Biggest fish in a cast net

[rhinoauk]

whats the biggest fish anyone has ever caught in a cast net? im just interested to see some pics. im heading up to QLD later this year with my cast net and im interested to know if u can get some big fish!

Cheers. Rhinoauk

[jackash]

My bro (fritzy) caught a 4 lb flatty in one on the Sunny Coast. No pics sorry

[rhinoauk]

guees whats on this line???

[rhinoauk]

This monster. took 45 min to reel in!

[rhinoauk]

hmmm, didnt think you could catch flatties in them:S nice fish though! Luvley eatin'

[jackash]

HAhah yeah was a good fish. WAsnt planning it, was cast netting for herring off a bridge. Net didnt even reach the bottom, flatty mustve jsut been cruising through the bait. One unlucky fish.

[rhinoauk]

fist time i threw my cast net i got it snagged around some rocks. took me about 10min to get it off. i thouhgt id ripped it in half but lucky enough it came out unscaved! went on to catch some lil wrasse, biggest 15cm. thats the biggest fish ive ever caught! measly compared to that flatty!

[tinnieboy]

I was chasing bait in the Pioneer River in Mackay quite a few years back and got the fright of my life. I was out up to my waist and threw into the water only to have the net go ape sh*t, the rope was pulling tight around my wrist and my pants were getting dirty.
After I recomposed myself and scull dragged it ashore I found a 2-3kg GT in the cast net. No picture sorry as I really didn't think I would need a camera whilst chasing bait.

[jackash]

Hahah not a bad one, you would think a Gt of that size would be strong enough to lift the sinker and force its way out.

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

45 mins to reel in a cast net??? Hahahhahaha! And the fish in the photo? What is it? I'll be buggered if I can identify anything!

Dave

[Custaro]

You can fluke the odd big fish. I recently got a 60cm flathead in Tingalpa Ck while casting for mullet. I was happy for the flathead but he kept the bottom of the net open and out went a dozen or so good size live baits.

When I lived on the banks of the Fitzroy River I used to wake up a sleepy barra every now and then. The bigger ones would go balistic and blast out of the net without too much trouble. Occasionaly caught king & blue salmon a couple of muddies.

I always have as much fun collecting the bait with a cast net as I do fishing with it. Must be annoying not being able to use one. Enjoy it while your up here!

[bidkev]

Biggest fish I've caught in a cast net? A stingray going about 4 kilos. Biggest fish I've "had* in/on a cast net is a different matter.

I was well into some good mullet on Sandgate pier and on my 4th chuck at 'em the net was kicking and thumping so I knew I had a good haul. Then the net really went apesh!t and I was nearly dragged into the water. I quickly gave the rope a few turns around the railing on the lower deck as I had already guessed what was going on and was resigned to losing the net if I didn't think quickly. I could feel the net shaking, not like the normal kick you get when fish are in it. Then the water boiled and I could clearly see a shark just below the surface shaking it's head to loosen the net from it's jaws. It went a good 2 meters and the Jap tourists behind me were wetting themselves ;D Then it was gone along with half my cast net.......not the first time I've had a net ripped open on there.

cheers

kev

[bidkev]

Meant to say that it wasn't actually *in* the net. It just seemed to have it's nose and jaws entangled as it's body was outside the net. I'm assuming that it had gone for the mullet in the net when I was pulling them in.

kev

[Daintreeboy]

Only just last year my brother threw the net over a Barra, on purpose, as it was slowly working it's way across the shallows to head out along the coast to breed. She was well over a metre and I'd say almost 20 kilos. Of course when the net hit the water she righted herself and blew straight through the net. Turned out the bow pressure wave pushed the net up off the bottom (only about 6 inches deep) and she got away with damaging the net. We get big Flatties up here all the time too.
I chase big mullet with the net often, ones up to 3 kilos, great fun. My best effort was about a hundred huge mullet that turned the sea to foam, only ended up with 6. Still 6 mullet at over 2 kilos each was an interesting little drama getting them in!!
Cheers, Mark.

[-spiro-]

When i lived in Innsfail i casted off a pontoon infront of the boat club. The net started moving instead of the hits you feel on the net. All of a sudden the net was shaking violently and when i pulled it up there was a salt water croc in it. It was around 3-4ft what a job to get it out, took 2 of us. Needless to say the net was wrecked.
We have also caught some massive catfish in a cast net. ;D

[Scott15]

dad got 70cm+ barra in one at Kingfisher Bay on fraser. He didnt get it in, bit to strong and fast. lol. At night the barra come alive under that jetty. around 5 or 6 big ones. dad tryed about everything to catch them.

