Ifly4trout.com

fetzeran · Joined: 21 Jul 2012 Posts: 1

Does anyone know what type of solution might work best for cleaning a wooden fly-fishing net? I want to clean the netting, but I don't want to use anything that would A) damage the netting B) damage the wood C) catch fish I harm in the future or D) add toxic chemicals to streams.
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DryFly · Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 327 Location: Farmington, NM

Hi Fetzeran. That's a good question as I imagine not a lot of folks really pay much attention to the net in terms of maintenance. I have an old Orvis net I carry, also wooden, and I find it accumulates quite a bit of mud, algae, slime etc. from time to time. I have gone to placing it in my garage utility sink and thoroughly rinsing it with very warm water, plugging the drain and then leaving it to soak after adding just a capful or so of liquid Dawn dish detergent for an hour or so. Then, drain the water and do some more rinsing with cold water until all the soap is gone. I like to rinse it excessively just to make sure there's no more soap in the fabric.

If your wooden frame begins to show signs of wear, the only way I know to refurbish it is to unlace the bag from it, clean, sand lightly and varnish. You would want to get a varnish that will stand up in heavy outdoor applications.

That brings up the next point....I sure would like to replace that nylon mesh with a more fish-friendly material, such as the rubber bags found on many newer nets. Anyone know if these might be special ordered somewhere for a variety of sizes? Mine is a fairly small net, which is what I like about it on the one hand, but it's not very deep and it would help to have a larger bag on it.

I try not to use the net much, only in certain situations where the fish would be extremely difficult to release without netting it as in very fast water with no place to move. I use a release tool devised by a good friend that works very well (far better than any of the ones I have purchased) with flies up to size 18 and smaller, which covers most of the patterns folks are likely to use on the San Juan, and rarely even touch a fish. That said, there are on occasion situations where the location of the hook makes it necessary to use the net and sometimes even hemastats.....that's when a fish friendly net really comes in handy. So, if anyone knows where I can get such a bag for my old wooden frame, please chime in here.

Thanks, and tight lines to all.

DryFly
(Andreas Novak)

PS - This post would likely be more appropriate in the "General Discussion" forum and may get a better response there.....

herefishy · Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 146 Location: Las Cruces, NM

You can buy replacement "measure net" bags that will fit most nets. They just zip on, and it's kind of fun to see exactly how long your fish is.
Any chance you could post a pic of your release tool?

jshin · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 23

Brodin sells replacement for their nets. Perhaps you can find one that will fit your frame. They seem reasonably priced. Here is the link http://www.brodin.com/Ghost_Bags.html
They also have instructions on how to restring the frame when replacing the net on the same site. I hope this is helpful, Jerry

DryFly · Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 327 Location: Farmington, NM

Thanks for the suggestions. I will follow up as I plan to refurbish my net this winter.

Herefishy, just looked at the FAQ and it seems pictures can not be posted directly on this site, just links to them at other sites that are publicly accessible. When you mentioned this, I was reminded that I don't remember ever seeing a picture on here....... If you PM me from an email address that you would like for me to send them to, I will do that.

Thanks,

DryFly

chal3oye · Joined: 22 Jan 2014 Posts: 1 Location: Afghanistan

I know to refurbish it is to unlace the bag from it, clean, sand lightly and varnish. You would want to get a varnish that will stand up in heavy outdoor applications.

That brings up the next point....I sure would like to replace that nylon mesh with a more fish-friendly material, such as the rubber bags found on many newer nets. Anyone know if these might be special ordered somewhere for a variety of sizes? Mine is a fairly small net, which is what I like about it on the one hand, but it's not very deep and it would help to have a larger bag on it.

I try not to use the net much, only in certain situations where the fish would be extremely difficult to release without netting it as in very fast water with no place to move. I use a release tool devised by a good friend that works very well (far better than any of the ones I have purchased) with flies up to size 18 and smaller, which covers most of the patterns folks are likely to use on the San Juan, and rarely even touch a fish. That said, there are on occasion situations where the location of the hook makes it necessary to use the net and sometimes even hemastats.....that's when a fish friendly net really comes in handy. So, if anyone knows where I can get such a bag for my old wooden frame, please chime in here.
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cisco-ccna http://www.cisco-ccna.me

Rice Addict · Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 21 Location: LBB, TX

I replaced my old cloth net about 8 years ago with the "measure net" that herefishy was talking about.

They have different size bags-only available on this website: http://www.themeasurenet.com/Measure-Nets.html or you can get a whole bag and stick combo. I actually got mine at the Sportsman's Warehouse in Albuquerque on my way up to the Juan one year, so places do carry them locally.

I like the net because your hooks don't stick it in like the cloth nets, rubber (I guess) is more fish friendly, the built in measure can be handy on the whoppers, and it's very easy to unzip and take off to clean.

vastonsmith · Joined: 08 May 2015 Posts: 1

I try not to use the net much, only in certain situations where the fish would be extremely difficult to release without netting it as in very fast water with no place to move. I use a release tool devised by a good friend that works very well (far better than any of the ones I have purchased) with flies up to size 18 and smaller, which covers most of the patterns folks are likely to use on the San Juan, and rarely even touch a fish. That said, there are on occasion situations where the location of the hook makes it necessary to use the net and sometimes even hemastats.....that's when a fish friendly net really comes in handy. So, if anyone knows where I can get such a bag for my old wooden frame, please chime in here.
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solitaire