Most veteran and professional fly fishermen will tell you how essential it is to have a quality landing net. A landing net will aid in greater fly fishing success which is the reason most of us go fly fishing. Another reason to have a landing net is for quick and safe fish releases so they can live to fight again another day.The best reason for me to have a landing net is to preserve the fisheries for our future. Most of the waters I fish are wild trout water, so keeping fish alive is a high priority. I believe all the experts agree that a labored trout (or any fish for that matter) that has endured a lengthy battle is more likely to die from exhaustion than a fish caught and released in a short amount of time.
I speak from experience when I state that it takes much longer to land a fish without a landing net. It seems every time you believe a fish is close to being tired enough to cradle, the fish takes one last run. Unfortunately that last run may have been a burst of energy that led to the death of the fish. The difference of having a landing net while fly fishing and fighting that same trout would have been netting the fish much sooner during the fight to prevent those last bursts of energy and saving its life.
A landing net can also be used as a temporary holding facility while you work a difficult hook removal. You must keep in mind that if you didn’t have a landing net, hook removal would be done holding the fish in one hand and a tool in the other. Remember, a fish’s body structure and weight can’t be maintained out of water not to mention the fish can’t breathe. I rarely have to lift a fish out of the water for more that ten seconds if at all. If you use a landing net and take great care of our fish, they will be here to catch again. I’ve caught the same fish the next day on many occasions.
I hope this helps persuade those of you who fly fish our streams and rivers to carry a landing net. Thank you.