[DICER]

Boy I love these stories - but I can't the beat crocs or sharks in the net. They split my sides open when I read those stories, especially the parts where half the net is just *gone* - painfully funny. "The net just started moving" - I'm sure it will happen to me some day.

Certainly I packed a few flathead in the net, up to ~60 cm. It is always what you don't see under the bait pack. Also caught a decent 3.5kg estuary cod unawares. My best mullet haul was 40-50 mullet in the 25-30 cm range and strewth was I sick of pulling dam mullet out of the cast net pockets. So many, that I ended up eating some. I actually thought it was a sprinkling of prawns, but when the net hit the water, for sure I knew it were fish.

[Fishin_Dan]

I saw one kid pull in 2 Luderic, and 1 trevally all at least 30cm each in a cast net in one cast.

It was down at Raby Bay off the wharf.

[morty103]

got three thumper mullet around 45 cm each once, dont know how, but i ended up throwing them back

[scuttlebutt]

I caught a 45cm Mangrove Jack in Cast Net around Cairns a couple of years ago.

cheers,

steve

[Kiktz]

The Biggest I hav ecaught is a pair of mullet that went around the kilo and a half each. Caught both the buggers in the one throw, they came leaping out of the water still in the net,

Scared the living cr$p out of me ,I told my mum that I had slipped ont the muddy bank.

[zario]

Hey all. Cast netting for prawns of the old bridge in the Barron river in cairns i managed to throw a brand new cast net over the resident grouper. With little more than a flick of its massive tail he managed to trash my net and leave it wrapped around about three pylons with a hole big enough to drive a bus through. Pretty awesome feeling though to be connected to a 1.5m + fish even for a few seconds.

[mjc85]

I've caught a stingray that would've been a good 70cm accross, a mullet that was as thick as my calf and would've the biggest mullet ive ever seen (it stunk so it went back in the drink)

[fish2eat]

I can't say I've caught anything huge in the net, but I've only thrown it a few times.....very much in the novice class

But the first time I threw off the boat instead of the local park, there was a school of herring going beserk in Cobby Passage, so casting over the top of them , started to get huge tugs on the net. The local pike brigade had the herring baled up, so when I pulled up the net I not only had about 60 herring but 5 fair size pike up to 35cm.....bonus!

I quite like this cast netting ::)

[Maria]

Biggest fish I've got in the net was a 78cm flathead at the mouth of the canals at Birkdale, whilst casting for live mullet. Wasn't having much luck, so threw the net in about 30cm of water whilst walking back up to the bank. Fish tore the net to an unrepairable state, but was a great catch for the price. Fish was released.

Have also caught a few mullet around the 40cm+ size, good sized luderick, bream etc.

[finding_time]

When i lived in Innsfail i casted off a pontoon infront of the boat club. The net started moving instead of the hits you feel on the net. All of a sudden the net was shaking violently and when i pulled it up there was a salt water croc in it. It was around 3-4ft what a job to get it out, took 2 of us. Needless to say the net was wrecked.
We have also caught some massive catfish in a cast net. ;D

You win spiro! great catch!! they reckon they are nice with chips.
Ian

Ps. A 2 foot river whaler wrecked one of mine once.

[Glen.m]

This is my first post, just trying to work out the system of how to communicate on the site so please don't be too harsh. Best cast I have had was while casting for bait at Weipa off the bank under the bridge before launching the boat for a fish on a North Aus trip in 2001. Got 9 legal Bream, up to 30cm and a 64cm Barra in one cast. 10 Foot drop mono net, sounds rediculous but fact is stranger than fiction. No need to go fishing after that but did anyway to brain the Queenies.

[Dug]

I have netted several estuary cod I am a lousy net thrower and have got them right at the bank on an incoming tide, basically at my feet.

The biggest one about 2kg.

I found leaving a live prawn or fish just on the waters edge was a sure fire way to target these cod they cruise the edge where bait had no chance to escape.

It makes for fun fishing to have a line go off when you have about 6 feet of line out.

