Cast net size guide
Which net?
Every size we make, what it's actually for, and who should skip it. If you'd rather just ask, call me at 813-481-0349.
Start with where you fish
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One net for most of Tampa Bay
Greenbacks and threads in 2–15 ft
10 ft 1/4" 1.4 lb/ft
$210.00 Choose 10 ft 1/4" 1.4 lb/ft -
Whitebait on the flats
Shallow water, slow tides
10 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft
$205.00 Choose 10 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ftOr the 12 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft
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Ripping tide
Bait swimming out from under a slow net
10 ft 3/8" 1.4 lb/ft
$210.00Sold outOr the 12 ft 3/8" 1.8 lb/ft
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Channel edges and deep bars
10–25 ft, hard current
12 ft 1/4" 1.6 lb/ft
$245.00 Choose 12 ft 1/4" 1.6 lb/ftOr the 11 ft 1/2" 1.5 lb/ft
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Glass minnows and fry
Bait that slips through a 1/4"
10 ft 3/16" 1.4 lb/ft
$215.00 Choose 10 ft 3/16" 1.4 lb/ft -
Docks, seawalls and lights
2–6 ft, just a few baits
6 ft 1/4" 1.0 lb/ft
$125.00Sold outOr the 6 ft 3/8" 1.0 lb/ft
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Small boat, beach or learning
2–8 ft, easy to learn on
8 ft 1/4" 1.2 lb/ft
$185.00 Choose 8 ft 1/4" 1.2 lb/ftOr the 10 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft
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Mullet or pogies
On foot, or from the boat
8 ft 1-1/4" 1.1 lb/ft
$190.00 Choose 8 ft 1-1/4" 1.1 lb/ftOr the 10 ft 1-1/4" 1.4 lb/ft
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Kids and kayaks
Small, light, easy to open sitting down
3 ft 3/8" 0.75 lb/ft
$45.00 Choose 3 ft 3/8" 0.75 lb/ftOr the 6 ft 1/4" 1.0 lb/ft (sold out)
Bait nets
| Length | Mesh | Lead weight | What it's for | Price | Choose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft | 1/4" | 1.0 lb/ft6 lb total | The 1/4" in a 6 ft is a dock and creek net; you're not reaching far with it. Tighter mesh than the 3/8", so it keeps the smaller greenbacks and the shrimp. Glass minnows and fry still slip through a 1/4"; that's a 3/16" deal. Good first real net for a kid coming off the 3 ft. | $125.00 | Sold out |
| 6 ft | 3/8" | 1.0 lb/ft6 lb total | Little net for a dock or a seawall, in 2–6 ft of water when you just want a few baits. The 3/8" lets the small stuff through, so around the lights it's the bigger greenbacks and threads you'll keep. If the bait at your lights is small, buy the 1/4". | $115.00 | Choose 6 ft 3/8" 1.0 lb/ft |
| 8 ft Easy to learn | 1/4" | 1.2 lb/ft9.6 lb total | This is a great net for small boats, beach goers, or someone wanting to learn to throw a net. The 1/4" holds greenbacks and threads, and at 1.2 lb/ft it gets down before the bait can get out. Figure 2–8 ft of water. On a beach with current running, the 3/8" in this size gets down better. | $185.00 | Choose 8 ft 1/4" 1.2 lb/ft |
| 8 ft | 3/8" | 1.2 lb/ft9.6 lb total | The 8 ft in 3/8" sinks quicker and the grass falls out of it. Good off a beach or a bridge when the water is moving. You'll pick more bait out of the mesh than you would with a 1/4". | $190.00 | Choose 8 ft 3/8" 1.2 lb/ft |
| 10 ft | 3/16" | 1.4 lb/ft14 lb total | Most guys don't need a 3/16". It's for bait so small a 1/4" lets it right through: glass minnows and fry along the beach or up in a creek. All that mesh holds water, so it's slow going down. After threads in 20 ft on a hard tide, get the 1/4". | $215.00 | Choose 10 ft 3/16" 1.4 lb/ft |
| 10 ft | 1/4" | 1.1 lb/ft11 lb total | This is a great net for new throwers to learn on. It's best used in 2–8 ft of water, during slow tides. | $205.00 | Choose 10 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft |
| 10 ft Captains' favorite | 1/4" | 1.4 lb/ft14 lb total | This is definitely the captains' favorite net to throw anywhere. Not too light, not too heavy, and it has a great sinking time. Best for 2–15 ft of water. Sitting on a channel edge in 20 ft on a hard tide, you want more lead than this. | $210.00 | Choose 10 ft 1/4" 1.4 lb/ft |
