I remember my first landing net. It was made from lightweight aluminum tubing, bent in that classic, teardrop shape. The netting was woven from rough, green plastic cord better suited for a gill net.
A loop of elastic cord hung from the handle. I used that cord to attach the net to my cloth vest. It stayed tied to my vest and stretched out when landing a fish. The net hung awkwardly, heavy end down, and swung wildly as I fished. It also banged against my legs when I walked.
That gear, matched with a pair of Red Ball rubber waders and a Kmart fly rod, completed my cheapskate fly fishing look, circa the 1980s.
That net was also dangerous in aggressive wading situations. And occasionally, the green plastic gillnetting would catch on a tree limb or stream-side brush and if you didn’t notice the tug of that elastic cord stretching behind you, the net would eventually break free and hurl toward your back with alarming velocity.
When someone smarter than me got the bright idea to hang the landing net right side up from the back of a fishing vest, it was a revelation. Flipping the net around meant the weight of it held tight against your back. This setup was far less awkward and with a magnetic quick-release, made landing a trout easy.
I’ve been using a Simms fishing vest I bought on sale for about 15 years. It’s a little stained from leaking bottles of dry fly dressing and has more pockets than I’ll ever need, but it has held up just fine. I expect another decade out of it. For many years, a wooden, Blue Ribbon landing net, made in Bozeman, hung from that vest. Blue Ribbon makes some of the finest wooden nets around. I could feel it in the handle every time I netted a fish.
You can tell when a net maker is phoning it in by the feel of the handle. Blue Ribbon takes the time to shape it so that it feels like an extension of your hand. I hope the sport who found that net where I mistakenly left it, on the bank of the North Tongue River in the Wyoming Bighorns, is putting it to good use.
I’ve replaced that net with a different type, one of the newer landing nets from Fishpond, made from fiberglass and carbon fiber. I’ve noticed many fly-fishers using longer-handled nets like this and wanted to try one. I’ve used that net a few times now and the longer handle is great for getting fish under control, quickly. As an added bonus, at 32 inches it doubles as a wading staff. The hoop of the net is easy to hold, and it is much easier to deploy than an elastic-corded, multi-piece wading staff.
One drawback to my new net is that it rides a little awkwardly. I’m using a holster mounted on my wading belt, but the top-heavy net flopped awkwardly as I fished. So, I added a magnetic quick release to the D-ring where I’d mounted that Blue Ribbon gem, and that has secured the net. However, it now attaches in two places so it’s a little awkward and slower to deploy. I think I can live with it, but I will try it without the holster and see how that works.
Fishpond also makes a rubber end cap to fit over the handle, protecting it and adding grip when it is used as a wading staff. Unfortunately, with the end cap, the handle is too thick to easily pull out of the holster. I had to set my rod down as it takes two hands to pull the net clear. That isn’t going to work when there’s a fish on the business end of my line.
The holster is still being evaluated, but the end cap is history.