It seems like to get a decent musky net you have to spend over a 100$ but then I saw this net that is said to be used for catfish and its measurements are pretty close to the musky ones. And it is a lot cheaper so I was wondering why the difference in price and has anyone tried this nets for musky?
Posted 4/28/2009 8:30 AM (#374882 - in reply to #374762) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 574
Get a treated beckman or treated frabil.
My first net was a salmon net.............First fish I caught maybe a 32 incher got its head stuck through 1 of the holes in the net..................Had to cut net on the first fish. Holes are too big, bag has nots for hooks to get stuck in.
Aside from that, I have had a treated frabil, and now have the becman finsaver.
If you fish alone, I would recomend the beckman. Very durable hoop, the best bag made, and lighter than anything else even close to the quality.
I'd definately stay away form that catfish net.
Posted 4/28/2009 8:39 AM (#374885 - in reply to #374882) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 2024
Save your money to buy a REAL *muskie* net. Personally, I would NEVER target muskies without a net specifically designed for the fish. That net doesn't look the least bit fish friendly, despite the description. The meshing looks far too large to prevent fin splitting, and you will have problems both with the care of fish and hook removal (as Jason said above) with a knotted bag.
Save your pennies until you can buy a Beckman, Frabill, or Stowmaster. You might put up a wanted ad on the Buy, Sell, Trade forum and see if someone has a net they are looking to get rid of. Just a thought.
Posted 4/28/2009 9:16 AM (#374891 - in reply to #374762) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN
The hoop might be big enough but my concern would be the netting. Hard to tell from the picture but it seems like it doesn't have much, if at all, a flat bottom to it which keeps the bag open more. Even though it stretches out trying to squeeze a fish down a bag with a narrow opening is difficult. The hooks would snag right away making it difficult to get the whole fish in the net quickly and easily.
I would follow the advice above and find a quality net with a bag that hangs wide open.
Posted 4/28/2009 8:29 PM (#374997 - in reply to #374762) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI
DON'T buy that net. I bought on thinking what you did, and it was NOT cut out for muskies. The netting is too thin to be nice to the fish, and the bag tapers way too quickly for the fish to be able to stay in the water in the net like it should. I could keep their head in the water, but the hoop was usually dangerously close to the water to do so.
The hoop is big enough, and that's it. You could put a replacement Frabill or Beckman bag on it and have a 'decent' net. If you go that route, let me know. I still have mine laying around and depending on shipping I would sell it cheap.
Just don't buy that ned with the intention of using that netting material. Honestly, it would be probably $80 for a new bag, so you might as well just get something with a better yolk and a strong hoop for just a little more.
Posted 4/28/2009 10:46 PM (#375022 - in reply to #374762) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky
Love my Frabil Big K
Cast
Posted 4/29/2009 7:24 AM (#375044 - in reply to #374762) Subject: RE: Musky nets
If you want to save money and still be equipped to handle a muskie, check out Ranger brand nets. I think they are made in Detroit. I bought mine from Sportsman's Warehouse, but Dick's carries these nets as well. After struggling to get a 40" into an inadequate "Great Lakes" model, I bought what I think is called the "Big Game" model. It does the job. I bought the second largest size available, which was as large as I can comfortably handle alone. I'm sure you can get better nets, but bucks count too.
Posted 4/29/2009 10:00 AM (#375081 - in reply to #374882) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK
Jason Bomber - 4/28/2009 9:30 AM
Get a treated beckman or treated frabil.
My first net was a salmon net.............First fish I caught maybe a 32 incher got its head stuck through 1 of the holes in the net..................Had to cut net on the first fish. Holes are too big, bag has nots for hooks to get stuck in.
Aside from that, I have had a treated frabil, and now have the becman finsaver.
If you fish alone, I would recomend the beckman. Very durable hoop, the best bag made, and lighter than anything else even close to the quality.
I'd definately stay away form that catfish net.
Exactly! I fish alone, so I went with the Beckman, and it's significantly lighter than the Frabill.
And I checked your link baldeagle, and yeah, stay away from that thing. You get what you pay for.
Posted 4/29/2009 3:03 PM (#375152 - in reply to #374762) Subject: Re: Musky nets
Location: Sawyer County, WI
I'm happy with my Frabill Big Kahuna. It can be a handful when fishing alone but I haven't missed with it yet. Here's hoping I didn't just jinx myself !
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