Most people are best off getting a net that has between a 5-10 feet radius. The general rule of thumb is that for big baits a large net with a wider mesh size is best. Putting a frozen water bottle on the bottom of your bait container is an easy and effective way to do this. All rights reserved. Fish tend to liven up when the waters are warmer. If it is stuck you can always jump in and untangle it. If this is the case, having a large bucket or basket to empty the bait int is nice.

Ideally, all the bait for the day can be caught in one good throw.

When the net sinks it should trap all the bait. Mesh sizes range between 3/16 of an inch and 1 inch. Net is for when you want to catch a lot once you cast it into the water. A cast net can be your best friend if you know which one to use. Then make short tugs to close the cast net. In fact, having a few wiggling critters at hand is often the difference between a memorable trip and an empty cooler. Just ask 90% of the IGFA All-Tackle record holders. Wherever you may fish, live bait is always the best lure. His work has won over 60 national awards, including the ASA Homer Circle Fishing Writer of the Year Award in 2011 and the National Marine Manufacturers…. Make short little tugs while slowly pulling the net up initially. Game fish can not be kept if they are caught in a cast net. Watching the bait is very important just to ensure proper net placement. The idea is to use the largest mesh that doesn't allow your target species to "gill", or get stuck with their gill plates through the net mesh—which makes them very difficult to remove. Excess weight for the job is tough on the thrower, particularly if you're not young and athletic. First is the radius of the cast net. When throwing in a new place I am cautious at fist and might even throw a smaller net that is less likely to get stuck on the bottom. For smaller nets, under 6 feet the easy throw method also described above can be used. If there are snags the net will not go from one side to another and will get caught. Sabiki rigs are highly effective bait-catching contraptions. If you’re out in the open, one surefire sign that bait is close is the presence of birds. Here are a few basic tips for using a sabiki to catch live bait: Using cast nets is a very popular live bait catching technique, and for a number of reasons. Larger nets catch a lot more bait than smaller ones, but are harder to throw. Now let’s hear it from you. However, there is not a metal ring. Push the triangles down into the bottle, so that they form a funnel. Place your frozen bait and your stone inside the bottle.

This opens the bottom of the net so the bait will fall into the livewell. Make short tugs and let the net sink again so the bait can not escape. Obviously, where you’ll catch your bait will depend on which bait fish you’re after.

The two cuts should form four triangles, with tips facing the same way. For those of you who don’t know, a Sabiki rig is a setup of 6 to 10 small hooks tied to a single line, with a weight on the end. A 12-foot net is good charter captains that want to quickly catch lots of bait for the entire day. Last but not least, the quickest way to find live bait is by simply asking.

It feels like a bad idea at first like the net might open and the bait will escape. The braille lines within the net are connected to the lead line and are what closes the net. Keeping your bait alive and kicking is crucial if you want to have an attractive offering. Patience and good timing often work better than lots of casting. As the Net Spreads Out Pull Back with the Left Hand, 14.

Think of them as your natural fishfinder. Good cast fishing nets start at about $125 and go up to more than $300.

Also, make sure you are holding the net in the right hand. Grab the net at about the waist or hip level to make the final coil of the net. Reach down and grab the lead line that is closest to you with the left hand. Many expert anglers carry smaller mesh nets for early-season bait, switching to larger as the bait grows larger. The cast net will also catch any other items on the bottom as well like rocks, coral, sticks, and seaweed. Let’s dive in!

Number two, you can catch a tremendous amount of bait fish at once. However, in deep water, other strategies need to be used. And number three, using a cast net is cheap. Larger nets catch a lot more bait than smaller ones, but are harder to throw. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The best nets, like those from Calusa Cast Nets, Betts Super Pro and the Ahi Pro Guide Series, have multiple tapered panels that cause them to open in a perfect circle with just the right amount of belly to capture the maximum number of fish. Various lead-line weights are available in these models so you can custom fit it to the areas where you catch bait—catching sardines on a 3-foot-deep grass flat requires much less weight than blind-casting for threadfins under a bridge in 15-foot depths.

An average cast net weighs 1 pound per radius foot. In heavy winds, it best to throw with the wind. You’ve found your live bait, great. If the net is old, torn, or beat up it is much more likely to tangle. The Lead Line Goes Over Top of the Horn, 5. They also cost more.

Throwing a cast net is one of the most useful ways to catch bait for fishing. Number one, you can use them almost anywhere. And number three, using a cast net is cheap. For adults, a 4-foot radius would be the smallest net you would likely want. Here are a few tips to get you started. You can also use a cast net to catch shrimp, larger fish, mullet, etc.
A large fast sinking net is important with catching bunker. Sometimes a lighter net is nice since it can be thrown far and results in less fatigue when throwing it over and over to try and catch bait. Usually, at first light the bait is most active near the surface where it can be easily spotted and caught. This action allows the weights to separate and open the net. For large cast nets, this makes it more manageable to throw. In fresh or still water, chum the area to attract a school of fish within reach of your net, but be aware that mullet have keen eyesight and will dart away from the net quickly. Cody strives to provide detailed information about the best fishing gear and tactics to help both novice and experienced anglers have a more productive and enjoyable time on the water. Well, for baits 2–3 inches long, a 5′ and 1/4″ mesh will do fine in most cases. 5 Tips About Leaders for Toothy Fish (video), Catch Inshore Fish With One of These Inshore Fly Rods, Fish Finders for Your Kayak, Canoe, or Jon Boat, Car Topping Your Kayak? Some custom nets have 1.5 pounds of lead per radius foot. Starting from the left and pull out about 1/3 of the cast net.

