Looking to pick one up. Any opinions on these or recommendations on other nets?

Beckman

That looks very similar to the Beckman I've used up north for years, I have yet to find a better net.

That's what we use in the salt only with a longer handle.
Frabill makes some hi quallity nets as well.

J.D.

I only trust beckman's nets. Made with pride in America. Go to their site www.beckmannets.com and check out their product line.

I have a Frabill catch and release net, very nice.

I own two beckman's and love them,I some times think that the netting it self can be a little deep @ times but over all the best out there.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Thanks for the 411. I have messed with all kinds of the cheaper nets and lost my patients. I've been looking at getting a quality net and apparently from the comments I made a good choice.

Order has been submitted...
Gotta love those Cabelas shipping charges..

I went through 3 Frabil Nets in 2 months. I have 2 Beckmens that I have been using for 3 years with no problems. Go with Beckmen.

I've seen some nets with a flat bottom sewn in instead of tapering to a point. They create a sort of pen for the fish to lie in while the net's in the water. Do you think something like that would be better considering the regulations about not boating a fish to be released?

I'm in the market for a net, too, so I was wondering.

Nice Avatar harley... I think you'll be needing to change your moniker to go'ural

Its been documented that ural riders have been known to line their helmet with foil!

goharley

I now have one of the FinSaver net-pen style bags with knotless mesh featuring a flat floor and vertical sides. Beckman says a 51 inch fish can lay flat in this bag. Haven't had it out in real life water conditions, but I tried it out on my kids in the pool.

While not nearly as deep as my Columbian, the FinSaver Pen swallowed up free-swimming 80 and 90 pound kids (about 59 inches tall) no sweat, and I was still able to close the bag around them.

The mesh is a little stiffer than I like due to the "hook proof" coating.... the untreated mesh is probably more fish-friendly. I'm told the treated mesh eventually softens up with repeated use... we'll see.

Any of you with the treated bags care to comment on that?

Hey Doc, Can I borrow your kids to try my new long handled hook removal tool on??

You can sew up their lips for practice if I rip them a little. If hooked in roof of mouth I'll cut the hook off.. :p

Which one would you like.... keta, kisutch, nerka, or cha-vee-cha (tschawytscha)? Yeah, their teachers thought those names were pretty goofy too.

I have the fin saver also,I bought it for my new willie drift boat,this past fall for the king's and silvers in the river's was great.When and where it was legal to run double trebles on my mag wart's and regular warts this net didn't get a single hook in it,my other beckman it would have taken 10 to 15 minutes to get those hooks out of it.The netting is a little stiff but getting better with every fish netted It's now ready for the "BIG NATES'' a quick photo then back to swim to do it's thing.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Doc,
Was that finsaver bag designed for the Kenai C&R programs?

Yukon

The FinSaver was designed for C&R musky fishing in the midwest. They wanted something to handle a 50-plus inch fish without tearing it up too badly. Since they also fish with multiple magnum trebles on a lot of their lures, the hook-proof treatment was very important to them.

With the Kenai's "one single point hook" regulation, the treatment is not nearly so important. At the critical moment, the only hookpoint is buried in the fish's jaw... there are no others to get fouled in the mesh.

Is your bag treated?

I have a treated bag. I bought mine from TW this past summer. It was not to stiff for my taste after a couple of uses. The deep bag was great for measuring those June fish.

Well after several dozen practice net-jobs in the pool today, that treated mesh has definitely softened up more to my liking.

Kids had a blast playing "fish"

The hardest part was getting them to understand the C&R thing.... they were having so much fun that none of them wanted to swim out once they were in the net. :p