With bass season right around the corner, I soon will be making sure i have my Strper gear ready to roll. An essential piece of this is my 10 foot Betts Cast Net. I remember about 20 years ago, bass fishing with my good friend Captain Pat Fasano on the Tide Runner. We went out after work one day and he threw the net, catching at least 60 bunker in one shot. This was a huge change from the 1 at a time weighted treble hook snagging method. That was when I said to myself, "I need to learn how to do this!"
Fast forward a few years to 2005, this was our first season with a boat, the Theresa V (1984 SEA oX 230c - We loved that boat!). Around that time, I bought my first large cast net. We had a smaller one for peanuts, which I used that green disc thing to throw, but decided it was time to learn to throw this thing properly.
I You Tubed so many different methods. After watching each I would practice in my backyard. Some opened like a banana, others not at all, and some just turned the net into a tangled mess. I needed to find the right way for me to feel comfortable. I finally came across a method that was perfect. I attached the link right under this paragraph. There is a fishing charter team out of Jersey, they are called Team Old School. They use a method to throw called "Cuban Style." This method worked for me right away for a few reasons;
- No teeth needed
- Doesn't involve too much rotation, just turn and throw straight
- Works well for any size net (I use it for catching large and small bunker - only differences are 1 less throw over shoulder and not grabbing the hanging part of the net in middle when loading up - You will see what I mean when you watch video)
I also attached some action shots from a Bass trip one evening with Savvy18 (Eddie) and my brother Mike. The bunker were thick that night, and we didn't even need to circle around the net to bag em!... Good night too... Eddie, do you have any Bass pics from May 31, 2016? I tried to upload a video but was unable for some reason. Here you go:
1. My back is to the target. This will set me up for 180 degree turn and straight throw to the water.
2. Net is loaded over my shoulder and the throw is straight to target
3. The way the net is loaded and the straight throw opens it up nicely
4. Lands in the water away from boat
5. We didn't circle that night. You can see there were so many bunker in net that they brought it to the surface.
6. Kept it away from the engine and out from under the boat.
7. Plenty of bait for the night!!
Aside from throwing, we learned quickly that there are several other factors to successfully catching your own bait:
Boat positioning and approaching the school
Water depth and where they are in the water column
Knowing your machine (using your instruments / determining thickness of school)
The big circle once you throw
Knowing when your skills are not going to cut it that night and dropping $25 to buy freshly caught bait from our bunker guy to save the night and start fishing.
Cast netting for the small ones is pretty simple, however, catching the big guys is a 2 person job. We have gotten pretty good at it, but in no way are we pros. There are many nights when catching them seems damn near impossible (we have learned to swallow our pride and buy them when this happens so we can go fishing, not home!) I will tell you this; when you are able to get it done properly and bag a bundle of bunker in 1 shot, it is a good feeling!
Would love to hear some thoughts on this.
Frank
