What size fish warrants landing net use?

[Notts Michael.]

Hi all.
I recently returned to fishing after a very long break, so far just canal sessions, mostly pulling out sub 1lb Perch and Roach, I tend to use the landing net for pretty much everything unless it's obviously 3 or 4 inches long, is this unnecessary, and is there a minimum size fish that people use the landing net to bring in? I have seen someone swing in a Perch of around a pound using no net, to hand under its own weight which looked a bit unkind to the fish, especially as the guy had a landing net. what is the usual point that most people would get the net under the fish? half a pound upwards?
Cheers
Michael.

 

[wetthrough]

I swung one in a little while ago and thought it was about as big as I'd want to swing. Weighed it and it was just under 7oz but it might depend on your rod. At the time I only had a 3.2M net handle. I've since bought a Drennan Twist Lock handle which is much more manoeuvrable and net everything but the tiddlers. If there's a chance I might need the long one I set both up.

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

American bass anglers will swing anything up to 5lb "into their hand" (boat) but lets face it, their fish welfare is bad at the best of times.

 

[103841]

Isn’t it possible those Bass were heading for the dinner plate?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

There is no real hard and fast rule as it all depends on your hook length strength, mainline strength, type of hook (barb or barbless) and the type and action of the rod you are using.

 

[108831]

Hook size,line strength,rod strength all come into this question,then there is the question of possible serious damage on the fish's innards,mouth etc,looking back I swung some big roach in matches,ones that today i would net,indeed smaller would grace my net.

 

[john step]

I would guess at about 3 ozs as a max. My reasoning is this. If you are consistently catching fish of this size the chances are you are using a light hooklink. On such a light hooklink it doesn't seem wise to lift out anything much heavier as not only the hoolink is light but so is your rod tip.

Apart from straining the tackle it would start to damage the fish.

As an aside try weighing on of those sub one pound perch. Many anglers completely misjudge perch weight as they look to be bigger than they are.

 

[markcw]

It also depends on venue rules, some will state that all fish must be netted which is a bit much when some look like razor blades with fins and are hanging on to a maggot or piece of worm, also I would say it depends on the method being used, If using a pole with heavyish elastic and a smaller fish takes the bait, by smaller I mean around 8oz to 12oz they are possible to swing in, with a whip I would say depends on stiffness and line strength, float rod I have swung in fish maybe I shouldn't have, but these days if in a match I will net most fish I am not sure of swinging in, One species I wont swing in is skimmers, due to soft mouth,

 

[108831]

To my shame posting this I have swung 12oz roach,loads of them,virtually all 10-12ozs in a match on the Gt.Ouse back in the day,catching on tare in the last two hours of a four and a half hour match,I was swinging them because I had three different pike waiting to ambush them and if I slid the roach over the net they would have been fodder,I won the match with 22lbs 14ozs and had lean periods(if you can call 5-7 minutes lean)where I couldn't find the shoal where the pike had spooked them a few yards.....

 

[Tee-Cee]

In the past, on the odd occasion when fishing hemp/tares and the fish really up for it with a bite a cast, I used to find myself starting to swing fish far bigger than I should, in my haste to get a new bait back in the water. I have had times when I have stopped fishing and mentally (sometimes out loud) asked myself "what on earth are you doing" when I've slid a nice roach back without a second glance, having lifted it out of the water - on light tackle!

I am pleased to say this dreadful habit no longer forms part of my fishing and these days I net everything of size.
In fact I will often stop to admire the simple beauty of a pristine roach of no size at all before slipping it back with the occasional thought that it forms part of tomorrows fishing.......

I sometimes think it just laziness or the 'don't want to get the net wet for one fish' syndrome, on the part of some..

All fish deserve the utmost respect..........don't they?

 

[markcw]

I am like whitty over the years if in a match and predators in your swim, its been a case of … strike.. reel in fast.. judge the distance where you can lift the fish from the water and swing it in. I have had more than a decent bend on my tip section swinging them in due to the inertia, a lot less than I would have if played them to the net,

 

[steve2]

When I match fished there were many commercial venues where all fish had to be netted. Anyone caught swinging in fish of any size would be disqualified.
Even remember having to net a few gudgeon.

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

Isn’t it possible those Bass were heading for the dinner plate?

Not always. A lot of bass anglers just dont use nets. If they cant swing it in they will bring it to the side of the boat and lip it. I have never understood how they can be so ill equipped when they are stood on expensive fishing boats

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Fishing in the US is totally different than fishing in the UK, and fish care is almost non-existentover there as the vast majority do go to the pot.

Fish are considered as a commodity, nothing more and nothing less, so things like landing nets are not seen (except for trout fishing) and if you want to see an American“angler” die laughing then try to explain an unhooking mat to them . . . . .

In Texas Ihave seen people shooting Carp with bow and arrow with a line attached where on landing they are just thrown up the bank . . . . the same in Mississippi too.

In fact in most of the southern States hunting shooting and fishing is seen so very differently to here in the UK . . . . .

 

[rayner]

I since 1999 I net every fish, due more to necessity than choice.
My limitations leave me no other choice.
Before 99 I used to swing small fish, anything over 6ozish were always netted mostly because I used hook lengths of .08/.10.
Commercial fish are nowhere near as shy as I remember wild fish from more natural waters.

 

[steve2]

Fish are considered as a commodity, nothing more and nothing less,

Surely with the commercialization in all types of fishing in the UK we are no different.
OK we don’t yet shoot carp with bows and arrows but we do treat fish as an out and out commodity. No club or commercial fishery would exist if they didn’t make profit.

 

[tigger]

As has already been said, there are a number of factors that would determine wether a fish can safely be swung in. The strength of the rod, the line, the size of hook and the species of fish. Larger specimens of some fish, dace for example can usually be swung in with no detrement to the fish or the tackle. Personally I don't think it's worth swinging in any fish over a pound or so as it's body weight may cause damage to it's mouth. I think perches mouths are much more suceptible to tearing as they have a thin membrane behind their lips and so in their case anything over several ounces should probably be netted to be on the safe side....jmo of course.

 

[stillwater blue]

Not always. A lot of bass anglers just dont use nets. If they cant swing it in they will bring it to the side of the boat and lip it. I have never understood how they can be so ill equipped when they are stood on expensive fishing boats

Bassmaster Elite Series, one of the two big bass competitions in the US doesn't allow the use of a landing net.

I think the argument goes it prevents split fins and removal of fish slime thus better for the fish. Obviously being flipped into a boat to flap around, having a safety pin but into the mouth with a float on, retaining fish in a live well, weighing and holding them aloft for a crowd to cheer at doesn't do the fish any damage or stress them out at all

 

[Notts Michael.]

Cheers for the replies, John Step.... Yes, I'll take the digital scales and see if I'm misjudging weights, especially Perch, as they're commonly caught in the canal I tend to fish.
I hadn't thought of the threat from predators in the water in matches.
I just got a better/longer handle for the net than the 2mtr tele 'travel' one I've been using, but will use it where the longer one isn't necessary.
I think in my case as it's early days and I'm not used to judging what exactly I'm bringing in, I tend to use the net more often than not.

 

[markcw]

Michael.. why not use the longer handle at a shorter length ?, simples as the meercat would say.