The Best American-Made Cast Nets for Catching Mullet

Casting nets into oceans and rivers to cull seafood dates to ancient Egypt, where nets have been found in tombs several thousand years old. Early nets were made of linen or cotton, which absorbed water. Later nets were made of nylon. According to Joe Malat of Chesapeake Angler Magazine, most cast nets today are made of nylon monofiliment.

  1. Basic Casting Net Components

    • Most casting nets have a hand line or rope that attaches to the fisherman's wrist. The other end is attached to a metal swivel. Multifilament or monofilament is tied into a horn or ring beneath the swivel. A lead line rims the net with lead weights or sinkers, which aids in dropping the net over a school of fish. Brail lines attach to the swivel at one end and to the lead line at the other. Fanning the net into the air like a Frisbee spreads the lead weights into a flat disk and the net sinks. Pulling on the brail line closes the net, trapping fish in a pouch.

    Mesh Sizes for Various Needs

    • Such big game fish as swordfish, king mackerel and kingfish are attracted to lively bait.

      Malat says one of the most effective natural bait is mullet because they are a favorite food for just about every coastal saltwater fish. These fish range from finger sized to as large as three pounds. Mesh size, or the square openings of the netting, range from 1/4-inch to 1½-inches. A 3/8-inch mesh is the ideal size for catching finger mullets in the surf and for all-purpose bait gathering along the coast of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Malat says.

    Casting nets for Fishing Tournaments

    • Panel contruction is a must in good net design.

      Farther south, and along the Gulf coast of the United States, annual fishing tournaments such as the Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) tournament or the Yamaha Professional Kingfish tournament (YPK) command big prize money for large game fish. Preferred bait for the tournaments tend to be such lively fish mullet, menhaden or poagie. Professional fishermen prefer cast nets that drop quickly over fish such as mullet, which tend to jump when startled.

    Net Preferred by a Professional Angler

    • Angler Jeffrey Dunbar, of the Florida FishDancer SKA tournament fishing team, says fast sinking nets have a minimum of 1.5 pounds of lead per diameter foot of net. So a 10-feet diameter, dry net, would weigh 15 pounds. Dunbar prefers a 5/8-inch mesh net made by Calusa. Sometimes bait fish swim in schools near the bottom, along beaches, in water 20 feet deep. This is where a net with a long hand line becomes important, Dunbar says. Calusa nets not only have longer hand lines than any he has seen, but unlike West Coast or Betts nets, Calusa nets float, should an angler lose his grip. These nets are handmade in Fort Meyers, Florida, and carefully stitched panels enable them to flatten faster on top of the water.