Choosing the right landing net for carp fishing

Having the right equipment that is suitable for the type of carp fishing that you are doing is very important, and that certainly applies in the case of landing nets.

The wrong type of carp landing net will not only make it harder for you to use it and to land fish with it, but could ultimately actually cost you a fish on the bank after you have done all the hard work of getting the carp to eat your bait, hooking it by using an effective rig, and then playing it all the way in to the margins!

There is nothing worse than losing a fish right at the net, especially if it happens to be a big one and you’ve seen it, and even more so if that loss isn’t down to bad luck, but something preventable like your landing net either not doing the job it is supposed to, or not performing in the way you would expect when you had an opportunity to net the fish.

Landing nets are something that we often just take for granted, but to get one that is just right for the job, there are a number of factors to consider. You also need to think about whether you are looking for one that is a bit of an all-rounder and will handle most fishing situations well both at home and abroad, or a fishing net that is a bit more specialised and specific to a certain type carp fishing, or even venue – whether that be fishing from a boat or on a lake with bigger carp than you normally target. The main purpose of a landing net is that it is big enough to safely net the fish you are fishing for.

 Typically, carp fishing nets are defined by their triangular shape, long arms, wide gape, deep mesh, and long handles. When targeting bigger carp, the optimal size of a carp landing net lies somewhere between 42" and 50", with a spreader block that ensures it has its signature bow shape.

Size of your carp fishing net

The maximum size of the fish that you are targeting will generally dictate the size of landing net that you choose.

In the Korda fishing net ranges, a 42 inch or 46 inch model is the choice of most anglers and will comfortably handle any fish that you are likely to encounter at home or abroad.

The top end Spring Bow range includes 42 inch, 46 inch and 50 inch models, whilst the more affordable Kaizen Green nets come in 42 inches as standard, although are compatible with the Spring Bow arms and meshes.

There are some situations where a bigger net could be an advantage, such as when fishing for really big fish as it will make it easier to net them, or on a weedy lake where you could be trying to bundle a big ball of weed into the net along with a carp – although in that scenario a larger net will also make it harder to push it through any margin weed.

In other circumstances a bigger net can actually be a disadvantage, such as when fishing for carp on a river, where a larger size of fishing net will catch the flow more and make it even harder to land a fish in it.

Generally, it makes most sense to choose a landing net with arms of a size that will do everything that you need it to, but isn’t bigger than what you actually require – there is no point having a 50 inch net unless you really need it (such as maybe if you pike fish as well or target catfish), and for most anglers a 42 inch one is plenty big enough.

Depth of fishing net mesh

The mesh on your landing net needs to be deep enough that it will easily engulf the fish as you lift the net to land it.

It also needs to have enough depth that you can safely leave the carp in the net for a short time, even if just whilst you grab a retainer sling, or for a bit longer whilst you recast your rod.

On the Korda fishing nets, the mesh has been designed so that it has enough depth that when you stick the spike at the end of the handle securely in the ground so that the arms of the net are well above the water, the mesh still has enough depth that the carp can comfortably sit in.

At the same time though you don’t want the mesh to be deeper than you really need as that can cause all sorts of problems, both on the bank and in the water. A mesh that is too deep is likely to get caught up on undergrowth as so much of it is hanging down when you lift your net to place it in the water when you need to use it. The same applies if using it to net fish from a boat, where there are plenty of things on the boat for it to get caught up on.

A very deep mesh can also easily become snagged on anything near the lakebed in the margins, and especially so where the water is fairly shallow.

The Korda Kaizen Green comes with a shallow net as standard, which is still plenty deep enough to retain your catch in the net for a short while, but won’t cause you unnecessary problems.

The Spring Bow nets come with a medium depth net as standard on the 42 inch model (to reflect the fact that it is a smaller net in terms of the arm size), whilst the 46 inch and 50 inch models both feature our shallow mesh. Spare mesh in all three sizes in both shallow and medium depths is available.

Length of carp landing net handle

For most fishing situations a 6ft long net handle is the perfect length, and this is what most landing nets will come supplied with as standard.

That length makes it long enough to comfortability net fish on your own, even when fishing with 13ft rods, but without it being so long that it becomes cumbersome to manoeuvre, especially in tighter swims.

Anything much shorter than that will have you stretching to land a fish, especially with longer rods, and also means that you have to bring the carp closer into the bank in order to net them.

