How to change out Beckman net bag / too big

I fished a 36" wide Cummins net for last 14 yrs w/ no issues 'til I brought in a 25 lb MA 11 king this Summer and snapped the hoop at the yoke cleanly both sides. Yeah my fault. Forgot to tilt handle towards and sky and grab hoop to haul fish aboard. So off to Sportco that week to buy a new net. Was looking forward to the new purchase but kinda regretting going with a the one I purchased. I picked up a Beckman 36" wide hoop w/ 52" net bag?! Hoop size was what I wanted but the bag net is out of control - way to big. I mean if I were 6' 3" and all my buddies were too and we all had open tiller boats, and all we fished for were 25lb kings plus then yeah perfect net. But this is WA and I like to fish blackmouth and kings with the same net and coho and got a boat full of grabby things and small kids and a wife that hates to net... get the picture?! ; )

Any way to replace the bag? I removed the yoke from the hoop to see about changing the net out. I think I recall Fish-Eye talking about this a few years ago, didn't make much sense to me then, but now resonating. The net has small metal fasteners that look as if they're cinch the net into place, after the net is strung onto the hoop, preventing an simply 're-string and go' approach. Don't get me wrong, the Beckman handle, yoke & hoop look to be of outstanding construction, but that net has already got wrapped on too many things to mention at this point after just 4 days of fishing, I'm looking for solutions. I got 5 yr old boys. They're not going to be able to use this thing for another 8 yrs +, at the least.

I just replaced the stock Beckman bag on a net I got from a friend with a soft-mesh Promar C&R bag.

Easy as pie.

Remove hoop from yoke by backing out a couple screws. (In my case I had to drill them out as they were seized and finished the job w/ rivets)

Dial the old bag off the hoop.

Dial a new Promar bag onto the hoop

Reattach hoop to yoke.

DONE.

Hi Eyefish!

Thanks! Not sure why I couldn't dial it off the hoop on 1st attempt?! I'll check it out again!
Thanks for heads up on the Promar C & R replacement bag!

Choice!

Thank you,
Lofty

Just a word about the Beckman frame.

Ya never know how good something is until it's gone.

When I sold my boat, I foolishly included my trusty Beckman FinSaver Pen net when I let the boat go.

The guy didn't have a decent net, and I had recently placed a Promar C&R bag on a big Frabill PowerCatch frame w/ handle extension that I've been pretty happy with. Big hoop, generious bag and 8 ft handle when fully extended. Always considered it to be a bit top-heavy.

Well, a few weeks ago, I inadvertently launched the extension into the river, where it promptly sank to the bottom.

In a pinch I got an old Beckman net from a friend, but didn't like the extra deep bag. So I swapped it out for a nice light Promar bag.

MAN-o-MAN... this thing is SO light in the hand. Can't believe what I'd been missing out on by running that top-heavy Frabill!

Back to Beckman all the way.... except with the superior Promar bag.

Doc,

Where did you find the promar bag to fit that hoop? I can't find bags anywhere.

Anyone looking for a brand new big Beckman bag?

Dennis Co (several stores in our neck of the woods) carries the Promar nets and replacement bags in large and magnum sizes. What frame do you intend to put it on?

The large bag is 30 inches deep at the sides and comfortably accommodates fish up to 20 pounds. The magnum bag has 36 inch sides and can hold any salmon you are likely to catch. My boat has 30 inch sides so the smaller bag is ideal for releasing fish 20# or less. They lay perfectly flat on the surface submerged in a few inches of water while I'm dealing with them. The bigger bag obviously works better for bigger fish.

The bigger bag is designed for a Promar hoop with a greater circumference than my Beckman hoop, hence the slight redundancy of vertical folds as it hangs in the pic.

Cool! Dennis & Co. , check !

I hate my ProMar bag on a Frabill 36" frame.

Everyone hates it. It is too big for our little boat. It catches on whatever it passes when you are trying to get it picked up.

It is nice when you are releasing fish, very easy on the fish. If you are in the killing mode trying to rake in fish on a good bite, it slows you way down in my opinion. It snags on everything, fish can roll up in it and several times we have had to cut off a spinner tangled in it, and net the next fish. Then you have 2 spinners in there while a fish flops around. I'm thinking about getting a knotted bag for fall fishing, and then switching in the winter.

It's definitely big though.

Not too fond of my promar either. It hangs up in the DB frequently and if using barbed hooks it quickly gets ugly. If barbless CnR fishing is your gig then there great

Otherwise stick to beckman.

Agreed.

If you like barbs and/or treble/multiple hooks, the fine soft-mesh knotless Promar is NOT your bag.

I fish single and barbless 100% of the time so no issues here.

Single....barbless.....tangle.



I like the Promar for a cheap option to be easy on C&R fishery. I don't tangle it on the boat, but it tangles on every lure it seems like. It's good to hear I'm not the only one. I was just looking at the Beckman fin saver for an upgrade. It sounds like a good option for an all-around option. I'll use my rubber Frabil when I know I'm fishing over steelhead only.

I fish single barbless all the time as well, and yeah a hook can really can really wiggle itself through a few of those tiny ProMar net apertures. The worst is when it gets into the eye of a single siwash.

I actually used it this past weekend for some CnR and was reminded how easy it is on living fish.