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Posts: 151
Location: Chippewa Falls, WI | I currently have the frabill big kahuna net and I like it. However it takes up more space than I would like and the bag feels heavy and his hard to "fill" when trying to net one. I lost my personal best on LOTW this fall because my brother had a hard time "filling" the bag and the back of the net hung down, fish hung the bait in the bag, rolled and flopped out of the net. I'm thinking about selling that and getting the stowmaster. It would obviously take up less space and the bag seems lighter which should make it easier to move through the water when netting a fish. I read up on some other threads about the nets but I would like some direct feedback from guys who use the stowmaster and how they like it or any suggestions to make the big Kahuna easier/lighter to use. thanks, adubs |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | I've had my Stowmaster TS116Y for 3 seasons now. I bought it from Amazon (cheaper now then 3 years ago). I like the net a lot except that the hooks will tangle in the net. It's light & very easy for netting the fish by yourself (even in the fast current of the Detroit & St. Clair Rivers). The netting is rubber coated & very thin, which is why the hooks tangle so easily. My buddy has an older Stowmaster that has thicker netting & doesn't tangle the hooks but it's heavier & harder to net by yourself. 51 1/2" in the Stowmaster 
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Posts: 149
| I found the bag to be very frustrating. Most fish I netted by myself would become a tangled mess and I generally use barbless hooks. I replaced the bag with a Frabil 4666 and problem solved. With the Frabil bag, it probably weighs close to the big kuhuna. As for saving room, it is nice for travel and storage but I keep it open while fishing so you don't gain anything there. If I had a mulligan,I'd go with the conservation series Frabil or Beckman.
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Posts: 358
| Like my Stowmaster....now just got to....get some time to fish and put some in it.....SOON !!! |
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Posts: 134
| i bought a conservation series frabill this year and love it!! great depth and lighter than kahuna. |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Ditto what was said on the Conservation Series net. Frabill licensed the design that Stowmaster uses, so you can buy a Frabill as well. |
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Posts: 299
| I've had both the Stowmaster and Big Kahuna and finally had to buy 1 size down from the Big Kahuna. I had the Stowmaster that was one of the first to come out and what a nightmare!! Way too heavy and every single fish was stuck in the net. They would get so wrapped up and had a really hard time getting them out. The Kahuana is great but way too big when fishing solo. The Frabill Big Game is perfect and will hold the biggest of fish. It's light enough when fishing solo. The new netting on Stowmaster might make a difference or the Frabill one but I would still check the weight of entire net. That Stowmaster seemed really heavy to me vs others |
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