Rockpooling net recommendation

M

mikeakc

Well-Known Member
Hello all
From the fishermen amongst us I’m looking for a recommendation for a good quality, robust net for catching prawns in rock pools for bass fishing. The cheap kids pond dipping nets are an ideal size to get in amongst crevices and and rocks but they fall apart in minutes.

Stainless steel or timber would be the best materials and a mesh size which doesnt allow Prawns to escape. If anyone could recommend something to me I’d be very grateful. The folding style fly fishing nets are no good as the front edge of the net is slack which doesn’t allow you to scrape against rocks very effectively!
Many thanks
Mike
 
mikeakc said:
Hello all
From the fishermen amongst us I’m looking for a recommendation for a good quality, robust net for catching prawns in rock pools for bass fishing. The cheap kids pond dipping nets are an ideal size to get in amongst crevices and and rocks but they fall apart in minutes.

Stainless steel or timber would be the best materials and a mesh size which doesnt allow Prawns to escape. If anyone could recommend something to me I’d be very grateful. The folding style fly fishing nets are no good as the front edge of the net is slack which doesn’t allow you to scrape against rocks very effectively!
Many thanks
Mike
Click to expand...
Pretty easy to make a traditional "D" shaped prawning net if you can get hold of some suitable guage mesh. I had one years ago that was made from an onion sack, and it lasted well.
 
mikeakc said:
Hello all
From the fishermen amongst us I’m looking for a recommendation for a good quality, robust net for catching prawns in rock pools for bass fishing. The cheap kids pond dipping nets are an ideal size to get in amongst crevices and and rocks but they fall apart in minutes.

Stainless steel or timber would be the best materials and a mesh size which doesnt allow Prawns to escape. If anyone could recommend something to me I’d be very grateful. The folding style fly fishing nets are no good as the front edge of the net is slack which doesn’t allow you to scrape against rocks very effectively!
Many thanks
Mike
Click to expand...
look on here == Wildlife Survey & Monitoring | NHBS
 
The prawns would be best caught in traps. A head torch at night will also be good. I've found it hard on the dipping nets trying to catch them in pools, they inevitably get wrecked or ripped within days
 
.25-06 said:
The prawns would be best caught in traps. A head torch at night will also be good. I've found it hard on the dipping nets trying to catch them in pools, they inevitably get wrecked or ripped within days
Click to expand...
A proper D shaped prawning net with a stout wooden bar across the front and a metal hoop would not get wrecked or ripped within days. The last one I made I used for years, and then passed it on to someone else.
But yes, you can trap them. Get hold of an old lobster pot frame and cover it with that fine mesh that's used as a windbreak on scaffolding.
 
Thanks gents. I have been through all these alternative options but the really big ones which make a great bass bait and very good eating as well are all by the rocks where in weed where they meet the sand in my neck of the woods.

I also have a D-shaped push net but it doesn’t deliver the goods like the rocky margins do! I also have a commercial trap but baiting it and leaving it for collection on another occasion is just a lot more faff than wading off the boat at low tide.

Thanks for the suggestions though. The ecology sampling nets on the website link above look perfect.
 
I’ve had mine over 15 years. I tend to only use it on holiday in Pembrokeshire but the 2 are still all original and perfectly usable, I would certainly buy again.
 
Best ones are home made - can then be location specific. I had one for years and used to great success with the net, less so with the bass. I tend to only lure fish for them now as it is so much easier at short notice and so much less gear
 
I ended up with 2, one stainless steel traditional style and shape pond dipping net with a square head. Very strong but the net immediately started fraying over the frame.
The other is the clear winner, the wooden frame floats, no net wrapped over the frame so no fraying and small enough to Stash anywhere on the boat. Cortland Wooden Trout Net – Black Mesh | eBay
 
mikeakc said:
I ended up with 2, one stainless steel traditional style and shape pond dipping net with a square head. Very strong but the net immediately started fraying over the frame.
The other is the clear winner, the wooden frame floats, no net wrapped over the frame so no fraying and small enough to Stash anywhere on the boat. Cortland Wooden Trout Net – Black Mesh | eBay
Click to expand...
Is this one still going strong mate?
We broke 2 nets yesterday. I’m just about to buy a couple of replacements. We could do with a square ended net and a round one like on the link.
Some massive prawns this year up our way, but they are not great in numbers.
 
Also, are you running a live bait tank? or just keeping in a bucket.
I need to sort out another small tank (up to 10 litres) to keep fish alive for a good half an hour while we hike in to our bass hotspot. We’ve found a little secret honey hole nearby to catch the baitfish but in hot weather it’s a struggle to keep them alive for long.
Could do with a new aeration pump
 
Go look into professional swimming pool supplies. I have a half dozen that came cheap at the end of pool season. Well constructed of rigid aluminum with a “squeegee” rubber strip around the outside. Fine mesh, but thicker than normal.

I use them in my pond at home, the boat and bait tank
 
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