Outdoorsman tend to accumulate stuff. Experienced outdoorsmen accumulate a lot of stuff. Spouses may refer to this “stuff” as junk or crap and may refer to the aforementioned outdoorsman as sentimental fools at best, or mentally defective hoarders at worst.
As experienced outdoorsmen (aka mentally defectives), we should, at a certain point in our sporting careers, seek to placate our accusers (aka, spouses), with creative solutions to what may seem to the uninitiated, like landfill-esque piles of “stuff”. To whit…. When possible, why not repair and recycle? I’m constantly repairing and refurbishing my hunting and fishing gear and it’s not just a penny pinching move. I want my bits of gear, which are often sentimental to me, to survive forever. The older my functional gear gets, the more memories are attached and the more valuable it becomes to me.
Let’s consider one small sub-category…fishing nets. To be fair to my accuser, I do have a lot of fishing nets. A quick count turned up nine nets. There may be a couple more somewhere….and there are a couple more that I want and I may buy, or make myself, to suit certain situations. To some this number may seem excessive, but it’s not at all. For lake fishing out of a boat, for perhaps walleye, or muskie you’ll need a lightweight aluminum handled net with a bag material made of rubber that won’t create mind bending tangles with those toothy critters and the multi-hooked lures used to catch them. For those you’ll want a handle long enough to reach way out over the side of a large boat. You’ll need one with a medium sized “bag” for walleye and a really large one for muskie. You don’t want the large one unless you’re fishing for big fish because it takes up too much room in the boat, and why trip over gear if you don’t have to. This XL net will work well if you’re boat fishing for salmon too, in big water, downriggers and other “industrial” fishing techniques being employed so, as they say, “two birds”.
Nets for fly fishing are a different animal. Aside from the fact that an aluminum framed net just looks garish against the stylish, refined backdrop typical to fly-fishing, generally speaking a short-handled net is required. On foot, wading a trout stream, one usually carries a short handled net hanging from the back of a vest or jacket, or maybe tucked into a belt on the back of the body. For trout you’ll probably want a light-weight, medium sized net, perhaps made of some type of pretty wood. You might have one for small fish in small streams, one a bit bigger for bigger fish and streams, and if you’re like me you’ll have one large enough for steelhead and salmon. If you fish out of a drift boat for trout, you may want long handled versions of each of those too, still made of wood with soft fabric Catch-n-release net bags. Carbon fiber frames are becoming more popular and because they’re light, compact and look really cool, I’ll lump them into the trout net category, and I own a couple of those too. So, its easy to see the need for all this “stuff”, with the simplest of explanation. It’s not hoarding… they’re necessities! But, back to the placation…
While taking inventory of the nets, I realized that some of my nice wooden trout and salmon nets were long in the tooth, with much wear and tear from years of service. My first thought, like a kid at Christmas, was “ooh, I can buy a new net”. Then recalling the accuser’s furrowed brow, I quickly thought, “perhaps I should refurbish some nets”. A wise choice, it turns out.
Long preambles notwithstanding, refurbishing a wooden fishing net is pretty easy, and kind of fun. So long as the net hasn’t delaminated, cracked or broken, (all of which can often be fixed), some simple sanding and refinishing, and restringing with a new net bag can revitalize an old net to provide many more years of service.
Some of my wooden nets were store bought many years ago but some I made myself. If you’re crafty or artistic at all, it’s fun to make your own and/or add your own decoration to a net to make it unique and as a statement of your own ethos. Depending on how creative you want to get, you might want to add a drawing, some inlays, exotic wood, anything that tickles your fancy.
The net in my hoard that was the most in need of repair and refurb, was a large hooped, short handled wood net that I’ve carried for years when wading and Spey fishing for steelhead and salmon. The wood’s finish was worn through in a few spots, putting the wood at risk, and the old, coarse cotton net bag was worn thin, with more than a few old repairs.
