Apart from the odd situation, Gaffing fish is really a thing of the past. For any fish that is to be returned the angler has a duty, and I repeat DUTY, to care for his catch, so either netting or grabbing by hand are the only options. But have you ever thought what to do when you hook a decent conger or tope? Most landing nets are too small and ‘handballing’ them isn’t really a sensible option for the fish or yourself, well if you want to keep your fingers anyway!! I’ve seen a few skippers construct extra long landing nets with mesh bellies that are 5-6ft deep, and although they work, they have their own inherent problems! One - it means you have to carry two nets aboard, because a 6ft deep net will not be any use for anything else, and Two – a half decent conger or tope is going to spin its arse of in the bottom of the net – you can try get it out – I’m certainly not!

Here’s a little solution….

Two years ago I picked up one of these at the Miami International Boat Show – a Frabill Pro Performance landing net. At first it may look like any old, manufactured landing net but in fact it’s very different and very unique!

Firstly it has a large, oversized hoop measuring 20” x 23” and a 48” long handle. A net like this is going to reach over the gunwales of any boat, and with a teardrop shaped hoop, that size, anything you ever want is going to go through the entrance and into the net! But that’s not really unique, so here comes the best bits…

The Frabill Pro Performance range comes with a system called the PowR-Lok yoke. Simply this is a push button system that allows the handle to slide into the hoop meaning; this net can be retracted and stored away.

Nice touch, but here’s the real head turner…

This net does not use a normal mesh for the actual net itself, it’s actually constructed from a space age rubber which can stretch. Without any weight in it, the net is approximately 12 inches deep, but as load is put on the rubber mesh it stretches so the net becomes deeper! As you can see in my pictures it easily grows to accommodate my 3 year old Lola, but get this…. when I first saw this net the Miami Boat Show, it was secured roughly 6-7ft off the ground and the Frabill team were inviting members of the public to climb in it. Yes it will stretch deep enough to accommodate an average sized man, so without doubt it will accommodate any conger or tope, in fact any fish you would ever contemplate bringing aboard (easily up to 100lbs!)

Frabill have a website and I believe they ship worldwide, but you will also find this net available on eBay from quite a few international sellers

My view – a cracking bit of kit!

www.frabill.com

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