Our Philosophy…
I’ve been fishing my entire life and fly fishing for the last 35 years. I love it! Most of my vacations involve some kind of fishing, whether it’s stripers in Cape Cod, small brookies in Vermont or cutthroat in Colorado. I’ve never been satisfied with the nets I’ve owned. My wife said, if you don’t like what you can buy, why not make your own? Genius! All of my nets are made right here in my shop in Shelburne, Vermont out of locally sourced materials. Occasionally, I will use something exotic, like the Banksia Pod handles (a pinecone from Australia), or mahogany or tiger wood. The walnut and red birch used in the main part of the net come from Lathrops Maple Supply, down the road in New Haven, Vermont.
The making of a wooden fishing net…
I’m wrapping up a video I shot of how to make a net. Coming soon!
This is the steam bender I Macgyver'd out of PVC pipe. 20 minutes at 212 degrees and the wood is bent onto the form and left to dry overnight.
Wood has been steamed and bent onto the form. It drys like this overnight.
Nets are hung to be sprayed with spar varnish. It's the same finish they use on wooden boats.
Here is a Greensboro net glued up and drying overnight. It takes a lot of clamps to make a net!
The details…
Banksia Pods
One of the custom handle options are Banksia Pods. These pods originate in southwestern Australia and are commonly compared to pinecones, although Banksia trees are not conifers. The seed pod is the fruit of the tree.
Presto, chango!
I get these pods in their “raw” form and slice them into sections on my bandsaw. I then fill in the seed pockets with colored epoxy (turquoise shown here) and let it cure under pressure to make sure there are no bubbles left. The handles are then shaped and sanded and set in the form, ready to be glued into the bent walnut and red birch. It’s a lot of work, but I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s worth it!
Gallery
We’re heading out on a trip in July and hope to fill this gallery in with lots of great fish in nets pictures. Until then, here’s some random fish pictures from over the years.
