Maumee river report-5 november 2022

These boys smacked ’em last night–been a good night bite this season. 

We have a good selection of what you need to get in on the fall walleye bite.

Lets talk about nets and the all important “Net Man”.

A net is a handy tool for bringing in fish,  but it’s not absolutely necessary. If you’re fishing in a small stream or pond, you may be able to simply grab the fish and pull it out of the water. If you’re fishing in a larger body of water, a net will come in handy for landing bigger fish. Whether you’re primarily a wade fisherman ,a boat or even   shoreline fisherman, your fishing net can be a very important piece of fishing gear. Many fisherman that wade in the water carry their nets on their  back and just reach behind them, and grab the net when it’s needed. Then when you don’t need the net, it  just hangs out of the way on your back. These are usually smaller nets with shorter handles great for trout smallmouth bass and walleye. A wide mouth to the net  is always recommended in case you get into that really large fish.

Now when you’re fighting a fish on a boat, or off one of the piers at night the netting  technique is very similar.  During the battle the anglers attention naturally focuses on keeping the fish hooked and working it in close. That’s the key moment when your  partner stops fishing, picks up the landing net and moves close by.  Keeping an eye on the show(always  coaching a little )and waits to get in on the action. There it is “The  Net Man” possibly  the most important but overlooked  guy once a fish is on the line. As most anglers know not  all Net Men are created equal.  Unfortunately many of us have that story of the big one that got away, when that goldarned  , ding dong , &#%€&@!!! , nut job of a brother-in-law, kid, best friend, wife, or total stranger, screwed it up  and lost the fish right at the moment it was supposed to be netted. Dammit I hate that….lol. However it is best  not to speak of when I was the net man and blew it.  The best in the game know exactly when to slip the net into the water and scoop up the fish. Their approach is smooth and swift, and they don’t chase the fish. They know if it’s ready to come into the boat, or if it needs to take another run. As a result, you’ll never see a fish knocked on the head with the net, or scared into a run that breaks the line.

So how do you net a fish and become a reliable net man. Generally you want the net man to be a little in front of the angler reeling in the fish, but still need to be out of the way. One of the critical things is not to place the net in the water until it’s time to scoop up the fish. Putting the net in the water too early can spook to fish away , Causing it to fight and thrash even more. If possible I always try to net the fish head first, many Netman try to get the fish tail first and a lot of fish are lost this way. If the angler fighting the fish can lead the fish to the net, that’s even better -you don’t want to chase the fish when you are the net man.

Have fun , be safe and good luck fishing