# Am I helpless?



## rolland (Jan 8, 2008)

Went to dicks and gander today to get a cast net, you guys said get shad for cat fishing so thats what im doin  . Neather place stockes cast nets  so I ended up getting 1 from wally world for 26 bucks. Well long story short me and my bud went out to milton to tery it out and eather there is a trick to throwing it or im just mentaly slow. Every toss was horrible I wasnt even close to getting it to open up. Did this take you guys a lot of pratice to do it right? Im going to go out tomorrow and try some more, ran out of daylight tonight.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

it takes some practice.just take it out in the yard and work on it.


ps.............did you read the instructions?


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## Joey209 (Oct 17, 2007)

Get on YouTube and look up throwing a cast net and A bunch of instructional videos will pop up.And You have to get a decent cast net.Walmart cast net are not very good at all.Once you spend a little more money on a reel nice one you can really tell a difference.Good Luck


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## rolland (Jan 8, 2008)

> did you read the instructions?


it didnt come with instructions, prob should have told me there it was a crap net hehe. Ya im checking out you tube going to give it some more pratice tomorrow.


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## JUSTCRAZY (Apr 6, 2004)

I have thrown $300+ dollar nets and have 4 Walmart nets, they all throw the same. You can however soak in fabric softner to soften, then rinse well before using. 
I will just take practice, and it is easiest to learn from someone. 

Good luck
Rob


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## rolland (Jan 8, 2008)

the guy @ gander said they are not letting you use cast nets @ misquito. When I told the guy @ dicks this he said he dosent think your allowed to use em anywhere sept eari. To me it sounded like he was making an excuse for them not carrying any. Can I get in trouble for using this?


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

You can use a cast net anywhere but lake Erie and any dams posted as restricted. Other than that you can throw em pretty much anywhere! I too throw the Wally world nets and they have done more than fine for years now!


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## hunted (Dec 10, 2006)

yeah,wally worlds nets work just as good as others.there are restrictions on the nets,cant use within 1000 feet of a dam,the hole sizes can't be too small or too big,the diameter can't be over i believe ten feet or something close.i cant imagine throwing a ten foot throw net,let alone all the shad that would come out of it if ya hit a big school of em,might be something to try one day...............


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

I have thrown a net for years and it takes a little getting used to. Biggest net I have thrown is 14' diameter and it takes it out of ya. You hope to get the bait you need on the first few throws or it starts to wear you out. Just so I dont get jumped, the 14'er was thrown at the beach.

I have a 8' net with smallest holes allowed thats made of nylon for shiners and minnows and a 10' net that is mono for shad. They take some practice and there is alot of different ways to throw it. When I learned I put a kick ball in my front yard and tried to throw it perfectly around it. Dont have to worry about lossing it in the rocks and you only look silly in front of your neighbors. Mono nets will be stiff for a little while til your break them in. Once you get the hang of it, you ill be catching bait by the bucket full.

Jake


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## rolland (Jan 8, 2008)

I watched all the you tube vids last night got up ready to go make a fool of myself to the neighbors and its raining like crazy. Soon as it stops though im going to get out there. I have never bween 1 to give up on anything so im sure I will get this figured out. Tks for all the replies, I was just a little bummed last night but ill keep the ole chin up.


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## Steelwolve (Apr 18, 2006)

Yea man keep your chin up, I first used one last year and it took me till august till I could get a good throw, one outta two.. no kidding I thought I bought a broken one lol. But by October I was throwing 9 outta 10 perfect. Ive went through 5 last year (watch out for Bridge posts they hold shad but also usually big trees) and all were from Walmart, I highly recomend a 4 footer to start, Also I found a little trick that worked well for me, Ill try to describe it... After you split your net into 2 halves and you have half the weights in your left hand throw most of the weights (from the left side) over your shoulder and keep just a couple in your left hand. Hard to describe but it may help.. On the legal note yea you are %100 leagal if its under 5 ft diameter (most sold at walmart are) , and remember you can NOT keep bluegills, crappies, or other gamefish if caught in a net. Good luck and keep practicing.


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## kennedy327 (Jul 12, 2006)

wow I just watched a video. that looks like a pain in the butt, lol.


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## rolland (Jan 8, 2008)

tks steel, I think I can picture what your saying ty, I will stick @ it untill I get it.


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