Cast Netting

[bravajo]

Folks;

I am trying to add some new skills to my fishing arsenal this season and I have selected cast-netting as one of them. I think I have the mechanics of throwing/retrieving down after a little practice.

Now for the question:

How do I catch bait ?

I occassionally come across schools of bait on the surface but not every day. I hear people chum and attract bait and then cast net them. Others cast net to bait schools that they mark on their sounder. I know this is a newbie question but how do you guarantee success with a cast net?

Thanks,
Joe.

[Tunadevil]

In my expierience if you can't see them you can't get them with the cast net. The net does not sink fast enough for anything that would be out of site. Chum works because it raises them, me personally, I have never caught by throwing on bait I marked. This does not mean you can't throw blind in the dark, you have to have an idea where they are. Hope it helps.

[wsabi]

What do you want to catch? Different bait, different locations. All of my castnetting is done around jetties, boat ramps, etc, where the shoreline/structure tends to either attract bait or channels their movement.

My vacation rental is awesome. Every night, right past dusk, massive schools of finger mullet swim right past my dock/porch. I throw a few minutes each night, fill up the bait bucket, and walk inside. Wish it was always that easy for me elsewhere.

[Bullshipper]

Cast netting in estuaries and along shorlinnes where the bottom is sandy or grassy and up to 10 feet deep will make this a no brainer with a net.

Using sabikiis in dark or early morning deep water will catch them better than a net in my experience, but this probably varies from locale to locale.

River mouths, were the drop off starts is usually a good place to look in bays with your hooks, or real near to shore with your net.

Birds will mark em too.

[bravajo]

Thanks for all of the replies. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious. Starting in July is when I see large schools of smaller bait in my local backbays and estuaries. The water is clear and they are usually on/near the surface. I live about 50 yards from the town dock and my marina so I could just check down there and toss a net when the schools are within casting distance.

Just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing a critical aspect of castnetting. I thought it was mostly a surface activity but there is always something out there to learn.

[Goosedog]

Simple suggestions:

1. Get net ready.
2. See bait.
3. Snag net on something, overthrow bait, underthrow bait, hit self in face with net, fail to throw net properly scaring all the bait.
4. Cuss.
5. Blame anyone and everyone within earshot.
6. Sip beer.
7. Repeat.

[Tireless]

I don't know where you are looking for the bait so I will simply tell you what works for me in N Ga waters.

First, find the birds that are finding the bait.....they would be the one's diving into the drink. Down here we spot diving birds in the sounds, inlets, beach fronts, moderately deep water.

Second, consider the tide...bait like to move in and out of inlets with the tide.........mid-tide is often the best time to find the big pods. In an incoming tide bait like the channels....on an outgoing tide they hug the shallows.

Third, position your boat so that the bait are coming to you....tossing a net at bait that are already fleeing in the opposite direction makes for a lot of throws.

Fourth, many folks turn of their engines.....I only do this if the bait are acting real sneaky.

Fifth, toss the net and get ready to retrieve the line.....the net doesn't need to hit or even get close to the bottom for it to be full.....waiting too long often gives the volunteers a chance to reconsider their situation and dive below the net.

Now if I was hunting pinfish and other bottom dwellers I will throw a net around docks, shrimp boats, marinas, rock piles, etc. If I wanted mullet I would find a marsh or tidal creek that closes at low tide. Mullet stack up waiting for a chance to dash for safety as soon as the incoming tide gives them a waterway.

[bravajo]

Tireless,

Other than some school spearing, mummichog (killies) and peanuts I don't know what other options are there. I am on Easter LI (near Montauk) and I already trap spearing and mummichog but sometimes there are insane schools of baitfish that a cast net could snag me enough bait for a week.

I guess snapper blues are also possible to liveline for fluke or bass but they are easy enough to catch on rod/reel and the possession limit is 10.

Thanks,
Joe.

[bzalmano]

Goosedog - 3/31/2006 3:22 PM

Simple suggestions:

1. Get net ready.
2. See bait.
3. Snag net on something, overthrow bait, underthrow bait, hit self in face with net, fail to throw net properly scaring all the bait.
4. Cuss.
5. Blame anyone and everyone within earshot.
6. Sip beer.
7. Repeat.

You did not happen to be any where near Vero Beach FL yesterday watching me use that exact procedure did you .

[YoungersGhost]

bravajo - 3/31/2006 12:40 PM

Folks;

I am trying to add some new skills to my fishing arsenal this season and I have selected cast-netting as one of them. I think I have the mechanics of throwing/retrieving down after a little practice.

Now for the question:

How do I catch bait ?

I occassionally come across schools of bait on the surface but not every day. I hear people chum and attract bait and then cast net them. Others cast net to bait schools that they mark on their sounder. I know this is a newbie question but how do you guarantee success with a cast net?

Thanks,
Joe.

Wait till fall. There wil be mullet and bunker everywhere. Sabikis work for spot (striper bait) and tinkers/squid (offshore).

[ximmortaldeathx]

Is there a good site that teaches you how to cast properly, my uncle in cuba is a pro with a large castnet , he casts them in a perfect ciscle. I also wanna learn to cast.