For boat fishing, where you are often using shorter rods, such as a 10ft model, a shorter net handle can really make things easy, especially as you don’t have 6ft of handle to get in the way in a small boat.

In this situation a Kaizen Green 2 piece net is perfect, as it features a spigot in the middle, meaning that you can use it at either 6ft or 3ft – which is often enough when a fish comes up alongside the boat – or even keep it stored neatly in your boat in two pieces, out of the way, and quickly put it together if you do find yourself needing a longer handle length.

At the other extreme there are some situations where you might require a longer pole than the standard 6ft one, such as with very shallow water close in; longer drops down to the water level; or when fishing with zigs.

For those scenarios the Spring Bow 5ft + 5ft net is the ideal solution, as it comes with a 5ft pole that has a spigot on the end of it, to which either a 2ft section or a 5ft section is added (both feature a stainless spike on the end for securing the net in the ground), and giving you the option to have the net set up at either 7ft or 10ft – the longer length is really handy when fishing fixed zigs and where you need that extra reach to net fish. A longer handle will generally not reduce stability as the net will not be fully lifted from the water once the fish is netted.

Weight and manoeuvrability of the landing net head and handle

When it comes to the ease of landing a fish, the weight and manoeuvrability of a fishing net are very important.

Whilst you should never chase the carp with your net, and instead should bring it to the net and only attempt to net it when it is actually ready, the ease with which you can move it around is very important. You may well need to reposition the landing net, depending on which side of your other rods the fish is coming in, or even to follow it down the bank, taking your net with you.

So the net needs to be light enough that you can easily move it around with one hand, and that normally means choosing one that has a carbon handle and arms, such as those in the Korda range do – just how light it is will largely depend on the grade of carbon that has been used, and that is reflected in the price.

A heavy net will leave you struggling to lift it with one hand when you most need to and could lead to a carp getting back out again before it is engulfed safely in the mesh.

Even our cheaper Kaizen Green net has been designed so that it will float, without the need to add a net float to it, and this is especially useful as you know that when you are ready to net a fish, your net will still be in the perfect position – if the margins are deeper you don’t also have to worry about it sliding off into the depths whilst you’re concentrating on fighting the carp! This feature also makes all of our nets perfect if you are having to wade out to net a fish as the landing net will float beside you until you need to use it.

Stiffness of the carp net handle and arms

Having a net that is light enough to move around easily is very important, but so is how stiff it is, both the handle and the arms.

There is no point having a net that is lightweight, but at the same time when you try to lift it, it is so floppy that it is very unresponsive and could potentially cost you a fish.

A stiff handle makes it very responsive, so that when you lift the end of it the spreader block also moves pretty much instantly.

Stiff arms mean that when you do lift it to net a fish, or are trying to push it through weed, or even use it in flowing water, the arms won’t fold up and will remain fully open, allowing you to net the fish easily. As well as quickly allowing you to lift the net cord when you need to, such as to shake the tail of a fish inside it if it isn’t quite fully in the net – floppy arms mean the ends of them, and therefore the net cord, are unresponsive.

With any of our Korda nets you can easily lift them up one handed and wave them around, they are that stiff and light!

An important part of that is the our nets feature a reverse taper handle, with the thicker part by the spreader block, the opposite to most nets, and it is this which helps them to be so stiff and responsive, together with the grades of carbon that are used for both the Kaizen Green and Spring Bow models. The main difference between the two ranges being the grade of carbon, plus things such as the spreader block material.

Strength of the handle, arms and spreader block

A good landing net needs to be strong and reliable, as the last thing you need is for it to break when you try to net a fish.

You should of course never try to lift a fish out by the net handle or arms, as not only could you break your net, but far more importantly you will likely end up damaging the carp and possibly even break the tail or fins.

But you should be able to easily lift the net by the end of it, without fear of damaging it, when it comes to netting the fish, or even moving your net around on the bank.

The arms should of course also be strong, so not only will they remain rigid and won’t fold up, but are strong enough that you can push the net through weed, or use it in flowing water, without fear of it snapping.

A strong spreader block is also essential, whether that be something like the machined aluminium JAG one that we use on the Spring Bow nets, or the injection moulded version on the Kaizen Green model.

