Review Summary: Fisknat Landing Nets
Authors Product Rating: 4 stars (out of 5 of course)
Pros: Beautiful design, Durable, Rubber Webbed net bag.
Cons: Wasn’t strong enough to hold all 210 pounds of me…
The Bottom Line: Fisknat Landing Nets produces a high quality product at a fair price. Made in the U.S.A.!

So there I was wet-wading the Henry’s Fork. The Sun burning everything from the waist up, the river freezing everything from the waist down. I was fighting what must have been an enormous Brown and I was losing. Ten more seconds and I was about to turn into Brad Pitt and let myself go with the fish (river runs through it style). That’s when I executed one of my more advanced wading techniques called: “slip trip and swim”.  Not to be confused with "Duck and Cover" or "Stop Drop and Roll" The: "Slip Trip and Swim" is a highly stylized wading stunt that the avid wader might be familiar with. It is performed correctly  when you slip or trip (one must come before the other) and then swim. You will know you've mastered this technique when you use your equipment to save you. I used my landing net...

The first time I saw a Fisknat Landing net I knew I had to have one. I am a sucker for aesthetics, and these things are beautiful!

Hand crafted in Tacoma Washington by founder Bob Nelson and his daughter Shannan I supposed that if the net was of poor quality I could always pay them a visit. So I picked one up. My model of choice being the: “Rocky Ford”. After two full years of use and abuse (and I do mean abuse) it is still the best landing net I have ever owned.

The nitty-gritty

             The Rubber Bag

This is the best! I’ve wanted a landing net with a rubber bag for a few years now. When I met Bob and Shannan at the Fly-Fishing Expo this year in Bellevue I jumped on the chance to get a rubber replacement bag for my Rocky Ford. Installation was simple and the replacement bag fits perfectly.

             Size/Design

With an overall length of 33” most folks wouldn’t really consider the Rocky Ford a “hand net” but since I catch such huge fish all the time, anything smaller just wouldn’t do. Ok, that’s a lie. I bought this size of net because it met my needs as a photographer. While shooting my fish I like to give them plenty of room to breath and relax. Putting a fish in a big spacious Fisknat Net with a Rubber Bag is kind of like sitting Bob Lawless down in front of a nice fire with a fat Cuban and some Crown Royal.

Official dimensions of the Rocky Ford are: Bow: 7.5” X 20.5” Handle 12.25” Overall Length of: 33”

             I broke mine

At the culmination of my perfectly executed “Slip, Trip and Swim” I involuntarily used my Fisknat as a “river crutch”, much like a wading stick jammed into your armpit. Unfortunately it snapped on one side of the bow. I promptly “repaired” it using the c-clamp from my tying vise and some “lock tite” super glue. I’ve had to “fix” it periodically since then but it has held up like a champ!

In conclusion Fisknat not only produces the type of product I can endorse whole heartedly, they clearly run the type of business I can recommend.

Thank you Fisknat

Marc "Rowdy" Crapo

=========================
Contacts:        Shannan Nelson
                        4531 east b street
                        Tacoma, Wa. 98404

                        235-538-1084

                        Fisknats13@aol.com

Article	078
Created	10-8-2004
Modified	4-29-2005
Author	MacRowdy
Rating

Attachments

fisknat23.jpg
99.0 KB
Downloaded 1313 time(s)

HenrysBowsmall.jpg
241.0 KB
Downloaded 1129 time(s)

fisknat2big.jpg
378.0 KB
Downloaded 1120 time(s)

henry's3.jpg
51.1 KB
Downloaded 1121 time(s)

kinglake4.jpg
30.7 KB
Downloaded 1135 time(s)