| 10 ft | 3/8" | 1.4 lb/ft14 lb total | This net may hang more bait than a 1/4" mesh, but when the tide is ripping and bait swim out from under a slower-sinking 1/4", this gets down and hits the meat. | $210.00 | Sold out |
| 10 ft | 3/8" | 1.8 lb/ft18 lb total | The heavy 10 ft. 3/8" mesh and 1.8 lb/ft of lead get it to the bottom fast, so when the tide is ripping or you're on a deep edge, the bait doesn't have time to swim out from under it. It's a lot of lead to throw all morning; in shallow water or a slow tide, the 10 ft 3/8" 1.4 is easier. | $215.00 | Sold out |
| 11 ft | 1/4" | 0.85 lb/ft9.4 lb total | An 11 ft with only 0.85 lb/ft of lead. It's light for its size, so it's easy to open and it doesn't plow into the grass on shallow flats. The tradeoff is sink time: keep it in shallow water and slow tides, not deep water or a moving tide. | $190.00 | Sold out |
| 11 ft Deep water | 1/2" | 1.5 lb/ft16.5 lb total | 1/2" is not a whitebait net. The small bait goes right through it and the rest gills up. What it's for is getting down in deep water and hard current, a channel edge or a deep bar on a hard outgoing, when you're after big threads. Anywhere else it's the wrong net. | $200.00 | Choose 11 ft 1/2" 1.5 lb/ft |
| 12 ft | 1/4" | 1.1 lb/ft13.2 lb total | This net is for captains who are catching bait on the flats, to keep it light and easy while not hanging too much small bait or catching too much grass. | $225.00 | Choose 12 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft |
| 12 ft | 1/4" | 1.6 lb/ft19.2 lb total | A lot more lead on the same 12 ft. Still 1/4" mesh, so you keep the small bait; it just gets down quicker. For 10–25 ft, channel edges and deep bars. In 3 ft on the flats it's way too much net, and if you're not opening a 12 clean already, buy the 1.1. | $245.00 | Choose 12 ft 1/4" 1.6 lb/ft |
| 12 ft Heavy hitter | 3/8" | 1.8 lb/ft21.6 lb total | This is our heavy hitter. When the tide is absolutely ripping, this is the go-to net that will get down to where the bait is, quick. | $240.00 | Choose 12 ft 3/8" 1.8 lb/ft |
| 14 ft | 1/4" | 1.4 lb/ft19.6 lb total | A 14 is for guys already opening a 12 every throw. It covers a lot of water, so on a big school of threads you can be done in one throw. The 1.4 lb/ft keeps it from wearing you out, but that means it's not a deep, hard-current net. You need deck room to load a 14, so it's a boat net. | $265.00 | Choose 14 ft 1/4" 1.4 lb/ft |
Mullet/pogey nets
| Length | Mesh | Lead weight | What it's for | Price | Choose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft Mullet/pogey | 1-1/4" | 1.1 lb/ft8.8 lb total | Mullet/pogey net. The 1-1/4" mesh gills mullet and pogies, and anything smaller drops right out of it, so don't buy this one to fill a livewell. The 8 ft is for throwing on foot, walking a shoreline or a creek mouth at fish you can see. | $190.00 | Choose 8 ft 1-1/4" 1.1 lb/ft |
| 10 ft Mullet/pogey | 1-1/4" | 1.4 lb/ft14 lb total | Mullet mesh again, 10 ft of it. The extra two feet is for getting on a school out of the boat before they get nervous and push off. In clear water mullet will run out from under an 8. Nothing smaller than a mullet stays in this mesh either. | $210.00 | Choose 10 ft 1-1/4" 1.4 lb/ft |
Youth & kayak net
| Length | Mesh | Lead weight | What it's for | Price | Choose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 ft Youth & kayak | 3/8" | 0.75 lb/ft2.3 lb total | Our youth and kayak net. At 3 ft it's small and light enough for young throwers, and easy to open sitting down in a kayak when you just need a few baits close by. The 3 ft is the one net we sell that the 50% warranty doesn't cover. | $45.00No warranty | Choose 3 ft 3/8" 0.75 lb/ft |
Mesh, quick version
Mesh is the size of the hole, measured across one square. Small mesh holds small bait, but it's slow going down and it grabs grass. Big mesh gets down quicker and the grass falls out, but the small bait goes through it and the bigger bait gills up.
