Mesh Network

REMAINING RATHER UNCHANGED for thousands of years, cast nets appear to be simple tools. Toss atop a school of baitfish and haul in your bounty. However, cast nets are available in a variety of sizes and styles comprising minute differences to suit a host of species and water conditions. Delivery is important, but it is the sewing of panels, lead line weight and mesh size that determines a net’s performance.

When researching to purchase a cast net there are many factors one must take into consideration that will determine sink speed and ability to effectively capture the intended quarry in any venue. Cast nets are measured from the horn, a round plastic piece at the very top of the net where the netting is tied, to the lead line at the bottom of the net. A 6-foot net stretched to its maximum capacity canopies 12 feet. Advance to a 12-foot cast net and you can double your coverage area to 24 feet, but it’s not advised you start with such a large net.

Though 100 percent handmade cast nets are painstakingly time consuming to create, they feature zero seams or panels and open with ease. Nets produced in mass for recreational anglers are constructed with individual skirts or panels that are then sewn together. Skirt nets feature seams around the net in a bullseye pattern. Panel nets are far more popular, profitable, easy to repair, and assembled in a pie shape configuration.