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Grumpy old barbel anglers look away now - it's a landing net thread!

Graham Hunt

Graham Hunt

Senior Member
My old Gardner net broke at the weekend, the screw sheared off. It's been well used for years but is there better out there?

I use a wychwood folding pan net which is adequate on the Yorkshire rivers but I want something more robust and with bigger mesh for the Trent.
 
New Fox large specialist spoon net very very strong and light, and big enough for the largest Barbel, nice soft touch net with a good water flow through it and it is great value at about £16.00. less with discount.....and yes I am a old and grumpy Barbel hunter, but I know a good landing net when I see it:D
 
Fox predator with the deep pan I find best. I used a shallow pan fox predator but the Barbels Dorsal fin kept getting caught so it went in the bin.
 
I've been using one of the Wych wood 22 inch nets for about a year now and very nice it is too, the magnet is a great feature and it does shake dry nicely, HOWEVER the stitching on the rim failed recently where the arm is pulled from the spreader block, the shop gave me a replacement but that has also failed after a few weeks. Hopefully it's a faulty batch of the 22 inch ones but to be safe if I can get another under warranty I'll pay the extra to get the next size up.
 
I have had problems with a number of the nets listed above. The Gardner spoon got off to a bad start when the screws fell out. Replacements sent by Gardner were araldited in. Then the arms bent when I was lifting the net when it contained a decent barbel (yes I did support the rim). I bent it back into shape but the mesh developed rips and holes when tangling with the lightest of undergrowth. This was retired and I got one of the Wychwood specimen quickfold nets. Looked good and seemed a bit more robust. However the detachable arm becomes separated from the block far too easily and the net has collapsed at the critical 'netting a fish' moment a number of times.

I would much rather pay more for a net that is going to last. A sub £20 net with a plastic spreader block will ultimately fail. The trouble is I can't seem to find a net that matches the following spec:

Large oval net
Deep strong mesh
Metal spreader that will not fail

I have thought about a Chris Brown net but his are triangular and I prefer oval. Is the perfect barbel net out there? If so I haven't found it!

Cheers

Steve
 
Steve Reed said:
I have had problems with a number of the nets listed above. The Gardner spoon got off to a bad start when the screws fell out. Replacements sent by Gardner were araldited in. Then the arms bent when I was lifting the net when it contained a decent barbel (yes I did support the rim). I bent it back into shape but the mesh developed rips and holes when tangling with the lightest of undergrowth. This was retired and I got one of the Wychwood specimen quickfold nets. Looked good and seemed a bit more robust. However the detachable arm becomes separated from the block far too easily and the net has collapsed at the critical 'netting a fish' moment a number of times.

I would much rather pay more for a net that is going to last. A sub £20 net with a plastic spreader block will ultimately fail. The trouble is I can't seem to find a net that matches the following spec:

Large oval net
Deep strong mesh
Metal spreader that will not fail

I have thought about a Chris Brown net but his are triangular and I prefer oval. Is the perfect barbel net out there? If so I haven't found it!

Cheers

Steve
Click to expand...

I second your thoughts Steve, the folding oval varieties in particular are rubbish. You don't mention the Abu Garcia model, so I guess you haven't tried it...which is just as well, because it is the worst of the lot, utter **** :mad:

I have had to revert back to my Korum latex mesh 30" fixed oval, which looks very similar to the Fox version Lawrence recommends. It is very strong, the net shakes dry very well, and it easily swallows the largest barbel or carp up to 20+. The only problem is that being fixed, you obviously need to carry it about as is...and it seems enormous when you are trying to navigate between obstacles and brambles. A total snag magnet :D The mesh hasn't torn as a result so far though....says he, hurriedly touching wood :p

http://www.gerrysfishing.com/korum-30-specimenl-spoon-net.ir

Cheers, Dave.
 
Interesting thread, i must admit that in some tight swims a 36 tri net can be cumbersome and a pain to use, i may go back to a lightweight deep 30 inch tri net......Do you think that big enough?

Dont like those big spoon nets that dont fold away to awkward to carry around and have'nt had a good look at the 30 inch spoons that break down....What to do.......
 
Hi Phil,

Yes i have looked at these before but always felt that the mesh was not open enough, how do you find it?
 
My Wychwood Specialist snapped at the screw while landing a small barbel this weekend. Very disappointing. Having read up, am I right in thinking there is no foldable, spoon shaped net which isn't rubbish?
 
Although I prefer to use a fixed rim spoon net, when a long hike to the swim is involved I've been using the folding Korum spoon net. I bought it early last season and haven't managed to break it yet. The stitching on the bag it comes in is a bit feeble but other than that I've no complaints regarding the net at present.
 
Paul - sorry to hear of your Wychwood woes. I haven't have the same problem, but understand how easy it is to lose faith with a product when it breaks, inexplicably. I've landed a medium (8-8, though some would saw small) barbel and the net was fine.
 
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