i have run trotlines every year but just started up again last month. i have lost a 70lb+ yella right at the boat the first weekend of runnin the line. this mornin we lost about a 50lb yella right at the boat. people tell me to grab them under their gills or put your hand in their mouth and let them bite and pull them in the boat. we tried to grabe the 50 this mornin in the lip he flopped and he was gone. academy has a big dip net that i think will hold a 60lb fish but what would you do?
Thanks YC

I would either buy a heavy duty net online or make one if I have a welder friend. You could find/make some kind of lip-grip or gaff to hook the bottom lip...

i bought a gaf at academy but we are not sure if we want to use it cause we may knock the fish off.

If your intent it is to keep and put the big cat in the freezer to eat later then you might look into buying a gaff and just use it as soon as you get them up to the boat. If you intend on releasing the big cats then, no you don't want to use a gaff. You would probably need a big heavy duty net to get them in the boat.

oops, you posted about 10 sec before me. I see you bought a gaff. You should be able to get the cats in the boat using it. I wouldn't use it on any fish you are planning to release

A big net or just grab the fish quickly.

I caught a 54 lb'er last year. he wouldn't fit in my net so I put my hand through his mouth and out the gills, and grabbed that hand with my other hand. If you do that he is yours. But a friend of mine gave me a short gaff, and the next time I had a 44 lb'er stuck the gaff in his mouth and out the bottom jaw, This is the way to go, You hook em with the gaff, you can take the hook out and bring them in the boat really easy. I recomend a short gaff, the very best way to go.

thanks for all the help. i got a 26"x30" dip net today. it should handle a 60lb+ fish easily.

Did you get the net a Academy and was it a frabill? If so I have the same net and it is a good one, you should be able to put a 60+ in it easy!

Reach down grab em by the mouth, and put em in the boat.

I wouldnt stick my hand in their mouth when they have a hook in it. use a gaff

I had a lake record blue on the hook at travis, got him up to the boat but he wouldnt go in the net, and I had a big net. Finally got most of him in the net and when picking him up, the handle broke off the net.Then tried to swing him up in the boat and the hook straightened out, Lost him.

Most of the time when it is big fish I try to net them, but if the fish is to big to net I grab them by the mouth.

Has anyone tried a good Boga style grip?

Don't use a gaf...i've been doing this for years w/ an oversized net w/ a super long handle.

Works great...

Here is how NOT to use a big net... My buddy Eddie Gonzalez had never netted a fish over 50lbs and din't realize you will break a net unless you grab it by it's base

http://youtube.com/watch?v=M8IbcaZif-Y

When using a net, I highly recommend not lifting it into the boat like a crane, but once they're in the net, raise the net handle straight up, then lift it out so the weight is felt straight up instead of the handle sticking out over the water.
That should keep you from bending the handle or the frame of the net.

yea...lesson leared there, at least tell the guys on your boat who are netting the fish to do that or you'll end up bending a $50 net!

I have a big ole net but if I'm alone I gaff them in the mouth and say,"Get in the boat NOW!" never lost one doing that way yet.

caney yea i bought the frabil its 26"x30" $29.99. we have already talked about how we are going to get the fish in the net and in the boat.

Good luck!

hay hook worked this weekend on 40lb. blue on r&r by myself on t-wok sure was glad i had it! wife left camera at lake pics next week!

I bought one of the frabil big nets, the screws viberated out of the handle and nearly cost me a 30+ yellow! Epoxy thoes screws in!!! I also found if you buy the replacement net for the big frabil it works great on a smaller hooped net pole,(depth of the net is the issue not the diameter of the hoop. the main thing is to let the big cats run till they are give out. Less fight means less netting problems.

hey salsa / your voice reminds me of the legendary jimmy houston .. you can sure put people on some blues

Hey YC, Haven't heard from you in a while!!!
Man, I have used a short $7 gaff from Academy for about 7 years now. I have also netted fish >40lbs. My experience is that if your boat is big enough for you to hang over the side a bit without it dipping water the gaff is a better deal. I believe that nets take greater skill by the man holding the line than the man on the net. The line holder has to let the fish down, head first into the net rather than the net coming to the fish. You always want to dip one in head first.
With the gaff you want to stick him any where around the inside or outside of the lower jaw and to me this takes less skill than you would actually imagine. Then just suck the fish to the side of the boat with the gaff handle pointed in a direction (usually 90 deg of the water) that you utilize the shape of the gaff hook. Once you get you bearings you can either have your partener stick him with another gaff and bring him in together or just wrestle him into the boat.
The thing is that big nets are a pain in the boat. They are trip hazards, hang up on everything and an overall pain in the rear. Most of the time mine is used to haul fish up the hill!

I've had people say a lot of things...but never that!

Now, only if I could find a way to make a living fising!

you need to have a fighting line with a D ring on it. if you feel a good fish and get close to it, hook the fighting line on the main line and let the fish swim, then pull him in, then let him swim, then pull him back in some. wear it out and you will have no problem. any large cat will never want to go into a net. you have to wear them out first. use the same logic as you do for rod n reel. you dont just pressure down on them and reel them in, you have to let them fight and keep pressure on them and let them get worn out. works for the 100# plus flatheads i know