Wanting to upgrade the net bag from my old net to something that’s a bit better for the fish that I catch, which are almost always released, I did a quick search online for a source for the proper sized bag, made of “catch and release” net fabric. Catch and release net fabric is softer than the original cotton bag, (which also had a relatively large “weave” which made it more prone to tangles). Both the old cotton material and the large-ish netting are probably a bit abrasive to a fish’s protective “slime” layer, necessary for the fish’s good health and recovery. The new soft nylon net with a finer weave is definitely better for the fish, and should be more rot resistant, and will dry quicker, making it lighter to carry.
I sourced my replacement bag for this project, and a couple of others, for future projects, from Sam Lacina at FlyFishingNets.NET. Sam’s online store has just about everything the aspiring net repairer, or builder would ever need. In addition to many sizes and types of replacement net bags, Sam makes and offers beautiful custom nets of all shapes and sizes. Sam also offers replacement parts, net building classes and a cool community blog. There’s a wealth of knowledge, advice, resources and skill that would be very valuable for anyone wanting to build or repair, or just buy an heirloom quality trout net. Contact Sam directly at sam@fishingnets.net
The first step in my project was to cut away and discard the old bag, then sanding the wood in progressively finer steps, starting at 100 grit and then 180, 220 and finally 320 grit. Being a tool that will get used a lot, the net didn’t need to be sanded and finished like a piece of fine furniture, but I did want to bring new life to the walnut and ash hoop, and the zebra wood handle. I used a handheld orbital sander for the majority of the wood, saving the final 320 grit for hand sanding. I didn’t get too precious though. It was a quick process.
Looking at the freshly sanded hoop, I decided to add a bit of decoration. With art markers, I sketched a simple salmon fly on the handle and added some different “trouty” colors in a couple of spots on the hoop. Some simplistic patches of rainbow, brown and brook trout patterns added a bit of a personal touch to my net.
I finished the wood with a satin polyurethane spray, right out of the can, though brush on or wipe on would work just as well. I applied 3 coats with a light polish with steel wool between coats. Again, I wasn’t going for furniture finish, I just wanted to protect the wood from water and wear, knowing that if I live, and fish long enough, I might refinish this net again…maybe as a project with a grandchild, who may then use it for another lifetime.
With a newly decorated and finished frame, it was a relatively simple process of stringing the new “net” to the frame, using the existing holes and technique as the original, which just uses a nylon, or monofilament “string”, to encircle the hoop, threading in and out of each hole, catching the net material at each point, which firmly holds the net bag material to the inside diameter of the wooden hoop. It’s very easy and satisfying to do. I finished mine while watching a hockey game on TV, kicked back in my easy chair.
In short order I had a finished project that looked and would function like new, with some unique personal touches, and all of my past memories of using it, intact.
I’ll admit that I have a lot of stuff. My stuff is my treasure trove that I love to use and repair and keep in service. In the back of my head, I always envision my “treasures” living on in the hands of my ancestors. I have a 12 year old daughter who may or may not become enthralled in the outdoors, and who may or may not produce “ancestors”. Time will tell. She shows signs of a love for the outdoors. I’m doing my part to introduce her to the things that got me excited when I was her age. Nothing would make me happier than for her, or her children to use my hand-me-down treasures.
If you can, make or refinish the things that you use. Doing so will strengthen your connection to your passions. If you’re looking for a project, maybe a trout net that you can hand to your grandchild some day, would be a worthwhile project. Explain it to the “accuser” that way, you’ll probably get a pass.
Brandon Vaughan has over 40 years of personal and professional experience in a broad array of hunting and fishing disciplines, from Alaska to Belize. Past professional experience includes working as a professional guide in Alaska and around the Great Lakes region. In addition to hunting and fishing throughout the lower 48, Canada and Central America, Brandon has been an Orvis Endorsed Fly-fishing guide, a fly-fishing and fly-tying instructor, a hunting guide and shooting instructor.