[Just_chips]

I had a go at one of those schools of sardines that you see on the 6 o'clock news sometimes with all the sharks and big fish cruising through. It sounded like a good idea at the time to net some of these fish untill the net actually hit the water. With the school so tightly packed because of all the predators I got nearly 20kgs of east coast pilchards in one throw. Where I had the slip-knot/loop around my wrist started to cut into my skin and my hand and fingers went blue and cold as the circulation got cut off and I was nearly pulled over the side of the boat. My mate and skippa for the day near wet himself laughing at my stupidity

[chemmy]

scot15 got some nice flathead in his cast net and some massive mullet to. The flathead would have ben about 55cm and the mullet would have been about 45cm

[MickEddy]

g'day, i've got a decent ray and a handfull of flatties up to 60cm, but the best catch i have had was one time in the pine river over 5yrs ago just got a new cast net(one of those draw string types) we were heading up the river and saw a whole heap of disturbance on the river. couldn't identify them, but just threw the net in anyway. it was a big school of mullet, got bout 20 -30kg in the net first cast. it took me and my mate to lift it into the boat with out everything falling apart. we jus took them straight to the bait shop on the river and sold/swaped them to the bloke, got like $20 plus fresh prawns, live worms etc. i have a photo of the mullet on the bottom of the boat but am struggling to scan them in (not taken with a digi back then).

the croc work have given you a bit of a fright.

mick

[logan_whiting]

i got a 60 cm flattie of a pontoon in the logan :)

[Sandman]

The biggest fish i have caught in the net by a fluke was a flathead in the Bris river & nice size luderick under the bridge. The weirdest thing i thankfully didnt get caught in the net was a big green trurtle at mud island he poped his head out just as the net hit the water he slipped out at the side of the boat unharmed :o The other fish caught not that often in the brissy river was a queen fish of the Comsley jetty while netting prawns about 20cm so he went back. No photoes
Sandman

[Daintreeboy]

Also nailed 32 Grunter around the 25 cm mark, done this with grunter a lot. In the same spot got a 45 cm Fingermark.
One of my best was a Tripletail (we were originally chasing those big mullet I spoke about earlier). I saw him swimming along the beach up from the Daintree and sprinted out and nailed him, good eating too!

[cheno]

not so much a story about size but more like quantity....

- Brand new nylon cast net
- take on trip to hinchinbrook
- first throw, a couple of mullet ... all good
- second thow up a drain, throw it up onto the shallows from the boat
- net starts boiling and erupts in a haze of foam
- i pull in net and find about 50 baby catfish in it about 6-8inches long.
- All catties proceed to simultaneously lock their three spines
- all have to be cut out of net
- net resembles swiss cheese
- net totally ruined.

I can laugh about it now

[mattooty]

That would have hurt to try and get the catties out of the net hey?
Matt

[james_noosa]

havent got anything big in a cast net but i have got a couple of stonefish in the noosa river.
james

[jimmybob]

i got a yellow belly in toombul creek once from the toombul car park in about 1989 castin for scats 4 the fish tank it was bout 2kgs......let it go ...dead in there now 4 sure..(pollution)

[rhinoauk]

how do u know where all the baitfish will be if you dont have a fishfinder? anyway of telling?

[mangajack]

i don't think my biggest catch would be the heaviest but it most likely is the most alarming.......2 olive sea snakes at night in one cast for prawns at stanage bay.......dim lighting had me wondering why things were not quite right until my mate found the torch.... its amazing how quickly two grown guys can stand on something as small as a ten cent piece before they come to grips with things...

Jack

[davo]

I've caught some huge mullet and big flatties in cast nets but two blokes I work with have caught jacks up to 45cm. The usual way is that they get snagged and finally get it off and a jack ends up in the cast net. My brother-in-law up at Hervey Bay has caught quite a few legal barra in his draw string net. He's released all of them.

My old neighour was at the local ramp after a days fishing and saw some baitfish being disturbed. He threw his net and caught eight legal sized bream. It was a better catch than his day's effort.

[MikeC]

My mate netted a shopping trolley in the Pine River. No groceries, unfortunately.

[bo_sawyer]

Got some monster luderick and I once got a 'river john dory' (well thats what the bait shop owner told me) off Jacobs Well Jetty. My uncle also caught a massive flatty that wrecked his net.

