Netting Bass

How do you do it? I see a lot of net men leaning over the side of the boat
with the net poised above the water. That always bothers me, because the
fish always panics when it sees that net coming in at it. I have also had
the line bonked by the net and fish come free at that moment.

I don't have too much trouble netting my own fish (when I remember to have
the net ready LOL), and my method seems to work pretty well for netting a
partner's fish. I use a longer handle net than most folks, and when fishing
with my son I also use a wider walleye style net.

I like to put the net in the water so that the head is submerged about 18
inches below the surface. Then I try to swim the fish up over where I can
naturally sweep the net up under him. It seems to work pretty well fishing
solo, and with partners I fish with regularly I can do that effectively for
them as well. Even when they decide at the last minute to swing the fish in
the boat I can follow it up with the net, and a couple times I have saved a
partner's catch when a fish came loose and fell directly into the net that
was sweeping up under it.

I'm sure there are flaws in my method, so I would be glad to hear what
others do to be good on the net.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com