How about that title for search?? About 5 years ago my dad and I were in Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt CO. Great fly shop, but you can never get outta there without spending over a c-note. This visit was no different. The old man needed some new boots and I was in need for a boat net. So out the door we went with a pair of boots and a boat net. I like wooden nets some dudes don’t but I think they are classy and any class I can get will surely help. The net that I have had in my boat for the last 5 years has been a Clark Fork Fisknat. Everyone thought it was a nice net but would always say it would break. That kinda pissed me off considering that I liked my new net. Then they would go on about how they have had wooden nets and they all broke. Well I have abused the shit out of this net; thrown it on rocks, banged in on bottom, left it in the sun, rain..etc. And after 5 years of abuse the wood is still solid. The only thing that gave away a bit was the rubber net and this wasn’t a problem the net still landed fish. So as a winter time project I called up Mr, Fisknat and order me a new basket for 25 beans and refinished the wood. Pictured below is the net in its newer form. Looking Sleek.

Here is the net after many years of hard labor.



So if you choose to fix a net like mine I would suggest doing the following:
Make sure you count how many loop connections are on the net, in this case there are 18
Count how many basket loops are on each side of the net, in this case there are 8 on each side and one in the middle on the top and bottom of the net.
Also count how many times the string is wrapped around the net loops, in this case it is wrapped 3 time around the net loop before going back into the wooden handle.
Once I determined the above mentioned I cut off the old basket, took off the electrical tape and sanded down the wooden handle with a hand sander and 100 grit paper. I then took goof off or mineral spirits and wiped the net clean of excess debris.

Next I took Gorilla Glue and filled in some small cracks around the net and let it sit overnight. If you haven’t used this type of glue before don’t be freaked out when you find that it has foamed up around the areas that you glued thats what its supposed to do. The next day I took a utility knife and shaved off all the foam residue left behind from glue. Then I took the goof off and rubbed down the net to clean off excess debris and also loosen left over glue. I did this process a few times and then gave the net a final sand.

The net is now ready for your finish. I used a semi gloss clear coat urethane that I had left over from finishing some wood around the house… hopefully it holds up. I put 6 coats of the product on before attaching the basket. Below is a picture of the net with one coat.

Here is a shot with three coats of finish on the net. Yes Those are boxes of yeti hoodies on my raft. Side note a % of hoody sales will go to the wild steelhead coalition at the end of the year. Buy one and help a steelhead.

I recommend drink beer while applying the clear coat. Especially if you are in a cold garage. I also recommend listening to music otherwise it is a pretty boring process. Once the final coat was dry ( I used a hairdryer to expedite the process) it is time to insert the basket. This is where knowing where to line up the basket loops come in handy. Line your loops up with their corresponding net holes (where the line comes out of the net and wraps around the basket) and tape it to the net (use blue painters tape). This will help hold the basket in place as you thread the line through. Start your threading line at the fork of the net. There are 2 holes pick one to start and you will finish on the hole next to the starting point. This step took me the longest. Make sure you wrap each basket loop at least three times before moving on to the next. This will keep you basket tight to the wooden frame. You will notice that once you finish attaching the basket it might be a little loose got through and take out any slack by tightening the thread. Your last basket loop is the toughest. This loop will be at the fork of your net where you first started. I used a bunch of half hitches to secure the last loop. Here is the final product.


There ya have it. If none of this made sense don’t worry about it. Just go out and buy a net. I wanted a little side project. Hopefully all this work doesn’t result in a broken net… Thanks for reading