which net to buy,

[tateman]

gonna purchase a new cast net, thinking of a 8' cracker 1/2 mesh wondering if the colusa would be worth the extra money? where would be the best place to purchase one? or what would y'all recommend,

thanks,

[BentRod]

8ft 1/2" Cracker would be a great net. I throw 8 and 10ft Crackers. I've tried them all and always come back to the Crackers. The Calusa is even more awesome, but it's expensive. Saunders Sporting Goods and Captains Quarters have Cracker cast nets that I know of.

Another net that is decent for the money are the Joy Fish cast nets. They are slightly lighter (1.25lb/sqft), but they throw good and are significantly cheaper than the Cracker nets. I have an 8ft 5/8" Joy Fish I use when baits shallow and I may have to throw a bunch or throw in risky areas. Otherwise, I like my 10ft Crackers.

[tateman]

how much different is the throw from a 10ft to the 8. i have a 6ft now and throw OK, just have never throwed a ten before, do you think that i would be able to manage or would i be better off with the eight being that i am not a pro?

[wishforfish]

Other than the extra weight it is the same to me. I wish I had thrown the 10 before buying 2-8's because I would own one. Thought they would be harder to throw but they aren't.

[BentRod]

I don't have any trouble normally with a 10 because I'm so used to it. If you have to throw over and over to get bait, a lot of guys will get tired. It's not really the ability to simply throw it or open it. A throw or two is no problem, but 45min of throwing will wear a lot of people out. It's definitely not for everybody.

[tateman]

thanks forthe help, pretty sure im gonna go with the 10ft colusa cabelas has them for 239.00

thanks, andy

[BentRod]

Don't throw it on a stump! I threw a brand new 10ft Cracker on a tree in 25ft the other day. I almost cried. I had to use the outboard to get it off and low and behold there were no major holes and it had a 13" shad in it. Lucky.

[archenemy]

Bentrod is showing off his age here ! I'm probably twice his age and can tell you that the 10' will wear you out after 6 or 7 throws which is normally what it takes to find/catch Gizzards. If you are throwing under the lights for Ale's then you hopefully wont' need to throw as much because you have a captive audience.

I have the 8' 3/8 cracker and 10' 5/8 cracker and am very happy with both. If you have trouble with a cracker call the MFG and they will make it right - no questions asked.

Keep in mind that a 10' net is harder to manage when you want to get the horn up to the rope. You can send it back into the water to do this but you may scare away the bait. The 8' can be done inside the boat if you are up on the bow - makes you taller.

[mytoyzfishing]

Saunders had a couple of 8' and 10' 1/2" crackers the other day when I was there and picked up a new 10' 1/2". as of the other day they were $125.00 each and he said the price was going to go up in a couple of weeks when his new shipmant for spring came in due to manufacture price going up.

[BentRod]

I may be young but I have the back of an 80yr old!!

[tateman]

been using the calusa for a month now and love the net, pulled it up the other day and POP!! the horn broke from the hand line down to the bottom it went, made a way point real fast but the water was still 15 foot deep, couldn't put a hook on it to get it back to the boat cried for two days!! sent a email to calusa to tell them what happened, they responded within a hour and requested a picture of the hand line, ten minutes later they say there gonna send me a new one at no cost who would have thought? excellent customer service, well worth the money spent on the net.