castnet in fall

[beachtoad]

what size mesh and what weight would you guys recommend. I bought a cheap one @ TnWs last fall. Threw it alot in about chest deep water @ schools of mullit or bunker didn't catch a thing. Now a few of my throws should have caught something. Least I thought so,but fish didn't. I don't think it sunk fast enough. I will have to get it out to see what weight and size it was. I did buy the 4' one but I think I could throw a 6 now that I got the hang of it. So what should I buy for this fall???

[Plug]

You didn't catch anything because the cheap nets are weighted at about 3/4# er foot. I'm guessing it was 1/4 or 3/8" mesh. Both the light weight and small mesh make the net sink slow. Plus it is probably not a 6 panel net so the lead line is prone to not lay flat and let fish outinally 4' is too small.

Buy a net at least 1# per ft. preferably 1.5#. Buy a 6 panel net. I'd consider an 8' radius.

I like a 1/2" mesh net. It will sink fairly fast but won't gill finger mullet. It will gill spearing though which can be a pain.

3/8 won't gill most small bait but sinks too slow.

5/8" is great for cob mullet and bunker but will gill small finger mullet.

You'll probably get advice to buy a calusa. IMO calusa nets are overpriced. You can buy a better net for the price. If your looking for economy a west coast tru spreader is a good net for 1/2 the price of a calusa. But if you want to spend $25/ft. for a net I'd buy a custom.

[crashq]

I believe the ones we use in the fall are 6 foot 1/2" mesh. They sink quickly and really work well on the finger mullet. I'll second Plug's recommendation on the 1/2" mesh. We do gill a lot of the spearing like Plug said, but you can generally push them through without killing them.