Handy & Cheap Mesh Bag

[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Hey Utah folks...I posted this on the float tubing board, but thought it might have some interest to a few of the anglers on this board too.[/size][/blue]

[size 1][#0000ff]Hey fellow fisherfolk, I just scored a great buy. TubeBabe and I hit a local swap meet this weekend and of course we checked out all of the cheapo and discount booths. Saw a new item in three or four of those places and bought a couple to try.

These are a nylon mesh bag about 14" by 14" wide and 23" high when opened. And, they have spring steel wires in the corners to hold them open. The real kicker is that they come folded up in a little pouch. When you take them out of the pouch, they pop into shape.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]They come in many different colors. I got two blue ones. They are only $2 apiece, and should make great bait receivers...or even live baskets. The problem with using mesh baskets has always been keeping them open, to avoid suffocating the fish.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I can see rigging up one with some foam swimming pool "noodles" and having a cheap, quick and efficient fish basket. The bottom is flimsy nylon, so that would have to be reinforced or replaced, if you panned to carry a heavy load of fish in it.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]See the pics of the label and the actual bag.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I am betting that these will be available almost anywhere there are discount stores or swapmeet type situations. There has got to be a million uses for these things...maybe even some nonfishing ones.[/#0000ff] [/size]
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[icehole69]

Hey thats a great idea. I am gonna have to look around for one of those. also do you have the plans for the rod holder you have atattched to your tube? I am getting a toon and what you had pictured really looks good. [cool]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Thanks for the kind words. Actually, I have about five or six different rod rack designs. Shoot me a PM and let me know whether you want a vertical or horizontal model, and what kind of craft you are going to set it up on.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]Also, let me know what kind of rods you will be taking. If you are just using spinning, you can get away with using lighter schedule 20 PVC in 1". For larger spinning rods or baitcast, you will probably look at 1 1/4 inch or larger...in the schedule 40, which is heavier.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]That is a constant quest...to find the ideal rod rack.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[DanielJRioux]

Good info, I have another idea you might want to try also. In the Military, or at least on a ship, you have to put your socks and skivys in a nylon mesh bag for washing with a zipper on top. They are very durable and very cheap and you can get them on base or at wall mart or any other discount store. The one good thing about them is they are sailor, airman or marine proof so I do not thing a fish could escape out of them.
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[rgreenland]

Wow, I totally forgot that I have about 9 of those bags!!! Plus I have a few of the larger ones as well. I used them a lot years ago in college for my laundry. They were great. I know I've got them in storage...I'll have to go dig them out now that I have a new use for them....I never thought about using them like that !
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]The military issue bags have got to be better made and longer lasting. I have been playing around with everything from the equipment bags sold in sporting goods stores to laundry bags to mesh shopping bags from Wally World. All will work.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]The one thing you should provide for, if using a mesh bag as a fish basket, is to get some rigidity in the sides to hold it open. Plastic rods or rings will do it. And just making a ring from the swimming noodle will float the bag next to a float tube...or out in the water if fishing from the bank.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]By the way, you can make some pretty good crawdad traps out of that stuff too.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[DanielJRioux]

How would you make crawfish traps out of them? do you have a picture of the finished product? Thanks
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Sorry, do not have any made up at present. But, there are a couple of designs you can make with the nylon mesh. [/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]One, is to make something like the old wire minnow trap...with a funnel on one or both ends. It requires a couple of plastic or wire hoops...to keep the ends spread open. Actually, that style works better with chicken wire or screen.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]The simplest design is to make a variation of the old round hoop net used by crab fishermen for fishing from piers. I can draw you a diagram if you need one. Basically, it consists of using only the bottom foot or so of a large mesh bag. [/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]I made my last one from the bottom of a small mesh landing net i found discarded with a broken handle. It already had a metal support ring around the edge. To make one from a mesh bag, you will need some metal wire or tubing to provide weight and support to keep the top edge open.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Once you have your mesh bag stitched to the ring, take three or four pieces of heavy mono or braided line and tie them at balancing points around the ring. Finally, bring them up and tie them all together in a spot centered in the middle of the net. These will serve to keep the net upright and level.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Some folks like to finish that off with a ring, to which they either attach a small rope or heavy fishing line.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]You bait the net with fish heads (where legal), a piece of chicken or any other delectable bait. Good idea to have a small mesh bag in the bottom to put it in. Makes the bait last longer and keeps the dads from walking off with it. Also a good idea to have a small weight on the bottom of the bag.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]This is a good rig for dropping over the side of docks, or the side of your boat. If you want to set a few, rig them with a short line and a float on the end. Set them out and then pick them up periodically.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Down in "Nawlins (New Orleans), some of the locals set up a half dozen of these things along the shore, each tied to the end of a stout cane pale. They move up and down the bank, hoisting the baited hoops up and out and dumping the dads in a big tub.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]The key to success is to lift the hoops quickly when you want to check them. The dads first try to dive to the bottom, but may also try to swim up and out. The mesh tends to entangle them better than wire, but you can't let them take time to figure out an escape plan.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]When the bugs are thick, you can lift the net every couple of minutes and have success. If they are more sparse, it may require longer to collect a few.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]That same hoop on a stick contraption also works to put under bugs you have on the end of a line, to insure that they do not drop off and get away.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]If you can make one of three feet or so, with the fine mesh, you can also use it for getting minnows in shallow water. You set it out, wait for some minnows to congregate, toss some bread crumbs on the water...over the net...to bring them in and keep them occupied...then hoist the net quickly to catch them. Larger versions of that idea are used a lot around the country and in salt water.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]As I said, I have been playing around with netting creations for awhile. I also have some nifty black nylon netting I got at a local military surplus store. I have made both fish baskets and 'dad traps with it. I am not a professional with a needle and thread, but with a heavy needle and some black rod building thread I have been able to fashion some suitable creations...if not beautiful.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[hustler898]

I got one of those bags last year to use as a fish basket. Instead I decided that I was better off using a $10 wire mesh fish basket from Walmart. Now my wife uses it as a laundry basket. I think the bag is really flimsy and as tube dude states would need "work" to make reliable.

If anyone is interested in purchasing them they can be found in the "As Seen on TV" stores in most local malls for a couple of bucks.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff][size 1]Hey HustleDude, how ya been? I don't think I would try using one of those cheapie bags as a fish basket, but I posted it on the float tube board for some of the guys who had asked about making a live bait "receiver". Quite a few folks either buy or catch small fishies to use for bait and want to keep them alive and handy.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Like yourself, I stick with the sturdy wire baskets. There are several sizes and styles. I use the big 19 X 30 basket. You can get it from Bass Pro or a couple of other places for about $12. It is the A model in the following pic.[/size][/#0000ff]




[blue][size 1]I am also attaching a pic of how I have my basket set up with a ring of foam "noodle" I tuck the wire handles down inside the ring and it deeps the top above the water line. [/size][/blue]
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[glassyeyedPaul]

Looks like the only thing missing is a aireator and a pump...[][crazy]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff][size 1]You gotta keep moving to keep the fish properly aerated. But, as the legless man says...I can't kick.[/size][/#0000ff]
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