Brodin Firehole Net

As I see it, the Brodin Firehole net is the ideal net for fly fishermen. I've come to the conclusion, though, that the new tenkara net offered by Tenkara USA is a better choice for a tenkara angler.

From time to time, there are discussions on almost every fly fishing forum about whether it is necessary to carry a net. From the minimalistic simplicity of rod, line, fly, perhaps it's not absolutely necessary, but I think it is a very good idea.

Brodin Firehole Net - Ghost

When catching little wild brookies, a net may not be necessary, but if there are larger fish in the stream, eventually you will catch them (yes, the presentation is that good). A larger fish on a tenkara rod is a handful. The extreme suppleness of the rod will tire the fish relatively quickly, but if your line plus tippet is more than perhaps a foot longer than your rod, you'll have to grab the line to land the the fish.

With the light tippet necessary for tenkara fishing, grabbing the line is a risk. I've lost nice fish at that point, and I'm sure many other tenkara anglers have as well. Having a net allows you to land a larger fish much sooner, long before you could safely grab the fish.

If you are fishing catch and release, you owe it to the fish to not stress or tire it any more than necessary. If you are backpacking and catching your dinner, you don't want your dinner to break your tippet and get away at the last minute. In either case, a net is a good idea if there is any chance of hooking a larger fish.

A longer net allows you to reach the fish more quickly, and if you are fishing a relatively short line, it makes it easier to net the fish without having to grab the line. I like a narrower net because I often carry more than one tenkara rod with me and have made a tenkara rod bag that allows me to hold the rod tubes while on the stream, and the tubes plus my net when on the train or on the trail. A 7" narrow net fits in the bag, (although it turns out that the 9 1/2" Tenkara USA tamo does, too).

The Brodin Firehole net is narrow enough to easily fit in my tenkara bag (I bought the Brodin Firehole Streambase). I have not found narrow fly fishing nets to be any problem at all in netting a fish, as the fish is always being pulled straight at me when I net it - and no fish you're going to be able to catch on a tenkara rod is wider than the 7" net. The 15" length of the opening is just about right for the size of fish that you can reasonably expect to catch (fish a bit larger will just slide right in).

The clear rubber bag of the Brodin Firehole Ghost net is a great feature. I can't honestly say that it won't scare the fish, but it certainly is less visible underwater than a standard net bag. The biggest advantage that I see is that your flies won't snag in it. The second biggest advantage (at least where I fish) is that wild rose bushes or wild raspberry bushes won't snag in it nearly as badly either. The Brodin Firehole Streambase net has fish-friendly nylon mesh bag. If you fish barbless hooks it's a great alternative at a significantly lower price.

If you don't have a net, you really should get one. If you have a net but would like to upgrade, the Brodin Firehole would be a great choice, particularly if you still wear a vest, have a particularly strong magnetic net holder than actually holds the net until you want it to let go (with a safety leash just in case), and like a longer net.

The Brodin Firehole net is a bit hard to find. For some reason most fly fishermen want a larger net, but for tenkara this is just the right size. You can find the Ghost net at Fishwest and American Fly Fishing Co. both offer free shipping on the ghost net. American Fly Fishing Co. also has the Firehole Streambase net.

Brodin Firehole Net - Streambase

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