Catching Your Own Bait?

[TomC]

I've been thinking about getting a casting net and start catching my own bait but was curious if its worth it. It looks like a good casting net (calusa)
will run me about $275 bucks so it would a take a while to pay for itself. Also, how do you know where to go to catch bait. Do you just throw the net around rip rap early in the morning? Theres got to be more to it than just throwing the net out in the water? I'm really getting into crappie fishing as well as Hybrids so I'm wondering whether or not I should get a good cast net???? Any tips or pointers on the process would be greatly appreciated!

Tom

[crappster]

It depends on what you are trying to catch. If you have local streams in your area, there are almost always shiners in them. For this scenario, I would go with the bass pro shops castnet. Its five feet radius, and 1/4" mesh size. The small hole size allows you to catch minnows and shiners down to 2 inches long. I have one and catch my crappie bait all the time. The good thing is, you catch everything else in it too, including shad. At five feet its not huge, but if you know where the bait is, it doesn't have to be big. This net only costs 29 bucks. It is made of nylon...which in my opinion holds up alot better than monofilament. I have other castnets that are larger for shrimping on the Georgia coast and other bait. But they aren't too expensive either. Your typical Wal-mart brand. My reasoning behind this, is it really hurts your feelings to pay 200 plus dollars for a top of the line net, only to have it rip or lose it when it snags on something on the bottom. As far as catching the bait....if you can find a spot on your lake that has shiners, throw canned dog or cat food in that area. Give them about ten minutes then throw over the food. You will have all the shiners you need. Assuming they are in the area. This works great for rivers and streams also. Boat landings are a great place to find shiners.

[unknown 5]

Using a seining net in small creeks and ditchs can be an easy way to catch shiners.

[CrappiePappy]

275 BUCKS for a castnet ??? What - the weights around the perimeter of the net are GOLD, instead of lead ?? ........LOL!!

Seriously now ... if you want a castnet for Crappie bait -- you'll need a 1/4 inch mesh net. The "usual" size that you will find on store shelves is 3/8 inch mesh (which would be fine for Hybrid Striper sized bait). I own both mesh sizes, since I fish for both species. I would suggest that you take a look at a Nylon Net Co. catalog. They've been making nets for over 50yrs. You can call their toll free number (1-800-238-7529) 24/7 ... and order a free catalog. Or you can order the catalog off their website (www.nylonnets.com). I suggest getting the catalog and looking at the various cast nets they have ... the website doesn't show all the various ones they have.

I don't throw my nets from shore, but from a boat ... castnets are made to open up and sail like a Frisbee, until they hit the surface of the water ... then drop thru the water in a dome shape. The hand line pulls the bottom together and traps the bait, then pulls the net back to you. You get better performance, and thus more bait, when you can be "above" the net when pulling the hand line (to close the net). If I were thinking of getting bait from a shallow creek ... I'd probably consider using a seine, rather than a castnet.

My 1/4" mesh castnet is a 4ft radius size nylon (Sportsman Series) - it will open to an 8ft wide circle. It's easy to throw, and easy to handle from the front of a boat. The 2002 catalog lists it at $30.97 - and the shipping would be $6.00 (orders <$50) ..... I bought mine back in the 80's, and I think the price I paid was very close to that.
There are castnet "throwers" and instructional videos ... but, I never bothered with them - and I can throw the net with pretty fair accuracy -- I'd be more than happy to give you a "step-by-step" instruction on how to cast one, if you want. ...............luck2ya .........cp

[rango]

you dont need a net that costs that much for catching bait.. a thirty dollar net will do fine.. 5 or 6 ft....