Last but not least, you need to choose the right weights. The “pouch” will hold and trap the finger mullet.

All rights reserved. This is because there are often found in deep clear water. Bait can be caught in water ranging from a 1 foot deep to over 20 feet deep. Choose a cast net that is the correct size and material for finger mullet. Wrap the cast net into several coils by collecting about one arm’s length of the net in each coil. The little 3.5- to 4-footers are good starter nets for kids, while a 6-footer might be a good net to carry along on vacation. Trapping is perhaps the easiest way to catch bait fish.

If peanut bunker are located near shore they can be caught like other small baitfish. Prepare your fishing gear and cast for mullet during the most opportune times to increase your catch rate.

Tips for Choosing the Right Equipment, Find Great Saltwater Fishing in Southern Louisiana, Saltwater Fishing: Catching the Sneaky Bonefish, Sheepshead: How to Nab Those Notorious Nibblers. Most steel weight cast nets have about .75 pounds of weight per radius foot.
Nets like this one can get you plenty of smaller bait fish like sardines.

With the left-hand reach hold the net about two feet away from the horn. Throw Forward with the Right Hand and Pull Back with the Left Hand, 8. The cast net needs to be large and sink fast to catch mullet under these conditions. Once the net stops sinking the slack in the line should be collected.

In this guide, we’ll cover where and how to catch live bait, as well as how to keep it alive for as long as possible. Frank Sargeant is long-time outdoors editor of The Tampa Tribune and a senior writer for Florida Sportsman Magazine as well as for B.A.S.S. Hold onto the net with the left hand a pull it across your body. The heavier the cast net the faster it will sink for the given mesh size. He's editor of The Fishing Wire and a regular contributor to BoatTest.com. An aerator is a small pump that’s used to force air down into the water where the bait fish are swimming. All you need to know is how to make an attractive chum mixture. Most mesh sizes given are in terms of square mesh. Without the ring, it is actually easier to throw. With practice, throwing a cast net can be a fun activity. That size is made for kids. If you're trying to catch tiny glass minnows as chum or for snapper bait, mesh as small as 1/4 inch might be called for, while for the typical scaled sardine or threadfin a 3/8 inch mesh might be the ticket, and for catching large menhaden or mullet, a 1-inch mesh or larger might be best. Fish that are commonly caught with live or fresh bait include hybrid striped bass, striped bass, mahi-mahi, sharks, tuna, and tarpon. An ideal cast net for finger mullet would be …

More often than not, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort. Bait fish use up more oxygen when the water is warmer, and die faster as a consequence. When the cast net hit the water let it sink. For a 9″ mullet, on the other hand, you’ll need something like an 8’1″ mesh net. Buying a large radius net with large 1 1-4 inch mesh makes it so mullet can be caught in deep clear water.

Sometimes this is directly over the fish and sometimes the net should be placed in front of where the fish are moving. Which size cast net is best depends on the user’s abilities, and type of fish being targeted. For small baits, small mesh size is needed. Net size, mesh size, weights, what does this really mean? Mullet are often thought of as one of the hardest baitfish to catch with a cast net. If you have any suggestions for how to throw a cast net leave a comment below! If not grab a foot or two below the horn. This rig can get you anything from threadfin herring and minnows to pinfish and grunts.

The method described above is the easiest way to throw a large cast net. Growing up in Pennsylvania Cody has also done extensive freshwater fishing including bass fishing tournaments. The lead line, the rope around the perimeter of the net, is categorized by the weight per running foot, with 1.25 pounds per foot typical for small mesh, shallow-water nets, and up to 2 pounds per foot used for the largest deep-water nets. If you see commotion on the water surface or birds swooping in, that usually means that your bait is near. So there you have it.

These should be also be pulled completely straight.

Stop collecting when the net is about as tall as the person throwing the net. This is often called throwing a pancake. All the effort you made will mean little if your bait dies before your first cast. This will make sure that any toxins that build up in the tank are thrown away for clean water. They assume the net does not open properly because of the technique. This works well for catching baits that are 2-6 inches in length. Depending on the amount of weight and size of mesh determine how fast the cast net sinks. Regardless of whether you have a bait well or a bucket, there are several things you must do to keep your bait fish swimming. Casting a net to the water to catch mullet is another helpful and simple method. This makes the net a manageable size to pick up and throw. That means that a 6-foot cast net would have 6 pounds of lead or steel weights. Same as with the temperature, you don’t want to change things too much. This sends the bait deep. Bring the right arm forward and throw the net hard. Throw your bottle into the water, and wait. When a lot of bait gets caught it can actually be difficult to bring in an put into the Livewell. Mullet hug seawalls, so you can cast right from a wall or dock.