3/16": glass minnows and fry that a 1/4" lets right through. Clean water. Most guys never need it.
1/4": what most people around Tampa Bay should be throwing. Greenbacks, whitebait, threads. Sinks fine, doesn't gill up too bad.
3/8": for when the tide is moving. The grass falls out and it gets down quicker. You'll spend more time picking bait out of it.
1/2": deep water and big threads. Small bait goes right through it.
1-1/4": mullet and pogies.
If you don't know, get the 1/4".
Weight
The lb per foot is how much lead the net carries for every foot of its length, so a 10 ft at 1.4 is right around 14 lb of lead. More lead gets it down quicker, and that matters when the tide is moving or the bait is sitting in 20 ft. A light net drifts sideways on the way down and the bait swims out from under it.
What guys forget is you pick that lead back up every throw, and you might throw sixty times before the sun is all the way up. In 3 ft on the flats a heavy net just buries in the grass and kicks mud.
Buy the lightest net that still gets down to the bait where you actually fish. I've watched plenty of guys buy the heaviest one in a size and then throw the lighter one all season.
How cast nets are measured
A cast net is measured from the horn down to the leadline, not across. A 10 ft net is 10 ft from the middle out, so open on the water it's covering about a 20 ft circle. That catches people off guard. It's also why going from a 10 to a 12 is a bigger jump than it sounds.
Two things pick your size: what you can open every throw, and how much room you've got to work with. The 3 ft is our youth and kayak net. A 6 or an 8 is for a dock, a seawall, the beach, or a skiff with a tight deck. A 10 is where most people land, and it's what's in my boat most days. Go to a 12 if you're throwing every morning and you've got the deck for it. If you need a 14, you already know it. The 11 sits off to the side of all this: it's a 1/2" deep-water net, not the next step up from a 10.
Stuck between two sizes? Take the one you can still open when you're tired.
Words you'll hear on the dock
Greenbacks, whitebait, pilchards
Different names for the same bait, the scaled sardine: the most common live bait in Tampa Bay.
Threads
Threadfin herring. A bigger bait than greenbacks that often schools around bridges, bars and channel edges.
Glass minnows and fry
Tiny baitfish that slip right through a 1/4" mesh. That's what the 3/16" is for.
Gilling (hanging) bait
When baitfish get stuck by the gills in the mesh. Bigger mesh gills more small bait, and you spend your morning picking them out.
Opening the net
Throwing it so it spreads into a full circle before it hits the water.
Horn and brail lines
The horn is the ring at the top center of the net. The brail lines run from the lead line up through it, so when you pull the hand line they close the bottom of the net around the bait.
Slow tide vs. ripping tide
A slow tide barely moves the water. A ripping tide is hard current, where a light net drifts sideways on the way down and the bait swims out from under it.
Flats, channel edges and bars
Flats are shallow, often grassy areas. Channel edges and bars are where the bottom drops off into deeper water, usually with more current.
Sizing questions
Which net is best for learning to throw?
The 6 ft 1/4" is a good first net from a dock or seawall, and the 8 ft 1/4" or the 10 ft 1/4" 1.1 lb/ft are great nets to learn to throw from a boat or the beach. For kids, or for throwing sitting down in a kayak, the 3 ft youth/kayak net is small and light enough to open easily.
What net should I get for whitebait and greenbacks?
A 1/4" mesh. For most people that's the 10 ft, 1/4", 1.4 lb/ft. On the flats in slow tides, the 10 or 12 ft at 1.1 lb/ft stays light and picks up less grass.
What net should I get for threads?
The 1/4" holds threads fine. When the tide is ripping, the 10 ft 3/8" or the 12 ft 3/8" 1.8 lb/ft gets down quicker. For big threads in deep water and hard current, a channel edge or a deep bar on a hard outgoing, it's the 11 ft 1/2".
What's the difference between a bait net and a mullet/pogey net?
A mullet/pogey net's 1-1/4" mesh gills mullet and pogies, and anything smaller drops right out of it, so don't buy one to fill a livewell. The 8 ft is for throwing on foot at fish you can see. The 10 ft is for getting on a school from the boat.
Do I need a fishing license to throw a cast net?
Florida's license and cast net rules are set by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and can change, so check myfwc.com before you go.
Still not sure?
Call us at 813-481-0349 or email dropoutcastnets@gmail.com and tell us where you fish. We'll point you to the right net.