Knotless landing net

As I am sure is the case with most inexperienced anglers, we are not always aware of the measurements supposed to be taken when deciding to take this sport seriously. Most conventional anglers learn from their fathers and/or grandfathers which do not necessarily support catch-and-release or fish safety or perhaps isn’t aware of the aspects involved in fish safety. And so it happens that valuable information is never passed on to younger generations. In my case this is also true. I only recently learned the phrases unhooking mat, knotless landing net, weigh sling and anti septic fluids (And this was about a week ago) . I was totally dumbfounded, I never knew about any of these items and how important they actually are!

Specimen carp anglers on the other hand are the ones almost enforcing these safety measures and they are probably the best source to learn from. They take the sport seriously enough to know that it is important to look after the fish caught. So I started looking into some of the knowledge provided by some of these anglers and found a few interesting articles. Obviously I have a lot to learn! So I decided to start one step at a time. In the next few articles you can follow my progress on moving towards better fish safety.

So now that I have some knowledge on fish safety, it was time to take action. First on my list was the knot-less landing net. So why then is the knot-less landing net better? According to an article based on research conducted in 2002 – 2003 researchers noted infections and damage to bodies and fins of fish 24 – 72 hours after release even though no damage had been detected during capture. Both knotted and knot-less nets were used. It must be noted that both nets caused infection and injury but that the damage caused by the knot-less net was much much lower. You can download the full PDF report here:

http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Fishnote/FN33.pdf

Because we do not immediately see the damage we cause we totally disregard the fact that we should handle each fish with care. So it was decided, I would start by buying a new knot-less landing net. See the photo’s below for the difference between the knotted and knot-less landing nets.

My new knotless landing net

The photo above displays a knot-less landing net, I bought mine for R150.00. Even though these nets will still cause some damage, it is much better to use them instead of the conventional knotted nylon landing nets. (Until such a time where the human race can design even better nets).

Below is a photo of my old knotted landing net that I inherited from my grandfather.

My old knotted landing net

So there, my first step towards fish safety is taken. Follow us for the next few weeks and months to keep track of our movement away from these bad habits towards a better catch-and-release-more-fish-safety-conscious approach.

Will & Dre

Knotless landing net