Promar Nets have an underground following out West. The LN 501 B is a halibut landing net and has become the ‘go-to’ net for trophy hunters who are hunting big fish alone or with a partner. Promar has a line of more tournament centric nets that are smaller and more manageable, which makes their nets a perfect fit for my kind of fishing.
One of the most important pieces of equipment in my boat at times is my Promar Net. When are you are out hunting trophy bass with swimbaits, you need to be ready just in case you hook that one fish you’ve been after. My good friend Rob Belloni, once again provided me the insights to go ahead and get right with a Promar net, and it’s been a great asset to my fishing. You need to have a net onboard that is ready, in position, and well integrated into your fishing systems, because whether you fish alone or fish with a partner, a good net can mean the difference between being a hero a zero. I travel with 2 nets. One is for tournament fishing and one is for trophy hunting. They are both made by Promar, and each have been excellent tools in my fishing and I gladly recommend them.
The LN-501 B: The Bigbait Net
When it comes to bigbait fishing, you are fishing for big fish, with big heads and bodies, so the super wide basket of the Promar L-501 B is a great choice. Big fish just fit into the net easier. You’d be suprised how many bass fishing nets are not made to handle fish over 7 pounds really well. I mean, it is physically hard to get the fish into the net. You want a big basket where you can swim fish into the net and have a big sweet spot where you want the fish to go. The Promar LN-501B is a halibut landing net, so its got this huge basket (30″ Wide) and a 54″ handle that match up nicely with all things big fish and big bait. You need can handle the net alone or your partner can reach way out with it and scoop up a biggun’ for you. If you watch our DVD, Southern Trout Eaters, about 85% of the fish that I catch in that film are self netted with the Promar L501 B and you can get a good feel for how I go about playing fish and then swimming them into the net as quickly as possible when I get them near the boat.
I could put the cowling of that Mercury Optimax inside the basket of that net. You want a big basket to swim your fish into when you get them close to the boat. If you are hunting big fish, there is no sportsmanship in landing the fish, it’s all about getting the bite. That’s the way I see it. I don’t want to lose that big girl at the boat messing around trying to get a hand in her mouth, especially when dealing with the size of baits and hooks we do, that stuff gets dangerous.
This was one of my maiden voyages in my Ranger Z520. You can imagine how pleased I was that the Promar fit in the hole built for the net, and the basket rests nicely between the consoles. It just worked, hooray.Locked and Loaded. This is how you keep your net when you are fishing. Handle facing toward the bow of the boat. That way, you reach back and grab the handle with one hand and swim the fish into the basket with the rod tucked under your other arm. You will see this maneuver about 50 times in “Southern Trout Eaters” …Notice the grip tape, its actually that rod wrap material I put on the shaft of the Promar Net. I once had the net slip from my hand on a cold wet day. Not anymore with the rod wrap stuff on the shaft.Promar Nets can be a livewell on jon boats, drift boats, river boats etc where you might not have the luxury of a full blown aerated livewell system onboard. Put the fish back in the net and hang it over the rail, and then take your pictures and videos and don’t worry about killing your catch.
My Promar Net has been with me thru thick and thin, including netting my personal best largemouth, at 14.60 pounds in South Carolina, March 2006.
The Promar ProMesh Series Tournament Net
The Promar PreMesh Series Landing Nets are excellent bass tournament style nets. They have a retractable handle on them, which makes them easy to store while onboard, and a modular design means you can separate the handle from the basket (you can do this with the 501B too). I have been using the LN-652 for the last 2 seasons, and really like the net. Great compromise on a net, which means it’s still a big net, much bigger than most, but not as big as the 501B, and it just stores and fishes great on tournament day. It has a 48″ retractable handle and 24″ basket.
Here is the ProMar Promesh LN-652 in the same Ranger Z520. Notice how much smaller the basket is, but still a big basket when compared to most nets. The ProMesh Material is awesome and doesn’t tend to collect hooks and stuff during your day of fishing. Very manageable and solid net.
The Promar ProMesh series is easy on the fish. You can see how the net material is rubber, and you just don’t have any issues with the fish getting hung up, your baits getting hung up, but the net is still more saltwater in nature, so its bigger and stronger than most freshwater alternatives, and a big basket and handle is a good thing.
If you’d like to see a great clip of the Promar ProMesh LN-652 in action, check out this clip from a trophy brown trout hunting expedition, by clicking here. You will notice how well even the LN-652 does at handling big fish (that is a 27″ brown trout) and how well the net serves as a makeshift livewell and releasing tool. Here are some pictures from the catch too:
Notice the fly rod&reel in the rod holder, I’m fishing out of a drift boat on the White River in Cotter, Arkansas. The Promar ProMesh LN-652, with the telescoping handle is a manageable trophy hunting net even in a small driftboat, where space is limited and you don’t have luxuries you do in a full blown fiberglass bass boat.Brownie Von Huddchoker up close and personal. You can get a feel for the ProMesh material and how well that net does to take care of the fish and not hang up in hooks, gills, or fins.