[jackash]

A bike, off a bridge... took a bit of effort to hoist it in. Wasnt to bad nick... wheels were still spinning. Unfortunately covered in barnacles which porceded to slice my foot open.

[SURF_SNIPER]

caught a big mullet about nearly a meter long behind toombull shopping town about 3 years ago, was chasing poddies at the time. have thrown over small sharks in the same area by mistake..... boy do they make a meal of a cast net ::)

[mjc85]

Amazing to see a guy caught a yellow belly in toombul creek, i used to live right on that creek and used to go fishing for monster eels on a $19 k-mart combo, damn that was fun =) Got a few Eels around the metre mark and some big fat catfish (feed on the baby ducks) as well but i never thought there was much else in there apart from toadfish, mullet, eels and catties.

[mjc85]

Speaking of cast nets, anyone know where i can get one for cheap, cheap on the sunshine coast ? preferably 10ft. I have a habit of catching oyster covered rocks and trolleys resulting in a dead net and i need one before jacks start to get me some livies

[fritzy]

HA HA,
i was with jackash when we pulled up the bike. My cousin is rolling it along, then rolls it straight over ashos foot. [smiley=hammer.gif] [smiley=hammer.gif]They go to get a tetnus shot, me and my other cousin pull in a 65cm flatty off the bridge, Jackash not too happy... [smiley=furious.gif] [smiley=furious2.gif]
But me and cousin had good day ;D [smiley=jester.gif] [smiley=jester.gif] [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]
Cheers Fritzy

[krtazy]

barramundi at river heads chasing prawns went 72cm

[Bundaberg_Bandit]

got some small barra before, got the tail of a small croc too, lucky he got out.

Have also got flathead, especially when after poddy mullet, this one in the photo was unfortunate,

he went straight back - this was at Lucinda, and flathead were a bycatch

cheers

BB

[devocean]

Does a metre long metal crab pot count with 3 legal bucks in it. Hate di7kheads who sink there pots. All I can say is thanks for wrecking my net and thanks for the net crab pot and 3 legal muddies.

[vertico]

caught 2 barra up in innisfail in the one cast
both fish weren't legal size but only just under
i dont need to say that the net took off up the creek with me for a ride

[big_steve001]

cought 3 luderick in one cast in the tingalpa creek going for mullet. didnt no wat it was when the net started to pull me in the water. was happy though cause we didnt catch anythin using rods so we always no we can get something at least.

[sandgroper]

bout 45cm John Dory

[Wazzup]

I caught a 52cm barra once in the mary river at Maryborough. Not quite legal but I was still impressed. No photos but I tagged it.

[Kendall249]

On my last fishing trip to the bohle river I caught a 50cm diamond scale mullet in the cast net.

[sackrash]

Does a 2foot freshwater croc count?

[krazed1]

need a cheap cast net? got to kmart and put a nice big net in a small ones bucket and pick out a 15-17 yr old chick at the checkout lol. u can basically get one for 50% off :o anyways me and me neighbour use to make a trip to the bridge at chambers island on the maroochy river every weekend. Got a 55cm flattie and some nice bream in the net while casting for herring. dam shame that place is fished out now

[Mozza]

John Dory?????

Geez you must have had a long leash. Aren't they deepwater fish?

Hmm let see - plenty of Barra, bream, tilapia(Ross river), flatties, big mullet, school barracuda, turtle (I think).

Biggest: I didn't have the heart to put my net over a BIG ~90cm barra in very shallow water in the Ross River. I was thinking 'food' but got an attack of the guilts as she swam beteen my legs.

Used to live in Darwin and the general rule of thumb when casting for bait - HOLD ON

[fishingnottake]

i got a huge flatty down near the rockwall at the currumbin bar, i was blind casting in pitchblack darkness about 10:30 at night when i got it christ i jumped when it came up it wrecked my net cutting it out without hurting it. cut the hell outta my hands to

[mr_stinker]

MID 70"S OFF MAIN BEACH N"STRADDIE THERE WAS A HUGE RUN OF PILLIES.WE RAN THE NET AND FOUND THAT INSTEAD OF COMING IN SHORE WE WERE HEADING OFF SHORE ,AFTER GETTING A FEW MORE BLOKES TO HELP GOT THE NET IN ,WITH A TRUCK LOAD OF PILLES PLUS 1 60LB SPANISH MACKERAL,NO SHIT