Capital Exotic Fish

Source for Heavy Duty Dip Net?

dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Anyone know of a good source for a heavy duty dip net?

I'm looking for one for the trip to Uruguay.

I know from experience that the regular sporting kind won't hold up to the rocks, etc. of a week of use...

Of course I need one with relatively fine netting..

Thanks,
Matt
 
N

Nathan

Members
dogofwar said:
Anyone know of a good source for a heavy duty dip net?

I'm looking for one for the trip to Uruguay.

I know from experience that the regular sporting kind won't hold up to the rocks, etc. of a week of use...

Of course I need one with relatively fine netting..

Thanks,
Matt
Click to expand...
There is a certain company mentioned on the nanfa forums, I'm sure Bob could tell you. The name escapes me at the moment.
 
minifoot77

minifoot77

Members
ask mab where he got his. . . I shortened the handle on it but idk where it came from

Posted via mobile.capitalcichlids.org
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
This is what I got (it's on its way...and seems perfect :)):

[SIZE=+1]The Perfect Dipnet 16.5"[/SIZE][SIZE=+1]black 1/16" netting x 10 inches deep 56.5 inch 3-piece telescoping handle $65.00[/SIZE]

The included 56.5 inch telescoping handle can be removed from the net head and collapsed into three pieces of 20 inches long and one 7-1/8" connector piece for traveling. This handle is composed of a 36.5 inch telescoping handle with a 23.5 inch handle extender. The net head is 19 inches long with the handle removed. Choose 6 or 10 inch deep netting bag.

http://www.jonahsaquarium.com/JonahSite/netdipnet.htm
 
Frank Cowherd

Frank Cowherd

Global Moderators
Staff member
You might look at any nursery that sells koi or a straight koi store. Nets for catching koi are heavy duty. The outside edge of the one I have had for ten years protects the netting with a metal cover. It is about 2 feet in diameter. I use it mainly in the pond but I have taken it to the swamp and use it to catch minnows and crayfish there without damaging the net. Could be a bit of a problem getting it on an airplane as it has a 6 foot handle that expands to about 10 feet, but likely there are smaller versions.
 
Shane

Shane

Members
Matt,
To be truthful I have had little luck with dipnets. Even the "heavy duty" ones tend to quickly fall apart in the field (I have not tried those from Jonas). They also have limited uses. The one thing they are good for are Chaetostoma (in South America) and Chiloglanis (in Africa). Have one collector lift a large flat rock about two inches, slide the dip net under, and then lift stone out of the water. The hillstream loricariid or Mochokid will then swim into the waiting net. This is also pretty easily accomplished with a push net or small seine as well. The other issue is that they take up a lot of space and space is always at a premium on every expedition.

If you are looking for something cool to bring (and Felipe already has a nice selection of seines) look at picking up some collapsable minnow traps. Leaving these out all night baited often turns up some cool stuff. I have several similar to these

http://www.amazon.com/Ranger-Products-1017-Folding-Minnow/dp/B000772D38

I am also assuming you already have a good cast net for Corydoras and the like.

-Shane
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Thanks much for the info, Shane!

I'm pretty optimistic about the "Perfect Dip Net"... really good reviews on NANFA's site.

Last trip I got pretty good at the slip the net under the rock / lift the rock method of pleco capture :) It only gets tough in deep water!

Felipe is master of the cast net and seine. I brought a small seine last time and found it to be pretty useless except in small, narrow streams.

One of the challenges is the large rocks. Unless they happen to fall into a cast net or are fry hanging out in some vegetation, catching pikes (Crenicichla) must often be done one by one using a fishing pole / small hooks.

Any insight on other techniques is much appreciated!

Matt
 
T

toddnbecka

Members
There's always the 12v battery and a couple of plate electrodes rig. Dumping some salt into the water makes it even more effective.
 
Shane

Shane

Members
LOL. Yes large rocky areas are a real pain. If it is fairly clear around the stone you can "scrape" along it with a push net. You can make a functional push net by taking four 2.5' lengths of PVC and four PVC elbows. Use super glue to attach them all to make a frame once you are on the ground and then attach a 4'X4' seine net to your PVC frame with zip ties and you have an ugly, but functional push net.

This can be pushed under the stone as best as possible then brought up scraping along the stones side. This is a pretty good technique for Ancistrus especially.

Really rocky areas require traps. Much of the shoreline of Lake Victoria was this way making seines and cast nets useless. I also had some luck using a retired king size bed mosquito net. Lay the net down in a square and weight down the four corners. Then make a nice pile of stones and/or driftwood in the middle. Next day have two collectors raise the corners to trap everything inside. The third collector then removes all the structure in the net. It can then be brought up to the surface and the catch sorted.

Nothing wrong with fishing line and small hooks with the barb filed off. Nearly all fish recover quite quickly.
-Shane
 
Shane

Shane

Members
Old mosquito nets also make an easily transportable holding facility if you are at one location for an extended time.
-Shane

IMG_1880.jpg
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I think that I'm going to try out a couple of those foldable minnow traps that you linked... I could see them working for tetras and the like pretty well...and probably pikes and Hoplias that want to eat them!

Matt
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Old school, eh?

toddnbecka said:
There's always the 12v battery and a couple of plate electrodes rig. Dumping some salt into the water makes it even more effective.
Click to expand...

Somehow woofing a 12V though the outback strikes me as less than lyric. And like chemicals, effective perhaps, but not exactly "sporting". :D
 
T

toddnbecka

Members
I'm also not sure how that would affect their chances of survival, particularly for shipping. Biologists commonly do it, but they aren't collecting the fish for extended bagging and transit either.
 
Shane

Shane

Members
One more piece of kit that I thought of was an umbrella net. Very useful for top swimmers like tetras, barbs, and some killies. They are inexpensive and fold up small for transport. It is also worthwhile to sink them deep (use a long rope or piece of twine) with some "bait" affixed to the middle and use them more like a trap. For top swimmers you can even sprinkle some flake food over the net to bring in a good catch.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/bait-dealer-nets/936121.aspx


This is the company I also order my seines from as well as bulk netting.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/bulk-netting/

-Shane
 
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