very good fish friendly nets out there, there will always be a deposit of lost scales at the bottom of the net.
 
Anthony Pearson said:
Slightly off-topic, but what would you consider to be the best way to keep a fish for say up to an an hour while a mate arrives to witness your river record:

1. A well pegged-out keepnet or
2. A spoon landing net held/supported by banksticks in reasonable flow or
3. You wouldn't keep it for that length of time even if it was a record breaker?

Not that I've had to worry about this happening (yet) , but....
Click to expand...

Unless their was someone fishing near by who I trusted with the knowledge of said fish coming out and trusted to take the photos then is happily give the fish 5 in the landing net while I set up my camera as confident of decent self takes and do a few snaps myself and slip it back without unnessacary people knowing about the capture and hammering the area after,

And if anybody didn't believe me about a record capture then I wouldn't be too fussed as I know myself what happened
 
Always use one when I'm winter perch fishing off the boat in the Thames. Clearly I have no conclusive evidence about what returned fish 'do' with their friends but it's a confidence thing for me.

Ian
 
Ian Crook said:
This is one of the reasons I always use a 36 inch triangular four foot deep net for barbel fishing, not really a fan of spoon nets for barbel.
Click to expand...

Ian is correct on this , nice and deep , a barbel will be perfectly happy in one of these well pegged out for a short period , spoon nets aren't deep enough , at least the ones I have seen .To answer the original question , most of the keepnets available today seem to be very fine mesh designed for still water fishing . I have used these in rivers and if there is a decent flow the water will push against the net making things a little difficult
 
I use a fox latex spoon designed for big predators ie 20lb plus pike. Big mesh and I've never had a dorsal fin get lodged yet a triangle net I have.
On the use of keep nets. A friend walking the bank of the tidal severn watched an angler who has made barbel dvds use a keep net and fairly successfully.
What really did annoy me once was watching Britain's so called best river match angler, having weighed his catch, chuck from the top of the bank hos 15lb bag of silvers.
Cue fish floating down the river. What's more annoying is that live baiting isn't allowed on the river due to match anglers wanting to preserve precious silvers.

Hypocrisy!
 
Ian, you might, on a banker kinda day, just test the theory and release after capture. You will most probably be pleasantly surprised.

On a few occasions I've even caught the same fish twice - I'm sure many folks will be in the same boat here. :)
 
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