bandits

[sherman51]

Purchased a Cummings net this year. It has an all rubber basket. I believe it only extends to 8 feet but what a difference it has made with removing bandits and such. The only drawback is that rubber nets are much heavier. I'll take the ease of hook removal over some extra weight.

You can replace the basket part of your net with a new rubber basket. Happy hooker has them for about $25. I have removed the front hook on bandits with no ill effects.

if you don't mind the extra weight of a rubber net they are ok on smaller fish but I have had trouble with the larger eyes we get on the central basin. I went to the ego s2 slider about 3 or 4 yrs ago with the large net and the 48X108 handle. then I went a step farther and contacted them about a larger net. the guy I talked to agreed to make me a larger net after I told him I always retracted the handle on larger fish. and I only used it for erie. he was making me a 27X33 net and said this was a one time deal with no warranty on the larger net. so I had him make me 2 of them. the smaller stock net is great for smaller fish at 23X27. but I was getting a lot of 26" to 31" fish and its hard to land the 28" and larger with a 23X27 net. but now i'm getting 15" to 24" fish most of the time. but the larger nets works great on them.

I have a 21' boat with a bimini top and a handle 8' or 9' is just to long to bring in the boat. plus the handle retracts so easy. just push the button and close it. it is always aligned so you don't have to worry about getting it aligned.

they not only have rubber nets but have a light weight larger rubber net that weighs in at just over 3 lbs. but its still only 8" deep but stretches to 12" with a fish. I use harnesses and spoons with trebles and have no problems getting them out of the coated nets that I have. but for guys thats going to use a rubber net this is another option. with all the small fish being caught on erie now the rubber nets size is ok. but once the fish get 26" and larger you might want a larger net.

the handle is made on the paint handle design. the net or accessories just screws on the handle. when the net screws on make sure and get it very tight or it may come loose. another option would be to try coating the threads with dish soap before attaching the net. mine came loose soon after I started using it because I never tightened it down good. then I got it tight and it was good until I put the large nets on. I tightened them down to start with, and they haven't came loose on me.