Fishpond Nomad Emerger Net

[hollisd]

Does anyone own this net? I'm looking at the river armor edition with black net bag; I'm fishing for reviews especially re: handle length and portability.

Mine will be used wading for trout only so it may be a little overkill with a few inches reach over your standard catch & release size landing net

I tuck the net in my wading belt or down my shorts and don't want anything too unwieldy.

Also any reviews re: replacing the bag on Fishpond nets is welcome.

 

[goshawk87]

I have the standard Fishpond Nomad, so I can’t speak to the emerger questions, however I have replaced the bag on mine. They are the same bag, so it should apply.

It was really pretty easy to replace the bag. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there, and it isn’t hard. There are a couple knots you need to get right, but follow the directions and you should be in good shape.

 

[osseous]

The Nomad Emerger in river armor is the net I use most of the time. You will love it. I bought it when I went to a 10' rod for euro nymphing and needed a little more reach- it is excellent for this. I carry it with the Umpqua guide belt, after experimenting with an offset hang from the corner. Off the top of the net. Wasn't crazy about that arrangement- it caught in the brush and I decided to try belt carry instead. One thing to look out for, is that the longer handle will push the net out when you sit down- so be aware and check the net often. A lot of people seem to lose these longer nets- they are a bit top heavy, as they don't weight much to begin with. This makes them easy to forget about back there.

I have done the net replacement job- not a big deal. And the black net bag is great for photography as well.

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[sparsegraystubble]

With a short net I generally hang it from a gear keeper retriever from the back of my pack or vest, (gave up the contortions necessary to reattach the magnets rig)

I have been looking at those Fishpond nets, both the shorter hand model and the Emerger. I also use an Umpqua wading belt. Do you use a retriever or lanyard of any type when using the holster? Or do you figure that the holster is sufficient with the longer handle net?

If you use a retriever with the wading belt, how do you hook it up to avoid the cable having to run through the holster or do you not worry about that?

And to the OP’s original question Everyone I have heard of who has bought one of those nets in about any size raves about how good they are. The guy on Troutbitten wrote a whole column about how good that net works.
thanks,

Don

 

[sweetandsalt]

I too am considering one version or another of this net. My laminated wood, hand knotted net bag net is pretty done.

 

[cooutlaw]

++plus me too....My old Brodin has seen better days and I've been looking at these nets as well...I've never talked to anyone with them that had anything negative to say. Shops seem to recommend them highly, and feeling them in person they seem very light and high quality. I'm still debating between models, the longer reach seems like it could come in handy....but I don't want to feel like I have snow shoes strapped to my back either. I'm following with great interest in member feedback......

 

[hollisd]

With the Nomad Emerger 32" net there is no way you can tuck the handle down your shorts right? I think it's too long to carry like my Blue Ribbon Jacklin landing net below which has a short handle. I know the longer handle will fit fine with a wading belt but I'm concerned about shorts and pants for I tuck the handle literally down my pants so I would have to steer the handle off to the side down a leg right? That's my main concern as I've grown to fish with my net like this below. I don't use any gear attachments and have never had a problem landing a fish or losing the net. I don't notice it's there until I have a fish on then I reach back and hope my tippet holds.

 

[el jefe]

Fishpond are the Abel nippers of nets, and well worth the money.

 

[zjory]

I have the Nomad Mid-length. Has a handle maybe a foot longer than the Emerger. I like it as I tuck my net into the waist strap of my hip pack and the longer handle makes sure it stays in there well. I do not have it secured to me, just tucked in and I've never had a problem. The mid-length would be unwieldy your shorts (especially if you're already taking up most of the room in your shorts like I am), but for tucking into a belt while wading it's the way to go.
Also what el jefe said, Fishpond makes great nets in general.