Not only should the spreader block be strong and hard wearing, given that the arms are under a fair bit of tension once they’re located in it, but it should also allow you to quickly de-assemble the net when you need to, such as when you have a fish in it and are trying to transfer it to a sling. There is nothing worse than a spreader block where the arms won’t come apart easily and leave you struggling to get it apart! 

The Korda spreader blocks also feature an isotope slot, into which you can glue an isotope, meaning that in the dark you can see exactly where the spreader block is in relation to the head of the fish, when you are netting a carp at night.

Ease of safely retaining a fish in the net for a short period

Once you have landed a fish and it is in a net, you are going to need to be able to secure it to retain the fish.

Even if just for a couple of minutes whilst you get a retainer sling and transfer the carp into, but sometimes for longer if you are planning on getting your rod back out as soon as possible.

Whilst it is important to have a net with a mesh that is deeper enough to keep the fish sitting comfortably in it, the most important thing is that the fish can’t go mad in the net and potentially drag it in and escape from it.

Leaving it laying on the bank is risky, especially if you’re on a sloping bank, and even using a bank stick or storm rod pushed into the ground between the spreader block and the mesh to prevent it sliding forwards isn’t all the secure as the handle can still lift up, causing the arms to dip.

With either the Spring Bow or Kaizen Green landing nets you don’t have to worry about that though, as both feature a stainless steel spike on the end of the handle. This can is simply pushed into the ground, so that the handle is at an angle and the net arms and cord are well above the surface of the water, but with still enough depth in the fish for the fish to happily sit in it.

The handle and spike are strong, so this can be pushed into most types of bank – including into the lakebed in the margins if you have waded in to net the fish – including hard mud and gravel, and once pushed in far enough, there is no way it can become dislodged, no matter how much the fish thrashes about. Although it is of course still best to deal with the fish as soon as you’re ready to, and to transfer it into a retainer sling, either to lift it out and weigh it and do some photos immediately, or to keep it for a while.   

Fish friendly mesh is important for carp anglers

The mesh on any carp landing net needs to be of a fish-friendly design if you aren’t going to risk damaging the fish.

If the mesh is too large it increases the chances of it splitting the fins or tail as they come into contact with it – even if you aren’t trying to lift it out in the net, which you should never do.

A larger mesh also increases the risk of your lead, lead system, hook bait and the like getting caught up in it and passing through it, and if this happens and the fish starts to thrash around in the net, it can easily lead to the hook being torn out and causing mouth damage.

So, the smaller the mesh size the more carp friendly it will be, and in theory one made out of carp sack type material would be best of all purely from that point of view.

But in reality would be completely impractical to use, as a fishing net mesh also needs to allow enough water to pass through it in order that you can move it around in the water and also lift it once the fish is over it, not to mention it would be so heavy once wet, that it would cause that end of the net to sink.

So, a good quality mesh with small holes is what you are looking for, and will find on most modern landing nets, and also made from a material which is soft enough that it won’t damage the fish, yet at the same time is tough enough to withstand regular use and will last. Carp nets will generally be of a fabric material, and the softer the mesh, the better, as this is kinder on the fish, whilst still being practical from a durability perspective.

How long your mesh will last will depend on how often you use the net, as well as it getting caught on anything sharp or being chewed by rodents, and if it starts to develop bigger holes where the mesh has torn it is time to replace it. If you're fishing for carp on commercial type lakes, it is likely you'll be using your landing net a lot, if they're highly stocked!

Storing and transporting your landing net

At the end of the session the landing net can just be rolled up and stored in an outer pocket on your rod holdall.

But it is better if it comes with a bag, especially if you’re having to pack the net away wet, as this will keep it separate and help to stop water from dripping out onto the rest of your fishing gear, especially when your rod holdall is on top of your barrow or in the car.

Both types of Korda net come complete with a strong waterproof bag for storing both the net and the handle – this also prevents the stainless steel spike on the end of the handle from potentially makes a hold in the pocket of your rod holdall which you keep it in.

This also helps when it comes to moving swim, and it is advantageous if the net can be quickly folded and put away in the bag, to prevent the net snagging on undergrowth, or fences and the like, when moving swims.

A separate Compac Stink Sleeve is also available, which is designed for storing just the net (or a Compac weigh sling) and is suitable for our 42 inch and 46 inch models. It is made from a hard wearing, water resistant material, in a stylish Dark Kamo pattern, and with a drawcord closure.