I don't use a keepnet for barbel, nor any other species for that matter. I might use one for livebait when piking, but that is probably all. For anything else there are problems.
Bream, roach, chub etc suffer in a net, for unless very, very few are present, they soon lose much of that protective slime. In a river they can often be pushed sideways into the net by the current and held against the mesh. The net if used at all, should, I think, be laid out in line with the current, and have a flat bottom, with fish friendly mesh.
I suspect barbel, in such a net, would suffer less than fish like bream, but for all except match anglers, I don't like to see keepnets. Not even for chub. I don't really believe that chub have any special propensity to scare the shoal when returned, but they can always be returned a short distance away from the point of capture. Usually I find they saunter back into the stream as if nothing has happened.
Match anglers should have guidlines for keepnet usage, and in a river, the net should be arranged to ensure that fish, especially big fish, are put into the net facing upstream. If at all possible, big fish of all species should be subject to a weigh and immediately return rule. For big matches this may well not be too practical of course.
We are stuck with match angling, and modern match angling often means carp and sometimes barbel. All that can be done is to ensure there are best practice rules. Maybe there should be a mandate for two nets, for small fish at a "weigh in" can get crushed.
I think soft wet grass can provide a suitable alternative to an unhooking mat, but I also often unhook fish in the landing net whilst it remains in the water.
|
Linear Mode