 

[falcon53]

I usually use a Brodin net (Cutthroat Model) which has served me well. It handles fish comfortably to 20in. Larger fish are more difficult to net. I also have a Fishpond Nomad Mid-length net that is overall 37in compared to the Emerger which is 32in overall. The Mid-length has a 13in by 18in opening and can handle large fish. The 37in length is a little cumbersome wading deeper water(the handle floats up) as I attach with magnets at my vest but it makes landing fish especially with longer rods much easier. It can also double as a boat net. The 32in emerger may be the better choice for the wading angler. Interesting is that the Emerger weighs .95lbs and the longer Mid-length is .88lbs according to the Feather-Craft catalog. Misprint????? Fishpond makes a great net!!

 

[mike_r]

Did fishpond acquire the Nomad net business or are they merely applying their graphics to the base Nomad nets?


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[osseous]

The River Armor nets are kevlar, and beefier than the other versions. Highly recommend the upgrade. May explain the weight difference expressed above- but they're still extremely light.

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[hollisd]

For their larger boat nets, Fishpond offers a net bag that doesn't require sewing. You just fit the bag on a series of loops around the rim which is something I wish they offered for all of their nets. To replace a net bag if you can do it by simply fastening the loops along enclosures that is a lot easier than trying to tie thread like stringing a tennis racket.

 

[wjlapier]

My Fishpond net is the Native version. I've had it for three years and the netting is still in fine shape. I keep mine attached to whatever I'm using that day which now is a lumbar pack. I use the Fishpond Confluence net release--I use one for my wading stick too. The magnet was a small hassle when I attached it to the back of my vest, but now that I use a lumbar pack it's right there on my left side. Easy to grab and use and put back after I'm done.

 

[falcon53]

The magnet on my the Fishpond Confluence was so strong you could rip the D ring off the vest when attempting to employ it. I took it back to the Fly Shop and exchanged it for another brand. I like the magnet attachment as they jump in place when reattaching and with the right net I don't notice the weight.

Others I know their Fishpond magnets are normal. Mine was just too strong. The shop employee was even shocked at how strong the magnets were.

 

[ikankecil]

I have five of the Nomad nets, the Emerger being one of them. I try to carry a net well-matched to the fish I'll be pursuing. if I could only have one net, the Emerger would likely be it.

 

[rustneversleeps]

Love my El Jefe in river armor

edit - and it comes with me every time I am wading. Perfect all around net for me wading or on the boat

 

[hollisd]

I have five of the Nomad nets, the Emerger being one of them. I try to carry a net well-matched to the fish I'll be pursuing. if I could only have one net, the Emerger would likely be it.

Since you own both kinds of nets, why do you think the smaller landing nets couldn't incorporate the hook loop enclosure fastening method of the boat nets? I think that is so sweet especially for swapping net bags. Why is that feature on the larger nets because I don't think it has anything to do with replacing the bags?

 

[ikankecil]

-that's a valid question. Swapping nets on the small ones confounds me and swapping on the larger nets would be pretty straight forward. You'd need to take that up with the guys at Fishpond. I have the bigger nets for my carp exploits and the smaller ones for trout. While I like them all, I don't know why some are designed one way and the others are done differently.

My little Native net gets about 4 days of use per week and I've yet to need to replace a net so it's not on top of my list of worries. Yesterday I was horrified to look down and see that I was actually standing on the hoop (with rock under it) of the net as it'd somehow fallen into the water without my knowing it. They are pretty durable but I have seen the broken ones so I know they aren't impossible to snap.

 

[hollisd]

I heard back from Fishpond on the O-rings that are used to secure the net bag on the boat nets. In fact, Fishpond didn't know why this is only a feature on the larger nets so they checked with the founder of Nomad Nets Kevin Best.

Fishpond acquired Nomad Nets in 2013 and Best may still work on staff at Fishpond I'm not sure anyway this is the scoop that was relayed to me secondhand:

I talked w/ the founder of Nomad Nets and he stated that O-rings don't look very good on the smaller nets which is why we don't have them on them.

I have restrung a few nets in my day and the larger nets with O-rings are much more difficult to re-string. The O-rings are for heavier fish which is why they are on the bigger nets that would hold big fish.